The History of OPay from 2018-2024: Driving Financial Inclusion in Emerging Markets

Driven by its mission to promote financial inclusion, OPay continues to redefine financial services in Nigeria and other emerging markets. For business owners, marketers, or anyone intending to learn from successful business stories, the history of OPay provides insights into catering to underserved markets and leveraging technology strategically.

At Business2Community, we’ve pulled on a range of sources to provide a comprehensive account of OPay’s journey from a mobile payments app to a fintech unicorn and a leading player in Africa’s budding financial technology industry.

Who Owns OPay?

OPay is owned by Opera Limited. As of February 2024, the internet company had a 9.44% stake in OPay. The leading African fintech company was founded when Norwegian-based Opera acquired Nigeria-based mobile money transfer platform Paycom in December 2017. Rebranding to OPay – a combination of Opera and Paycom – the app was officially launched in August 2018.

When OPay founder and Opera CEO James Yahui Zhou started OPay, he believed that the company would be instrumental not only in driving financial inclusion but in making Opera a multi-service internet platform in Africa.

Since 2018, the startup has raised $570 million in funding over three rounds. In 2021, OPay achieved unicorn status with a valuation of $2 billion. As of 2024, the company’s valuation stands at $3 billion, placing it among the most valuable fintech companies in Africa.

Who is the OPay CEO?

James Yahui Zhou and Daudu Gotring are the CEOs of OPay. James Yahui Zhou took on the position of CEO in 2018 while Dauda Gotring assumed the position of co-CEO in 2023 after Olu Akanmu, OPay’s former President and co-CEO stepped down.

In 2024, Co-CEO Gotring plans to lead OPay through the addition of innovative products and services. This includes a world-class, first-of-its-kind online customer service platform accessible via the mobile app. The customer service platform will leverage the latest technology and have over 500+ experienced staff members attending to customers via active chat rooms.

Beyond product development, Gotring has placed corporate social responsibility (CSR) high on the agenda. This includes initiatives like youth empowerment programs, long-term educational scholarships, and internship programs.

Growth and Development of OPay

Founded in 2018, OPay is an all-in-one financial service platform for payments, transfers, savings, loans, bill payments, and essential services. The company is fully licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

In Nigeria, OPay has become a household name, providing accessible financial solutions to over 50 million consumers and 1 million businesses of all sizes. Below, we track OPay’s 6-year journey.

2018- 2019: OPay Gains Traction

In August 2018, Opera founded OPay after acquiring Paycom. With a solid tech infrastructure built out by Paycom, OPay set out on a mission to provide inclusive and affordable financial services.

After releasing the OPay app, the company focused on growing its agent network. Then, as part of its market penetration strategy, OPay ventured into various verticals and service offerings beyond the financial services industry.

The company leveraged aggressive marketing strategies like discounts and low fees to rapidly increase its market share. By July 2019, OPay had scaled to 40,000 active agents and $5 million in daily transaction volume.

That same month, OPay raised $50 million in series A funding from Sequoia China, IDG Capital, and Source Code Capital. The funding allowed the company to invest in key verticals such as:

• Wealth management and investment options (OWealth)
• Digital lending (OKash)
• Food delivery services (OFood)
• Ride-hailing services (OTrike and OCar)
• Bus hailing (OBus)
• Classifieds (OList)

By September 2019, the company had doubled its transaction volume, hitting close to $10 million worth of transactions daily.

To scale in Nigeria and expand its services to Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa, OPay raised $120 million in Series B funding from existing investors,  Masayoshi Son-owned Softbank Asia, BAI, Redpoint, and GaoRong in November 2019.

The deal, backed by Chinese investors, was Africa’s biggest Series B deal of 2019 and firmly established Nigeria as the epicenter of fintech VC expansion in Africa. By the year’s end, OPay had a network of over 140,000 agents, up from 3,000 the previous year.

2020 – 2021: OPay Achieves Unicorn Status

In March 2020, the company launched OMall and OTrade, officially entering the ecommerce space. Other new products launched included a savings product called FlexiFixed and a smartphone business, Olla. That April, the company surpassed 5 million monthly active users and was responsible for over 60% of mobile money transactions in Nigeria.

As of May 2020, OPay had five key service offerings:

• OMall, a B2C ecommerce app
• OTrade, a B2B ecommerce platform
• OExpress, a logistics delivery service
• OFood, for restaurant delivery
• ORide, a motorcycle ride-hail service

Despite its success and significant milestones, OPay had to contend with the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also received a major blow to its operations in February 2020 when the Lagos government banned commercial passenger motorcycles.

By July, OPay had shut down ORide and other non-fintech verticals to focus solely on its fintech business. The company had also laid off a significant number of employees, both locally and in China. Additionally, in what can be described as a leadership exodus, OPay lost several senior managers and executives.

In September 2020, OPay announced a partnership with leading global digital payments platform WorldRemit, to offer international money transfers from over 50 countries including the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, directly into OPay mobile wallets in Nigeria.

OPay’s gross transaction volume grew 4.5x to over $2 billion during December 2020. Additionally, point of sale (POS) terminals deployed through OPay’s money agent and merchant network represented 20% of offline payments in Nigeria by year-end.

In the first half of 2021, OPay launched operations in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal as part of its African expansion plan.

Following OPay’s rapid growth and its success as a leading African fintech company, Opera announced that it had sold 29% of its 31% stake in OPay Limited for $31.1 million in July 2021.

The next month, OPay raised an additional $400 million in a Series C round of financing led by SoftBank Vision Fund, with follow-on investments from:

• Long-Z Investments
• HongShan (formerly Sequoia China)
• Redpoint China Ventures
• Source Code Capital
• SoftBank Asia Fund
• 3W Capital

This round of funding valued the company at $2 billion and launched OPay into unicorn status.

2022-2023: OPay Secures Lucrative Partnerships

Following its entry into the Egyptian market in 2021, OPay opened its first physical shop in Egypt in March 2022. The company continued its expansion into the country with the launch of pre-paid cards and linking up with the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) new digital payment app, InstaPay.

In April 2022, OPay partnered with Pakistan’s Zong 4G. The first-of-its-kind move integrated a mobile top-up facility into OPay’s point of sale (POS) terminals, giving customers access to more convenient mobile recharge facilities.

By May 2022, not only had OPay surpassed $6 billion in monthly transaction value but its registered users had grown to 15 million across Africa and the Middle East. Supporting its expansion was a 600,000-strong merchant network.

To enhance the cashless ecosystem and advance digital financial inclusion for millions, OPay and Mastercard announced a strategic partnership that same month. The deal enabled OPay consumers and merchants in the regions listed below, to transact with businesses worldwide:

• Algeria
• Morocco
• Egypt
• Nigeria
• Ethiopia
• Kenya
• Pakistan
• South Africa

After conducting a comprehensive study on OPay’s development in Nigeria, CNN recognized the fintech company as a leader and pioneer in business transformation in Africa in June 2022. That October, OPay partnered with Africa’s leading payment cards and digital tokens brand, Verve, to distribute OPay Instant Debit Cards.

After selling a portion of its ownership in OPay in 2021, Opera made a strategic move to strengthen its holding in the company in March 2023. By increasing its stake from 6.4% to 9.5%, Opera signaled its growing confidence in the platform’s potential.

While free transfers were a great way for OPay to gain market share, they proved unsustainable. After June 19, OPay scrapped free transfers to other banks, charging customers ₦10 ($0.013) after their third transfer to other banks in a day.

By July 2023, OPay had 35 million registered app users and over 500,000 agents, making it one of the biggest mobile money players in Nigeria. That same month, OPay announced its intention to apply for a license to establish a $60 million digital bank in Egypt.

In September, OPay received approval from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), to acquire Finja Pvt Ltd, an electronic money institution (EMI) licensed company. The EMI license would allow OPay to create a digital eco-system of 1.6 million wallet users and increase POS penetration in Pakistan by an additional 5,000 machines each year.

OPay came under fire for allegedly opening unsolicited accounts for customers the next month. In response, the company issued a statement denying the allegations and clarified that no unauthorized accounts had been created. OPay further emphasized its commitment to customer consent and transparency, stating that the account opening process was subject to stringent verification measures.

In November 2023, OPay was recognized at the Digital Nigeria 2023 Awards, organized by NITDA, for its achievements in:

• Innovative solutions
• Customer satisfaction
• Social impact
• Market penetration

To promote financial security, OPay introduced bank verification numbers (BVN) and national identification numbers (NIN) for wallet opening in December. The company also announced that all accounts not meeting these new KYC requirements would be blocked as of March 2024.

Overall, throughout 2023, the company remained committed to customer satisfaction, opening 17 customer center locations across Nigeria to resolve customer issues. OPay also reinforced its security systems, preventing a record number of scams that year.

2024-Present: OPay Approaches a $3 Billion Valuation

In February 2024, Opera announced that its 9.4% stake in OPay was worth $253 million, placing OPay’s valuation at around $2.7 billion, a significant increase from its previous valuation of $2 billion.

The next month, OPay and Egypt’s Contact Pay entered into a strategic cooperation agreement. OPay became the new channel for Contact’s customer acquisition, broadening its reach and physical presence across Egypt.

Meanwhile, OPay’s entry into Pakistan encountered further setbacks. A dispute over accounting technicalities halted the OPay-Finja deal. Finja accused OPay of failing to honor outstanding payments post-sale. In response, OPay asserted that it was being coerced into making payments beyond what was legally agreed upon. This prolonged dispute led to significant operational issues for OPay in Pakistan, including low investor confidence and reports of massive staff layoffs.

As of April 2024, OPay had established a strong presence in other emerging markets, serving over 50 million users and 1 million merchants. The platform also had monthly transaction volumes surpassing $12 billion, and daily active users approaching the 10 million mark. In addition to its economic impact, OPay’s social impact included creating 400,000 direct and indirect job opportunities for people across Nigeria.

In May, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) banned OPay and other fintech companies from onboarding new customers. This was over concerns that the platforms were being used for illegal foreign exchange transactions. Five weeks later, the bank lifted its ban, allowing the fintechs to resume onboarding new customers.

To comply with a CBN directive, OPay announced that it would require physical address verification for all merchants using OPay Business. Like the KYC measures introduced earlier in the year, the move brought much-needed security to OPay’s growing merchant network.

By June 2024, OPay had achieved its first month of profitability with daily active users surging past 9 million and on track to surpass 10 million.

History of the OPay Logo

OPay’s brand identity has undergone one major update since the company’s launch. We explore these changes and their significance below:

2018-2023: The Green “P”

OPay’s first logo featured a stylized letter “P” in green paired with the word “OPay” in a clean, modern dark blue font. Simple and sleek, the logo reflected OPay’s identity as a modern financial services company.

2023-Present: From “P” to “O”

To mark its 5th anniversary, OPay unveiled a new logo featuring the letter “O” instead of “P” its leading symbol. The green circle resembling the letter “O” had a dark blue square element on its left side and to the right of the symbol, the word “Pay” standing in bold, dark blue letters.

According to OPay, the “O” signified OPay’s commitment to providing impeccable services while staying ahead of the curve. Meanwhile, the blue element represented the company’s significant milestone of newly launched debit cards.

The Future of OPay

OPay’s rise to success highlights the power of understanding a market and catering to its needs through innovative solutions. By focusing on an underserved segment of the population – the unbanked – and providing them with access to banking and other essential services, OPay has established itself as a financially inclusive market leader.

OPay’s success can also be attributed to its strategic marketing efforts. Using a beachhead market strategy, OPay launched ORide to attract users and drive the adoption of its core financial services platform. The company then established multiple verticals, offering massive discounts, freebies, incentives, and highly subsidized services to gain significant market share.

Looking ahead, OPay remains committed to expanding its reach in emerging markets such as Nigeria, Egypt, and Pakistan, while also venturing into new countries and regions. In addition to providing safer, more convenient, and inclusive financial services to users, OPay also aims to create social value and contribute to the development of local digital economies. By 2031, Opay plans to serve 1 billion users, 10 million merchants, and create 1 million jobs.

With the rise of digital payments and the increasing adoption of mobile technology in emerging markets, OPay is well-positioned to expand its reach, tap into new customer segments, and become a major player in the global financial services sector.

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