OPay was brought to Nigeria by Chinese billionaire Zhou Yahui, the chairman of Opera Software, in 2018. He launched the platform after his company, Opera Group, acquired Paycom Nigeria Limited in 2017 to enter the African financial services market. OPay operates under Opera's umbrella, focusing on digital payments and banking.
OPay in Nigeria is owned by Zhou Yahui, a Chinese billionaire and the chairman of Opera Software, which is OPay's parent company. He is also the founder of Kunlun Tech Co. Ltd., another of his companies.
Meet the Owner of OPay in Nigeria OPay, one of Nigeria's leading fintech platforms, is owned by Chinese billionaire Zhou Yahui. He is the chairman of Opera Software, the parent company of OPay. Originally founded as Paycom Nigeria Limited in 2013, OPay was rebranded after Opera acquired it.
Opay started by launching its mobile money platform in Lagos (Nigeria's largest city) in 2018. From there Opay quickly expanded its suite of services with the vision of becoming a SuperApp for Nigeria, similar to the vision Grab, Meituan and to a lesser extent JumiaPay have achieved.
The Nigerian start-up says the new investment takes its valuation up to $2 billion. Mobile payment fintech OPay has secured $400 million in a Series C funding round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2.
In addition to his resignation from Opay, Olu Akanmu has also stepped down from his position as the chairman of the board of directors of the Fintech Association of Nigeria. He has not yet announced his plans for the future. No course for alarm. Opay is an international organization own by operal mini.
Our journey in Nigeria started in 2018 and we are strictly licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
Zhou Yahui, a Chinese billionaire, is the mastermind behind OPay, currently the most reliable and fastest- growing online banking app in Nigeria. From sending money, buying airtime, paying bills, to making business transactions — OPay is now the go-to platform for millions of Nigerians.
Below is a comprehensive list of the top 10 highest- paid employees/CEOs in Nigeria. 1. Ebenezer Onyeagwu / Zenith Bank Ebenezer Onyeagwu of Zenith Bank emerged as the highest-paid CEO with a basic salary of ₦2.17bn. In 2022, he was earning ₦258m and his salary took a 660% leap to the present amount.
Olu Akanmu is the co-CEO of Opay ( @OPay_NG) mobile banking service and a Pharmacy graduate of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). He was the former director of FCMB bank and had worked with Airtel Telecommunication.
Despite these global headwinds, OPay has maintained its valuation of $2 billion in 2021. At its last funding round in 2021, OPay raised $400 million from investors, including SoftBank and Sequoia, which boosted its valuation to $2 billion.
Otedola currently owns 17.01 percent of First Bank — its single largest shareholder since it was established in 1894. His first big break as a businessman was in the energy sector when he set up Zenon Oil, a diesel marketing company, in 2003.
Nigeria's richest banker, Jim Ovia, has just seen a major boost in the value of his stake in Zenith Bank. A strong rally in the bank's shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) has added $37.2 million to his holdings. Ovia owns a 16.2 percent stake in Zenith Bank, more than 5 billion shares.
Nigeria's top 5 banks (Access Bank, UBA, Zenith Bank, FBN Holdings, and GTCO) dominate the sector with combined assets worth over ₦146 trillion. The banking sector performed remarkably in 2023, accounting for 4.6% of the country's GDP through a year-over-year improvement of 28.86%.
In 2017, Opera acquired Paycom. With a strong African user base through its browser, Opera saw an opportunity in financial services. The merger gave birth to OPay, which officially launched in the second half of 2018. OPay entered the market as a super-app.
Ma Yun (Chinese: 马云; pinyin: Mǎ Yún; born 10 September 1964), also known as Jack Ma, is a Chinese businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Jack Ma Foundation, and co-founder of Alibaba Group and Yunfeng Capital. As of May 2025, Ma's net worth was estimated at US$27.2 billion.
Bill Clerico is the CEO and Co-Founder of WePay, a JPMorgan Chase company. Under his leadership and with a hard-working, values-driven and world-class team, Bill continues to drive the company's vision, strategy, and growth.
Opay Digital Services Limited commonly called Opay, and formerly Paycom Nigeria Limited, is a fintech mobile money operating company founded by Zhou Yahui in 2013 with headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria.
Behold the highest paid banker in Nigeria's banking industry for last year. She's Adaora Umeoji the Zenith Bank's CEO and she earned total of N874 million as salary in 2024!
After the 2021 SoftBank-led round it was valued at $2 billion; by April 2024, Opera's filings valued OPay at about $2.75 billion. This is 5× higher than its implied valuation in 2018–2019, and reflects a revenue-positive operation (OPay achieved its first monthly profit in 2024) with massive scale.
