African Mobile Payments and Mobility Service Provider OPay Closes $120 Million Series B Round | Gaorong Ventures News
OPay is one of Africa's fastest-scaling companies, having grown into Nigeria's leading mobile payments and ride-hailing service provider.
OPay recently announced the completion of its latest Series B round, raising $120 million led by Meituan-Dianping, Gaorong Ventures, and Source Code Capital. Other participants in the round include Longzhu Capital (Meituan), SoftBank Asia, BAI (Bertelsmann Asia Investments), Redpoint China Ventures, IDG Capital, HSG, and GSR Ventures.
OPay is one of the fastest-scaling companies in Africa. Incubated by Opera, the globally recognized internet company headquartered in Norway, it has become a leading mobile payment and ride-hailing service provider in Nigeria. OPay is committed to offering consumers comprehensive and convenient internet services, including mobile payments, shared mobility, and food delivery. The company plans to use the newly raised capital to further accelerate its expansion across multiple verticals and enter new African markets.
"As OPay continues to grow, we are positioning ourselves as a key contributor to expanding financial inclusion in Africa," said Yahui Zhou, CEO of OPay. "We are building a top-tier fintech ecosystem for Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and other African nations — one that encompasses high-frequency daily services such as transportation and food delivery. We are dedicated to helping local businesses and workers grow through new digital business model opportunities. The funds raised in this round will primarily support fintech innovation and entrepreneurship across Africa."
OPay launched its mobile payment service in August 2018 and has continuously added new features, with a focus on providing convenience to Nigeria's large unbanked population. Since completing its Series A round in June, OPay's active merchant agents have tripled to more than 140,000, and daily transaction volume has doubled to an average of over $10 million per day.
As transaction volume continues to climb, OPay's position as Nigeria's largest mobile payment provider has become increasingly solidified.
Additionally, OPay's ride-hailing service now ranks first among similar services in Nigeria. Over the past three months, daily usage has more than tripled. OPay has also recently rolled out additional services including food delivery and offline merchant payments. While Nigeria remains OPay's current focus, the company's goal is to expand its business across the entire African continent.
"As the Belt and Road Initiative continues to develop, emerging markets like Africa hold tremendous opportunity," said Chang Chen, founding partner of Gaorong Ventures. "OPay is committed to building a top-tier fintech ecosystem for African nations, providing mobile payments, mobility services, and other livelihood-related services that help improve people's quality of life and drive social innovation. Under Yahui Zhou's leadership, the OPay team has spent years深耕 overseas markets, accumulating rich experience in internet product development and globalization. We firmly believe in OPay's commitment to the African market, as well as the team's outstanding execution capabilities and localization expertise. We are confident they will achieve even greater technological innovation and value creation in Africa going forward."
