OPay Raises $400M in Series C Funding; Expects to Enhance its Market Position

OPay, one of the largest payment services in Africa, announced that it has raised $400M in a Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Notable investors in this round of financing include DragonBall Capital (The Investment fund backed by Meituan), Sequoia Capital China, Source Code Capital, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Redpoint China, and 3W Capital. With this investment, OPay has become Africa’s latest fintech unicorn at $2B valuation.

“At OPay we always put our clients first, and we never stop upgrading our products and service to create long-term value for our clients. We will always keep our mission in mind, and fight to improve the financial efficiency in emerging markets through AI and other technological innovations. We want to be the power that helps emerging markets reach a faster economic development.”

Yahui Zhou, Chief Executive Officer, OPay

OPay will use the new capital to strengthen its market position in Nigeria and Egypt, and accelerate its expansion to other countries in Africa and the Middle East — as both regions have seen the largest addition in registered accounts in absolute terms over the last five years, notably Africa’s dominant position with millions active users across the continent and transaction value worth at staggering $490B.

“OPay is the leading payments platform in Nigeria, using app-based technology to leapfrog legacy methods to pay for goods and services. We believe our investment will help the company extend its offering to adjacent markets and replicate its successful business model in Egypt and other countries in the region. We are excited to partner with Yahui Zhou and the OPay team.”

Kentaro Matsui, Managing Director, SoftBank Group

SoftBank Group first invested in OPay through SoftBank Ventures Asia, its venture capital arm, in 2019 and has continued to support OPay’s growth initiatives through the years.