OPay, a mobile payments startup founded by Norwegian browser firm, Opera, has secured a $50 million funding from three Chinese companies – Sequoia China, IDG Capital, and Source Code Capital, with Opera also joining the round in the payments venture it created. The fund is the first of its kind for the company since its establishment.
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Deployment of the fund:The startup, which is at the moment trying to penetrate the African market, will use the capital primarily to grow its digital finance business in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and arguably the largest economy on the continent.
With the fund, OPay will also support Opera’s growing commercial network in Nigeria, which includes motorcycle ride-hail app, ORide, and a food delivery service portal, OFood.
The fund is also poised to position Opera towards becoming a multi-service commercial internet platform in Africa. This, it was gathered will be made possible through its product offerings.
“Geographic expansion of OPay and other services is a key part of our plans,” Opera CEO, Yahui Zhou said.
OPay’s milestone: OPay’s parent company, Opera, experienced a leadership change in 2016 after it was acquired by a consortium of Chinese investors, led by current Opera CEO, Zhou.
Barely a year after its establishment, Opay has recorded significant growth in its number of users and transactions.
(READ ALSO: ORide Launches in Nigeria, Offers Amazing Prices.)
On the payments side, the company has scaled to 40,000 active agents and $5 million in daily transaction volume.
About OPay: It is a payment platform developed by Opera Software. The platform enables users to shop and pay for services and products through their phones.
OPay is currently available as an Android application and support card payments with Mastercard and Visa, as well as transfers from banking apps.
It is a subsidiary of Opera Software, the maker of Opera Mini.
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