Earlier this year, OPay raised $50 million, making it the largest funding round for an African startup. It is also the fastest African startup to reach a $1 billion valuation. The round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and included participation from Sequoia Capital China and DragonBall Capital.
The funds will be used to help OPay expand in Africa. The company has over 160 million active users in Africa. It also offers transportation services and food delivery. The company plans to launch debit cards for its wallet holders this year.
OPay is a customer-centric company that uses cutting-edge technology to provide services. It processes over $3 billion in transactions each month. The company is owned by Chinese billionaire Yahui Zhou.
OPay aims to provide financial services to unbanked users in Nigeria. Currently, more than five percent of the country’s population is financially excluded. OPay’s mission is to help the unbanked move into a formal financial system and gain access to bigger life opportunities. The company operates agents that can act as bank branches. They can also open bank accounts for users, act as ATMs, and provide payments. OPay reports that it has over 300,000 agents in Nigeria.
OPay is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Its transaction volume grew 4.5 times in a year to more than $2 billion. It processes 20% of Nigeria’s nonmerchant point of sales transactions.
OPay has more than 17 million users in Nigeria. Users can download the app from the Google Playstore and Apple Store. The company processes 80% of mobile money transfers in the country. Users can transfer money to other wallets for free. They can also earn 2% interest on their funds.