— Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has approximately 60 million adults who do not have bank accounts, and 95% of transactions are still conducted in cash. In 2018, Yahui Zhou saw the gaps and opportunities in this market and incubated the mobile payment company Opay through Kunlun Wanwei’s Opera browser.
Nowadays, this company has over 50 million registered users and a daily transaction volume exceeding 10 million US dollars, becoming the leader in the Nigerian mobile wallet market.
01 Financial Revolution in the African Market
The financial inclusiveness in Nigeria is only 64%, which means that millions of adults are still excluded from formal financial services. In this market context, OPay’s agent network model has become an innovative breakthrough.
By recruiting offline agents, OPay distributes POS machines to various corners, providing deposit and withdrawal, transfer, and bill payment services for users without bank accounts. By 2023, OPay will have over 500000 agents in Nigeria.
During Nigeria’s currency reform in 2022 and banking system failures in 2024, traditional banking applications frequently collapsed, and OPay became the “financial lifeline” for many users with its stable system.
According to the ranking of data platform data.ai, OPay has successfully entered the top ten daily active users of global fintech applications.
02 Zhou Yahui’s African Expedition
Yahui Zhou once said in 2019, “If Chinese entrepreneurs go to Africa and are not afraid of hardship, fatigue, or loneliness, they can achieve great success. This probability is quite high.” This statement not only reflects his optimistic judgment of the African market, but also becomes an accurate prediction of his own entrepreneurial journey.
This graduate from the Department of Precision Instruments of Tsinghua University has experienced the Internet revolution from Web 1.0 to Web 3.0. From the founder of Beijing Kunlun Wanwei Technology Co., Ltd. to the co CEO of Opera, and then to the helm of Opay, he constantly changed his identity, but always defined himself as an “entrepreneur”.
03 Strategic Adjustment and Focus
Opay’s development has not been smooth sailing. The company was initially positioned as a one-stop mobile platform, covering multiple scenarios such as payment, transportation, and grocery delivery.
In 2020, the company underwent significant strategic adjustments, cutting most of its business lines outside of financial payments, including transportation services ORide and OBus, as well as e-commerce services OMall and OTrade.
Behind this decision is Zhou Yahui’s clear understanding of the essence of business: “Essentially, I find it difficult to accept the feeling of constantly raising funds without seeing an end.” He admitted, “For a new entrepreneur, he can do this because he has nothing to lose. But for me, I cannot fail in any entrepreneurship
Focusing on the payment industry has become a key turning point for Opay. Since March 2020, the company’s business has entered a phase of rapid growth.
04 Business Model Innovation
OPay’s innovation is not only reflected in its technology, but also in its deep understanding of the local market. The company has noticed a huge gap in consumer payments in Nigeria, especially in areas where banking services are insufficient.
By reducing customer authentication requirements, OPay has attracted a large number of users without bank accounts. This model significantly reduces the entry threshold, allowing Opay to expand rapidly.
As of June 2020, Opay has over 5 million users in Nigeria and processes over 60% of electronic payment transactions.
In the first quarter of 2025, the total transaction volume of OPay increased nearly 60 times compared to the same period in 2021, reflecting the growing dependence of users on the platform.
05 Competition and Financing
There are also other Chinese companies in the African payment market. Transsion Holdings and NetEase jointly established PalmPay to compete with Opay.
In August 2021, OPay completed a $400 million Series C financing led by SoftBank Vision Fund, with a valuation of $2 billion, becoming a new unicorn in the African fintech industry.
SoftBank Group Managing Director Kenta Matsui said, “We believe our investment will help OPay expand its products to surrounding markets and replicate its successful business model in Egypt and other countries in the region. ”
At present, Opay’s business scope has expanded to countries such as Egypt and Pakistan, and has established a strategic partnership with Mastercard to jointly promote inclusive financial.
06 Latest News and Management Upgrade
In January 2026, Opay announced the formation of a global core management team and appointed four executives to lead a new strategic chapter.
The newly established team includes James Zhou as Executive Chairman, Lars Boilesen as Co CEO, Stephen as Co CEO and COO, and James Perry as CFO.
Lars Boilesen, former CEO of Opera Software, will drive Opay’s international market expansion; James Perry previously served as a Managing Director at Citigroup, with over 25 years of experience in investment banking and financial management.
Opay stated that this management upgrade integrates senior expertise in strategy, globalization, operations, and finance, forming a strong leadership synergy.
Yahui Zhou has set a goal for OPay to achieve 100 million daily active users by 2030, which not only reflects the company’s development ambition but also demonstrates its continued commitment to future social value.
On the streets of Nigeria, OPay’s green signage has become an indispensable part of daily life. From small-scale transfers in vegetable markets to remittance services in remote areas, the digital financial network established by OPay is gradually breaking down the geographical and economic barriers of traditional finance.
On the African continent, every touch of payment at the fingertips of millions of users silently validates the foresight of this Chinese entrepreneur. Yahui Zhou used to work 14 to 15 hours a day, with the goal of standing shoulder to shoulder with the young entrepreneurs who started businesses together in Wudaokou: Zhang Yiming, Wang Xing, Su Hua, and others.
The words hanging high at the entrance of his office have become a reality: “Together with like-minded people, create products that can change the world.
Contact Info:
Name: Bob
Email: Send Email
Organization: Opay
Website: https://www.opayweb.com/
Release ID: 89182882
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