African payments platform raises $400m, led by SoftBank
OPay, one of the largest payment services in Africa, has raised $400 million in a series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Notable investors in this round of financing include DragonBall Capital (the investment fund backed by Meituan), Sequoia Capital China, Source Code Capital, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Redpoint China, and 3W Capital. With this investment, OPay has become the Africa’s latest fintech unicorn at $2 billion valuation.
“OPay always put our clients first, and we never stop upgrading our products and service to create long-term value for our clients. We will always keep our mission in mind, and fight to improve the financial efficiency in emerging markets through AI and other technology innovation. We want to be the power that helps emerging markets reach a faster economic development,” commented by Yahui Zhou, CEO of OPay.
OPay will use the new capital to strengthen its market position in Nigeria and Egypt, and accelerate its expansion to other countries in Africa and the Middle East – as both regions have seen the largest addition in registered accounts in absolute terms over the last five years, notably Africa’s dominant position with 160 million active users and transaction value worth at staggering $490 billion.
Kentaro Matsui, managing director at SoftBank Group and former managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers said, “OPay is the leading payments platform in Nigeria, using app-based technology to leapfrog legacy methods to pay for goods and services. We believe our investment will help the company extend its offering to adjacent markets and replicate its successful business model in Egypt and other countries in the region. We are excited to partner with Yahui Zhou and the OPay team.” SoftBank Group first invested in OPay through SoftBank Ventures Asia, its venture capital arm, in 2019 and has continued to support OPay’s growth initiatives through the years.
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