Nigeria’s Fintech Challenger OPay Sees Valuation Soar Despite Tech Downturn

The recent financials of prominent consumer internet brand Opera Limited suggest an significant uptick in the valuation of its Nigerian portfolio company, OPay; one of the leading mobile-based platforms for payments, transfers, loans, savings and other services in the country.

In the face of tightening liquidity and heightened investor scrutiny, OPay, which has ties to predominantly Chinese backers, appears to be defying market trends and charting an upward trajectory.

With Opera's disclosed 9.44% stake in the fintech valued at USD 269 M in Q4 2023 and adjusted to USD 253.3 M in its latest Q1 2024 financials, representing a substantial gain of over USD 100 M, OPay's valuation has climbed to between USD 2.7 B to USD 2.9 B, deducing from the numbers Opera shared.

This follows OPay's previous valuation of USD 2 B, achieved after a USD 400 M Series C funding round in 2021 led by SoftBank. Opera has over the years divested its stake in OPay; from as much as 31% in 2021 (when it sold 29% of its OPay stake for USD 31.1 M - OPay was valued at ~USD 800 M at the time) to the current 9.44% (after quietly upping its OPay stake from 6.4% in 2023).