Opera, an early investor in OPay, recently adjusted the value of its stake in the Nigerian fintech startup.
This adjustment came after Opera took a look at the numbers and saw that the company’s value had changed, based on a smaller financing deal that happened late in 2023.
OPay had a great year, partly because of a currency change that caused a shortage of cash for weeks. This made more people turn to fintech apps like Moniepoint and OPay for their transactions, boosting the country’s digital payments to record levels.
By the end of 2023, the total value of digital payments in Nigeria grew by more than 50% to a whopping N611 trillion, according to the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement Scheme (NIBSS).
OPay saw a huge jump in users, quadrupling its user base, and its revenue went up by over 60% in constant currency, according to Opera.
Despite its success, OPay, like other fintech companies, faces challenges with fraud and customer safety. This has led regulators like the Central Bank of Nigeria to tighten rules on account safety.
The value of OPay has gone up by more than 30% since its Series C funding round in 2021, according to recent filings by Opera. This shows how Nigeria’s digital payments boom is helping fintech companies grow.
Opera acquired Paycom in 2018 and turned it into OPay, giving Opera a stake in the company. Over time, Opera’s stake decreased but increased to 9.4% in early 2023 after it sold Nanobank to OPay in exchange for equity.
Following this deal, Opera said its 9.4% stake in OPay was worth $253 million, implying that OPay’s value is now $2.7 billion, up from $2 billion in its previous funding round.
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