OPay, an African mobile financial services provider trading under the ticker OPAY, has updated its prospectus as it prepares to list on the New York Stock Exchange, a move that would bring one of Africa's most prominent fintech platforms to U.S. public markets.
OPay's functions overlap with those of Alipay, and the company is often described as Africa's answer to Alipay. The company has set a price range of $19 to $21 per ADS and plans to issue 16 million American Depositary Shares, aiming to raise up to $336 million. At the top of that range, OPay's valuation would exceed $4 billion.
OPay intends to use the proceeds from the IPO and a concurrent private placement to invest in technology, expand its distribution network and market coverage, develop new products, and pursue potential acquisitions and strategic investment opportunities.
The driving force behind OPay is Zhou Yahui, founder of Kunlun Wanwei, who was once a highly visible figure in China's internet scene before fading from public view in recent years. Zhou's logic for building overseas companies drew from Renren founder Chen Yizhou, though Zhou ultimately surpassed his mentor in overseas expansion and stands as a leading example of Chinese entrepreneurs going global.
Cornerstone investors commit up to $270 million
Multiple cornerstone investors have expressed non-binding intentions to subscribe for ADSs in the offering at the IPO price, with total commitments of up to $270 million.
Among them, RWC Asset Management LLP and RWC Asset Advisors (US) LLC, together known as the Redwheel Group, have committed up to $50 million. Coronation Africa Frontiers Fund, acting through its discretionary investment manager Coronation Investment Management International (Pty) Ltd, has committed up to $50 million. Sundt AS has committed up to $30 million, while Ludvig Lorentzen AS has committed up to $20 million. SCC Foresight Ventures Ltd. and its affiliates, both connected to existing shareholder SCC Entities, have committed up to $30 million. Ninety One Asia Pte. Limited has committed up to $30 million. 3W Fund Management Limited, investment manager for one of the company's existing shareholders, has committed up to $30 million. SBVA, formerly SoftBank Ventures Asia and an existing shareholder, has committed up to $20 million. NGS Super Pty Limited, as trustee of NGS Super, has committed up to $10 million.
Nearly a decade in African fintech with a Chinese heavyweight behind it
OPay describes itself as a digital financial platform built specifically to address the challenges of emerging markets. The company leverages technology to advance financial inclusion, providing fast, reliable, and secure financial services to millions of consumers and businesses.
Citing Frost & Sullivan data, OPay ranked first among finance apps in Africa and the Middle East by monthly active users for the six months ended June 30, 2026, with a 9.9% market share.
Headquartered in Nigeria, the sixth most populous country in the world, OPay operates in what has become one of Africa's leading fintech markets, a market that has produced companies including Moniepoint, Flutterwave, and Interswitch.
Yet while OPay is an African company, it carries Chinese DNA, with Kunlun Wanwei founder Zhou Yahui as its chief architect. Zhou is a celebrated figure in China's internet industry who worked at Renren in his early years, built his fortune on web and online games starting in 2008, and led Kunlun Wanwei to a listing on China's ChiNext board in 2015.
He subsequently invested in or acquired a string of companies including Opera, Qudian, Inke, Dada, Grindr, Xianlai Interactive Entertainment, and Mobisocial, profiting handsomely from his Qudian investment and once writing an extensive investment journal.
In 2016, a consortium led by Zhou spent approximately $575 million to acquire Norwegian browser maker Opera and took it public on the Nasdaq in late July 2018. During Opera's U.S. listing period, Lei Jianping, founder of Leidi.com, personally traveled to New York to witness the event and spoke with Zhou. At the time, Zhou said Africa's population was growing explosively and expressed hope that Africa would become a hotspot within a decade, adding that Kunlun was willing to pursue entrepreneurship there.
Zhou even planned to take invested projects such as Grindr and Xianlai Interactive Entertainment public through spin-offs, allowing their leaders to serve as CEOs of listed companies. As the world's largest LGBTQ social platform, Grindr completed a merger with special purpose acquisition company Tiga Acquisition Corp in November 2022 and listed on the NYSE at a valuation of $6 billion at the time, though by then it had already parted ways with Zhou.
Grindr and Kunlun Wanwei share a deep history. In January 2016, Kunlun Wanwei invested $93 million in Grindr for a 60% stake. In January 2018, Kunlun Wanwei went further, paying $152 million to acquire a 38.47% stake from Grindr shareholder Grindr Holding Company. Under Kunlun Wanwei's management, Grindr's business thrived. But amid concerns over threats to U.S. national security, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States required Kunlun Wanwei to divest Grindr. Ultimately, in June 2020, Kunlun Wanwei sold Grindr for $620 million.
Xianlai Interactive Entertainment was originally Kunlun Wanwei's cash cow business, but as Kunlun Wanwei focused on AI in recent years, it sold its Xianlai Interactive Entertainment stake for 750 million yuan in July 2026.
OPay is a product of Kunlun Wanwei's acquisition of Opera. At the time, Opera's parent company acquired an established Nigerian telecom payment technology company called Paycom, which had engaged with Nigeria's central bank to explore financial inclusion solutions and held valuable mobile payment and agent banking licenses, laying the foundation for what would become OPay.
In May 2019, OPay completed a $50 million fundraising round with major investors including Sequoia China, IDG Capital, and Source Code Capital, as well as founder Opera. In November 2019, OPay raised another $120 million from investors including SoftBank Asia, Gaorong Capital, Bertelsmann Asia Investments, and Redpoint Ventures.
First-half revenue of $467 million, more than half from lending
OPay launched two rounds of motorcycle ride-hailing services and a food delivery platform in 2019, and also experimented with car ride-hailing and same-city express delivery, aiming to rapidly capture market mindshare through heavy passenger subsidies.
But facing challenges from Africa's policy environment, OPay ultimately halted its motorcycle ride-hailing, car ride-hailing, and express delivery non-core financial businesses in July 2020, redirecting all limited energy and capital back to its digital wallet and financial payment foundation, making the business resemble today's Ant Group.
As of March 31, 2026, OPay had 50 million monthly active users. The prospectus shows that OPay's revenue was $205 million in 2024 and $536 million in 2025, with operating profit of -$35.1 million and $107 million, respectively, and net profit of -$50.83 million and $72.47 million.
In the first half of 2026, OPay generated $467 million in revenue and $131 million in net profit, with net income of $90.87 million. Of that, transaction-based service revenue was $130 million in the first half of 2026, loan financing service revenue was $236 million, accounting for 51% of total revenue, loan facilitation service revenue was $41.57 million, and interest income from short-term investments was $50.59 million.
OPay's revenue comes primarily from Nigeria, which contributed $417 million, or 89.5%, in the first half of 2026. Indonesia contributed $41.74 million, or 8.9%, Egypt contributed $5.29 million, or 1.1%, and other markets contributed $2.42 million, or 0.5%.
OPay's EBITDA was $133 million in the first half of 2026, with adjusted EBITDA of $135 million.
SoftBank and IDG among shareholders
Currently, Zhou Yahui serves as OPay's non-executive chairman, Lars Rahbaek Boilesen is executive director and co-chief executive officer, Stephen Wen is co-chief executive officer, chief operating officer, and executive director nominee, James Arthur Perry Jr is CFO, and Adedotun Daniel Adekunle is CTO.
Before the IPO, Zhou Yahui held 21.3%, Lars Rahbaek Boilesen held 2.2%, Stephen Wen held 3.8%, AFintronic Limited held 13.9%, OPay Tech held 10.1%, and Opera held 8.6%. Bloom Haven held 9.1%, Bright Holding held 7.4%, SoftBank held 6.6%, SCC Entities held 6.1%, and IDG Entities held 6%.
After the IPO, Zhou Yahui will hold 18.7%, Lars Rahbaek Boilesen 1.9%, Stephen Wen 3.4%, AFintronic Limited 12.2%, OPay Tech 8.9%, and Opera 7.6%. Bloom Haven will hold 8%, Bright Holding 6.5%, SoftBank 5.8%, and SCC and IDG 5.3% each.
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