FINTECH AFRICA | Nigerian Fintech, Opay, Valuation Increases By 30% After 4x User Growth and 60% Revenue Increase Since Series C Round in 2021

The valuation of Nigerian fintech startup, Opay, has increased by 30% since its Series C funding round in 2021, according to recent corporate filings by Opera.

As reported by BitKE in 2021, the $400 million series C round was led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, valuing OPay at $2 billion.

Opera, the software company headquartered in Oslo, Norway, which is also behind the Opera browser, acquired the Nigerian fintech in 2018, then called Paycom, and rebranded it to Opay.

Opay offers a wide range of payment services, including money transfer, bill payment, airtime & data purchase, card service, and merchant payments, among others. Its agent banking approach provides technology to a network of thousands of agents that facilitate the sending and receiving of money as well as payment of bills.

According to a local Nigerian publication, Opera’s stake in Opay has gradually declined over the years, falling to as low as 6.4% in 2021.

Opera’s ownership stake would rise to 9.4% in early 2023 after it sold its Asian fintech subsidiary, Nanobank, to OPay in exchange for equity. After completing the transaction, Opera’s 9.4% stake was valued at $253 million, as indicated in an April 2024 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This valuation suggests that OPay is now valued at $2.7 billion, up from its previous valuation of $2 billion during its last funding round.

This comes as the company enjoyed a good 2023 when, due to shortage of hard currency notes, Nigerians turned to fintech applications for payments. The situation, brought about by the Central Bank’s controversial move to redesign currency notes, proved a major benefit to companies like Opay.

The company ‘quadrupled its user base through 2023 and grew revenue by over 60% on a constant currency’ basis, Opera told shareholders.

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