The valuation of OPay, the Nigerian fintech startup backed by Sequoia Capital and Softbank, has risen by over 30% since its Collection C funding spherical in 2021, in line with current company filings by Opera, an early OPay investor. The valuation development underscores how Nigeria’s digital funds growth is fueling the rise of a brand new crop of economic know-how firms.

In 2018, Opera acquired Paycom, a Nigerian cell cash operator, and rebranded it as OPay. In consequence, Opera had a stake within the firm. Nevertheless, Opera’s stake progressively lowered, finally declining to six.4% by 2021.

In early 2023, its stake elevated to 9.4% after it sold Nanobank, its Asian fintech subsidiary, to OPay in return for fairness within the firm. Following the transaction, Opera advised traders its 9.4% stake within the fintech was valued at $253 million, in line with an April 24 submitting with the US Securities and Trade Fee (SEC). It implies OPay has a valuation of $2.7 billion, in comparison with its earlier funding spherical which valued the startup at $2 billion.

Opera had earlier valued the stake at $269 million by December 2023 however adjusted its honest worth in newer filings following “valuation implied in a smaller financing transaction that passed off in late 2023,” the corporate mentioned within the submitting.

OPay has made important leaps prior to now 12 months, partly because of an ill-timed foreign money redesign that triggered money shortage for a number of weeks. The absence of money led extra folks to depend on fintech apps like Moniepoint and OPay for transactions, pushing nationwide fee volumes to document ranges in early 2023. The momentum remained until the tip of the 12 months as the worth of annual digital funds grew by greater than 50% to N611 trillion, in line with the Nigerian Inter-Financial institution Settlement Scheme (NIBSS).

OPay was a serious beneficiary. The corporate “quadrupled its consumer base by way of 2023 and grew income by over 60% on a relentless foreign money” foundation, Opera advised shareholders.

Nevertheless, regardless of its development, OPay, like different fintechs, continues to wrestle with fraud and buyer security considerations, which has triggered regulatory our bodies, together with the Central Financial institution of Nigeria, to tighten guidelines on account security.