PiggyVest, Bamboo, Cowrywise Waive Fees as Nigerians Rush to Buy Dangote Refinery Shares
- Dangote Refinery’s ₦2.15 trillion IPO sparks a fierce fintech battle as platforms waive transaction fees to attract investors
- PiggyVest, Bamboo and Cowrywise are using zero charges to convert IPO participation into long-term customer growth
- Demand surges as more than 30 digital channels target up to 10 million retail investors across Nigeria
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Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
Nigeria’s biggest initial public offering is creating an unusual battle among fintech platforms, with PiggyVest, Bamboo, Cowrywise and others waiving transaction charges as they compete for Nigerians seeking to buy Dangote Refinery shares.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery opened its ₦2.15 trillion public offer on September 14, 2026, offering 4.1 billion shares at ₦525 each. The minimum subscription is 10 shares, meaning Nigerians can participate with ₦5,250.
Source: Getty Images
Rather than charge investors directly for processing purchases, several investment platforms are offering access to the shares at zero transaction fees.
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PiggyVest, Bamboo, Cowrywise waive charges
Platforms including Bamboo, Cowrywise and PiggyVest are waiving charges such as brokerage fees, stamp duty, trade alerts and Value Added Tax for customers subscribing to the IPO.
The strategy means an investor buying the minimum 10 shares pays ₦5,250 for the shares without additional direct transaction charges from the participating platforms.
Although fintechs typically generate revenue by processing transactions and collecting fees, the Dangote Refinery IPO offers them another potentially valuable opportunity: attracting new customers.
The public offer has an estimated ₦41.49 billion allocated for offer expenses, although the amount covers issuing houses and other professional parties involved in the transaction, not just fintech companies.
Dangote IPO drives huge fintech sign-ups
Early figures suggest the IPO is already delivering a significant customer-acquisition boost.
In the week before the offer opened, Bamboo reportedly registered more than 236,000 new accounts. About 152,000, representing 64%, were funded and trading within the same week.
The seven-day sign-up figure surpassed Bamboo's previous monthly record of 172,000 new accounts recorded in May.
Demand also triggered heavy traffic when the IPO opened on September 14, with Bamboo and Cowrywise experiencing service pressure. Within four hours of the 8 am launch, more than ₦21 billion had reportedly been raised through roughly 38,000 transactions.
For the platforms, customers attracted by Dangote shares could remain long after the IPO closes. An investor who initially downloads an app to participate in the offer could later use the same platform for stocks, mutual funds, savings or other investment products.
Fintechs battle for Nigeria’s growing retail market
The bigger opportunity lies in Nigeria's expanding population of retail investors.
Dangote Refinery is targeting as many as 10 million retail investors through the offer, compared with about 2.7 million retail investors currently participating in Nigeria's capital market.
The refinery has approved more than 30 fintech and digital channels, including Bamboo, Cowrywise, Flutterwave, Moniepoint, Paga, Payaza, PiggyVest and Vetiva Invest. Banks and mobile-money operators are also participating.
Source: Getty Images
Access has also been extended to Point of Sale terminals, potentially taking the offer to Nigerians who may not regularly use investment apps, according to a report by TechCabal.
Moniepoint, which operates more than one million PoS terminals, said its agents would provide access to the IPO across Nigeria's 774 local government areas.
For fintech companies, therefore, waiving a transaction fee today could be an investment in a much bigger prize: millions of Nigerians who could become long-term users of digital investment platforms after buying their first Dangote Refinery shares.
How to buy Dangote Refinery shares via PoS
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals initial public offering (IPO) has opened a new route for Nigerians seeking to own a stake in Africa’s biggest refinery, with retail investors now able to subscribe through selected Point of Sale (PoS) terminals.
The landmark public offer opened on September 14, 2026, with 4.1 billion ordinary shares available at ₦525 each.
Investors can subscribe for a minimum of 10 shares, putting the lowest entry amount at ₦5,250. The offer is scheduled to close on October 13.
Source: Legit.ng
