Dangote Refinery's IPO Campaign Just Lit Up Times Square

For a few minutes on September 22, 2026, one of the most famous billboards on Earth wasn't selling a movie, a phone, or a soft drink. It was selling shares in an oil refinery built in Lagos -- and standing beneath it, waving to a crowd of strangers, were Africa's richest man and one of Afrobeats' biggest stars.

A Nasdaq digital billboard in Times Square, New York, lit up with the message "Made in Nigeria. Built for the World," promoting the ongoing public share offer of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals. Below it stood Aliko Dangote and Davido, gesturing up at the screen, exchanging thumbs-up signs and waving as onlookers gathered and pulled out their phones.

The appearance landed during UN General Assembly week, when world leaders, business figures and media converge on New York -- prime timing for maximum visibility. It's part of the marketing push behind the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals' initial public offering, which opened September 14 and closes October 13, 2026. The company is offering 4.1 billion ordinary shares at ₦525 each, a raise reported at roughly ₦2.15 trillion, or about $1.6 billion, open to retail investors and the wider Nigerian public.

The refinery itself, built in the Lekki Free Zone outside Lagos at an estimated cost of $20 billion over more than a decade, has a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude a day -- reportedly the largest single-train refinery in the world. Putting its IPO message on a Nasdaq screen in Times Square was a way to tell that story to an international audience, not just a Nigerian one.

Davido's presence wasn't just a celebrity booking. He has spoken publicly before about his family's long-standing relationship with Dangote, describing the businessman as a mentor and family friend going back years. In footage from the Times Square moment, Davido turns to Dangote on camera and asks him directly why Nigerians should put their money into the company -- a small, informal exchange that outlets picked up on as much as the billboard itself.

Clips of the two men under the billboard spread quickly across Nigerian social media. Outlets including Legit.ng reported American producer Swizz Beatz reacting to the moment online, with Davido responding in turn -- part of a wider wave of online commentary that framed the appearance as a point of national pride: a homegrown industrial project, built and financed at home, promoted on one of the most-viewed screens in the world.

IF Daily has not been able to independently confirm every detail of the surrounding online commentary, including the full content of the Swizz Beatz exchange. What is consistently reported across multiple Nigerian outlets is the core of the story: the billboard, the date, the IPO terms, and Dangote and Davido's joint appearance beneath it.