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OPay is well-funded mobile money platform – Fintech responds to shutdown rumours
By OBINNA EZUGWU
Financial technology and ride-hailing start-up, OPay has addressed concerns about it shutting down business in Nigeria, noting that although it is putting some businesses like ride-sharing and logistics on pause, the mobile banking platform remains in business and continues to be well funded.
The company which made the clarification in a statement on Thursday, it has seen 40 percent growth of offline and online transaction value in the midst of pandemic and lockdown from February to April 2020.
“We can confirm that some of our business units, including the ride-hailing services, Oride, OCar as well as our logistics service OExpress will be put on pause. This is largely due to the harsh business conditions which have affected many Nigerian companies, including ours during this COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown and government ban,” the statement said.
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“Globally, ride-sharing businesses have been heavily impacted by the pandemic. But several months ago, foreseeing this issue, OPay had already taken preemptive steps to restructure our business focus away from rides. It is worthy to note that this restructuring has minimal impact on OPay as a whole business.
“It is important to clarify that ride sharing had always been only one part, and not a major part of OPay’s diversified business in Nigeria. In fact, OPay had been investing more and seeing accelerated growth in its commitment to Nigeria’s financial inclusion and technology inclusion. During the pandemic, we have seen continued demand for our offline mobile money agency and online digital payment, which remains the core of our business.
“From February to April 2020 for example, we witnessed 44% growth of offline and online transaction value in the midst of pandemic and lockdown. This is a testament to the high demand for flexible and easy financial services by Nigerians. OPay remains one of the most well-funded and profitable mobile money platforms in Nigeria, and we will continue to do more for our customers.
“Lastly, OPay will continue to invest in and grow in the e-commerce space, aligning its customer and business e-commerce units which will continue to operate and grow. We believe a financial platform coupled with goods platform will form the future of Nigeria’s technology development.”
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