Opera-backed Nigerian fintech startup, OPay has announced that it will pause the operations of some of its business units including the ride-hailing services, ORide, OCar as well as the logistics service OExpress
This, according to Opay, is largely due to the harsh business conditions which have affected many Nigerian companies, including Opay, during this COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown, and government ban.
“Globally, ride-sharing businesses have been heavily impacted by the pandemic. But several months ago, foreseeing this issue, OPay had already taken preemptive steps to restructure our business focus away from rides. It is worthy to note that this final restructuring has minimal impact on OPay as a whole business.
“It is important to clarify that ride-sharing had always been only one part, and not a major part of OPay’s diversified business in Nigeria. In fact, OPay had been investing more and seeing accelerated growth in its commitment to Nigeria’s financial and technology inclusion.” A statement from Opay reads.
Opay also reveale that during the pandemic, there was continued demand for its offline mobile money agency, and online digital payment, which remain the core of its business.
“From January to April 2020 for example, we witnessed a 44% growth of offline and online transaction value even in the midst of pandemic and lockdown. This is a testament to the high demand for flexible and easy financial services by Nigerians. OPay remains one of the most well-funded and profitable mobile money platforms in Nigeria, and we will continue to do more for our customers.
“Lastly, OPay will continue to invest in and grow in the eCommerce space, aligning its customer and business eCommerce units which will continue to operate and grow. We believe a financial platform coupled with goods’ platform will form the future of Nigeria’s technology development.”
