The valuation of OPay, a Nigerian fintech startup, has surged by more than 30% since its Series C funding round in 2021, reaching close to $3 billion, recent corporate filings by Opera, an early investor in OPay, reveal. This significant increase underscores the rapid growth of Nigeria’s digital payments sector, which is driving the emergence of a new wave of financial technology companies in the country.
In 2018, Opera acquired Paycom, a Nigerian mobile money operator, and rebranded it as OPay, thereby obtaining a stake in the company. Over time, Opera’s stake in OPay reduced, reaching 6.4% by 2021. However, in early 2023, Opera’s stake increased to 9.4% after it sold Nanobank, its Asian fintech subsidiary, to OPay in exchange for equity.
According to Opera’s filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), its 9.4% stake in OPay was valued at $253 million, indicating OPay’s valuation at $2.7 billion. This valuation represents a significant increase from its previous funding round, which valued the startup at $2 billion.
OPay has experienced remarkable growth in the past year, partly due to a currency redesign in Nigeria that led to cash scarcity and subsequently increased reliance on fintech apps for transactions. As a result, national payment volumes reached record levels in early 2023, with annual digital payments surpassing N611 trillion, as reported by the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement Scheme (NIBSS).
Despite its growth, OPay, like other fintech companies, grapples with fraud and customer safety concerns, prompting regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria to enforce stricter rules on account safety.
OPay’s ascent to near $3 billion valuation underscores its position as a key player in Nigeria’s burgeoning digital payments landscape, poised to capitalize on the country’s growing embrace of financial technology solutions.
REF: Techcabal
