Okra: Another tech dream bites the dust

The end came quietly for Okra, once hailed as the rising star of Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem. In early July, employees received a terse email: operations were shutting down. The company, which had raised over $15 million in venture capital, was no more.

Its founder, Fara Ashiru, had accepted a role in London. The news sent a chill through Africa’s tech community, rekindling tough questions about strategy, discipline, and the harsh realities of building businesses in Nigeria’s turbulent economy.

From Financial ‘Plumber’ to Flailing Empire

Founded in 2020, Okra set out with a compelling vision – to be the “plumber” of Nigeria’s financial system by connecting apps seamlessly to user bank accounts. It was branded the “Plaid for Africa,” and its potential was enormous. But by late 2024, amid Nigeria’s deepening foreign exchange crisis, Okra made a drastic pivot: it launched Nebula, a cloud data storage platform for businesses.

While diversification can be wise, this move baffled many observers. “There’s a difference between a smart adjacent product and a distracting new business,” noted product marketer Fredrick Favour. “Okra crossed that line.” Nebula was a radically different venture, diverting resources from its core mission of fintech infrastructure to compete in an already crowded cloud market. The plumber, it seemed, suddenly wanted to build the entire house – and furnish it too.

This strategic overreach exemplifies what Dr. Ola Brown, founder of Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Group, describes as the “empire building” trap: founders flush with capital who abandon focus in pursuit of sprawling ventures. For Okra, the pivot to Nebula was precisely that. Rather than consolidating its market leadership as Africa’s financial plumbing backbone, it waded into a complex, capital-intensive cloud war that drained its coffers.

In the end, Okra’s story is a stark reminder that in Africa’s unforgiving business terrain, ambition without focus can swiftly turn from dream to dust.

The collapse also raises the sensitive question of where the money went. As tech investor Aloy Chife has noted, the disappearance of millions in venture capital in Nigeria often lacks the intense scrutiny it would face in Europe or America. This lack of accountability is toxic, creating distrust among foreign investors who may then look to safer markets, harming the entire ecosystem.

However, blaming the founder alone ignores the brutal reality of the Nigerian business landscape. Startups operate in constant uncertainty, at the mercy of arbitrary government policies. Sudden bans on motorcycle-hailing services or restrictions on cryptocurrency have crippled entire sectors overnight. This unstable foundation favors politically connected corporations and stifles innovation. Furthermore, the daily struggle with poor electricity, multiple taxes, and logistical nightmares adds millions in hidden costs, draining capital from growth.

The Nigerian tech landscape is littered with such stories. Survivors like Interswitch, founded by Mitchell Elegbe, and Paystack, founded by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, thrived by maintaining a laser focus on their core products—payment infrastructure and online payment processing, respectively. They navigated decades of instability with patience and resilience.

In contrast, casualties often resulted from external shocks or internal overreach. Gokada, a popular motorcycle-hailing service founded by the late Fahim Saleh, never recovered after the Lagos State government banned its core business overnight. Similarly, OPay, despite a massive war chest, faltered by trying to become a “super-app” for everything from payments to food delivery. It burned through hundreds of millions before scaling back drastically, a victim of a fragmented market and its own sprawling ambitions.

A report circulating among investors, reviewed for this article, suggests Okra’s remaining funds are insufficient to repay them, with the priority being severance for its 80 employees. The story of Okra is a cautionary tale of ambition colliding with reality—a brilliant idea derailed by a loss of focus and a punishing environment. For Nigeria’s tech ecosystem to mature, it needs greater transparency from founders and a more stable environment from the government. Until then, the cycle of promising startups turning to dust will likely continue.