By 
By Eric Osiakwan
Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote is planning a London listing of his cement business this year[1], after announcing a multi-exchange African listing of his refinery.[2] Dangote Cement which is already listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) with a market capitalisation of almost $13bn, would seek a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
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As part of the move, about 10 per cent of the shares in the company would be sold to outside investors. Dangote Cement operates across 11 African countries and has installed capacity of more than 55 million tons a year. The company reported net profit of about $732m in 2025 on revenue of about $3.12bn.
“We want to do a dual listing. We’ve been thinking about it for seven to ten years,” said Dangote.
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One Return, Two Markets: Hard Currency for Local & Global Investors
This dual listing unlocks the potential of both the African and international markets in a way that generates hard currency returns for both local and international investors – creating distributed wealth both in and outside the continent. Whilst Dangote’s multi-exchange African listing of his refinery deepens integration and wealth creation on the continent.
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The dual listing of the cement business on NSE and LSE will expose the African disapora to the opportunity set in this business also. This could serve as a bridge for their participation in the local economy even though they are abroad. Mondi PLC, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, Seplat Energy PLC, Kavango Resources PLC are some of the existing dual listed companies on exchanges on and off the continent.
Airtel Africa PLC, a conglomerate of fourteen telecom businesses in different countries on the continent, is also dual listed on both the LSE and NGX. Bharti Airtel of India is the majority shareholder of Airtel Africa PLC. Bharti Airtel recently announced plans to raise its ownership stake in Airtel Africa to as much as 90% through a proposed $2.9bn share swap, reinforcing its long-term commitment to African markets.
Africa: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Growth Frontier for Airtel’s Expansion
Founder Sunil Bharti Mittal described Africa as a major growth frontier and called the company’s expansion into the continent a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.[3] The move precedes a highly anticipated $2bn initial public offering (IPO) for Airtel Africa’s mobile money division, Airtel Money, a unit valued at approximately $10bn.[4] As mobile money transactions in the region reached $1.4tn in 2025, the group is positioning itself to capitalize on the continent’s fintech surge.
Despite geopolitical tensions delaying the IPO timeline, the group’s 37% jump in adjusted EBITDA to $3.2bn underscores the robust earnings visibility driving this multi-billion-dollar investment.
It is also worth noting that Airtel Africa PLC already has signficant presence on African stock markets through some of its locally listed subsidiaries; Airtel Malawi PLC on the Malawi Stock Exchange, Aitel Uganda PLC on the Uganda Securities Exchange, Airtel Networks Zambia PLC on the Lusaka Stock Exhcnage, in addtion to Airtel Africa PLC the holding company been listed on the NGX (and LSE).
Local Listings Grow Wealth at Home; LSE Listing Creates Wealth Abroad
These local listings have generated wealth with local participation whilst their international listing on the LSE has created wealth predominantly in the international market.
The listing of the mobile money unit on the LSE would create more distributed wealth in the international market at the expense of the local markets where the value was created, highlighting the need for a local listing of the unit to be part of the plan.
Especially since some of the local subsidiaries where the mobile money activities take place are already locally listed. Some analyst argue that, the international listing could attract more investment to the continent in the medium to long term as the asset appreciates.
Ethiopia’s state-owned telco, Ethio Telecom listed on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) main market under the ticker symbol TELE. It is the first state-owned enterprise to be listed on ESX which started operations in January 2025.
This achievement marks a major step in Ethiopia’s economic reform journey, promoting transparency, public participation, and long-term wealth creation. The public offering attracted participation from more than 47,000 investors, demonstrating growing confidence in Ethiopia’s emerging capital market.[5]
Awash Bank, Ethiopia’s largest privately owned bank, also debutted on the ESX, a significant milestone for the country’s still-nascent capital market. The listing brings the total number of companies traded on the exchange to five.
The bank introduced nearly 38mn shares under the ticket AWAB, without issuing new stock or raising french capital. The listing by introduction simply allows existing shareholders to trade their holdings freely through licensed brokers.[6]
Wave of IPOs on Local and International Exchanges Will Unlock Liquidity for Reinvestment
A wave of IPOs are coming due both on international and local exchanges that will create liquidity in the market to drive reinvestment. OPay Digital Services, Nigeria’s leading payments and financial services platform, is planning an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the United States, targeting a valuation of approximately $4bn.
If successful, the IPO would rank among the largest overseas listings by an African technology company and mark a defining moment for Nigeria’s fast-growing fintech ecosystem.[7]
Kasapreko PLC, a household name in Ghana’s beverage industry, is set to debut on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) on June 17th under the ticker KPLC. The company is targeting a $64 million raise through the listing. All proceeds will go toward building a brand-new production facility in Adeiso, dedicated to bottled water and carbonated soft drinks. This will be the second listing in 2026 on the GSE which composite index surged 79% in 2025 after the ZEN Petroelum listing in April 2026.[8]
Bridge Bank Group Cote d’Ivoire is preparing to go public on the BRVM, the regional stock exchange serving the eight UEMOA member states, with a target of raising $120mn.
The deal involves the sale of 20% stake at an indicative price of 6750 FCFA per share with the listing expected on August 31st but subject to approval from the CREPMF – the financial markets regulator for the UEMOA region.[9]
Local and Global Wealth Distribution — A Trend Here to Stay
And last but not the least, French pay-TV giant Canal+ will make history on June 3 by becoming the first French company to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), a commitment the group made as part of its acquisition of South African operator, MultiChoice, completed in the summer of 2025.
The JSE listing is structured as a secondary inward listing, with Canal+’s primary listing remaining in London (LSE:CAN), where the group went public in late 2024. According to Canal+, this serves as a dual listing that will give South African investors the opportunity to invest directly in the group, while enhancing the long-term liquidity and tradacbility of its shares.[10]
The Airtel Africa PLC and Canal+ dual listings come at the same conclusion but from different angles – the fomer is a straight listing whiles the later is through an acquisition. They make for distributed wealth both in the local and international markets – a trend for the foreseeable future.
[1] https://dabafinance.com/en/news/dangote-cement-london-listing-september-2026
[2] https://www.ericosiakwan.com/2026/05/19/ipo-across-multiple-african-stock-markets-to-deepen-integration-and-drive-wealth-creation/
[3] https://nairametrics.com/2026/05/14/bharti-airtel-expands-africa-push-with-2-9-billion-stake-consolidation-plan/?mc_cid=2050cac96e&mc_eid=0af56d67ff
[4] https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/airtel-africa-plans-dollar2b-airtel-money-ipo-as-fintech-growth-accelerates/qj3kn17
[5] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/historic-milestone-for-ethiopias-capital-ugcPost-7464993543091118080-3vxi/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAMCjlcBpiuVOH3T2qYl7KU23ZvvvvH9sqY
[6] https://www.african-markets.com/en/news/east-africa/ethiopia/awash-bank-lists-on-the-ethiopian-securities-exchange-esx-nine-total-listings-expected-by-july-2026
[7] https://www.itedgenews.africa/opay-targets-4bn-us-ipo-as-nigerian-fintech-giant-courts-wall-street-banks/
[8] https://www.african-markets.com/en/stock-markets/gse/kasapreko-plc-launches-ipo-on-the-ghana-stock-exchange-targeting-700-million-cedis
[9] https://www.african-markets.com/en/stock-markets/brvm/bridge-bank-to-list-on-the-brvm-targeting-120-million
[10] https://www.african-markets.com/en/stock-markets/jse/canal-to-list-on-johannesburg-stock-exchange-on-june-3
