OPay, Opera’s fintech platform for almost everything in Nigeria, has raised a $120 million Series B round to expand its product portfolio as well as expand across Africa.
OPay’s Series B was led by Chinese investors Meituan-Dianping, GaoRong, Source Code Capital, Softbank Asia, BAI, Redpoint, IDG Capital, Sequoia China and GSR Ventures according to a report by TechCrunch.
OPay will use the funds to scale its operations in Nigeria and launch its services in Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. The firm in June raised $50 million to double down on Nigeria.
“OPay will facilitate the people in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya and other African countries with the best fintech ecosystem. We see ourselves as a key contributor to helping local businesses thrive,” Opera CEO and OPay Chairman Yahui Zhou, said in a statement to TechCrunch.
After the raise, Opay has launched OCar, an Uber and Bolt killer starting in Lagos, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Benin adding to its OBus, ORide, OFood, OList, OTrike and OLeads.
The Day we’ve all been waiting for is finally here! 💃🏽
— ORide (@getoride) November 19, 2019
OCar has arrived! 🚘
Go anywhere with OCar in Lagos, Owerri, PH, Abuja, Benin, Kaduna, Abeokuta & Ibadan for just 200 Naira.
Now, you can enjoy safe, affordable & comfortable rides at the tap of a button. #GetOCar #RideOCar pic.twitter.com/8yue6jNTiD
OPay is not done yet and expect more products to be launched soon. it’s latest investor Meituan-Dianping is the master protagonist in OPay’s future. The apps offered by Meituan Dianping cover a huge range of services from restaurant reviews and listings to “travel-life” services ranging from food, travel essentials, and leisure products. Meituan Dianping runs Meituan Waimai (food delivery), Maoyan (cinema tickets, Dazhong Dianping (Reviews/Coupons), Meituan (Coupons/Group Buying). The everything app offers everything from information on cosmetic surgery to hotel bookings and that’s the Chinese game needed in Africa.
Like TechMoran reported earlier, OPay wants to be used for almost everything in Nigeria and loans were just a start. With the launch of ORide, the firm sits at the center of Africa’s most used transportation system, the motorcycle, which is also affordable compared to cars. The firm has now added OCars to its growing list of verticals but the big play is the banking approval.
OPay was recently given approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to commence international money transfer in Nigeria, B2B, B2P and P2P remittance services into Nigeria.
According to Kunle Olamuyiwa, Director of Remittances Services at OPay, “The plan is to distort the remittance space and ensure that international money transfer into Nigeria is safer, faster and more affordable.”
The firm aims to make it easier and faster for global remittance companies to partner with OPay to help their customers to receive money from their business partners, customers and loved ones directly into their OPay wallet and any bank account or mobile wallet in Nigeria. Also, recipients can go cash out their funds from their OPay wallets at any of over 100,000 OPay mobile money agents in Nigeria.
The OPay Wallet will allow users to receive money from friends and family abroad, do transfers to any bank, pay their bills, buy food and also use on OFood, ORide, OBus and OTrike and channel unused funds to OWealth and earn interest on it daily. That’s a whole life in the OPay Wallet.
