Africa-focused fintech OPay has seen its valuation rise to $2.75 billion, according to recent regulatory filings from its minority investor, Opera Limited. While the valuation increase is notable, the filings also reveal a sharp slowdown in unrealised fair value gains.
Opera Limited, an early investor in OPay, owns 9.4% of the company, with its stake valued at $258.3 million in 2024, up slightly from $253.3 million in 2023. The filings indicate that Opera’s unrealised fair value gains from its OPay investment were $89.8 million in 2023. However, this figure dropped significantly to just $5 million in 2024, signalling a marked deceleration in the growth of OPay’s market value.
This slowdown in growth mirrors the broader challenges faced by the global fintech ecosystem, particularly in the wake of a contraction in venture funding. High-profile fintechs like Klarna have experienced significant valuation cuts.
Klarna’s valuation fell 85% from a peak of $45.6 billion to $6.7 billion in 2023 as investors became more cautious amid rising interest rates and economic uncertainty.
Despite these global headwinds, OPay’s ability to not only maintain but also slightly increase its valuation from its 2021 peak of $2 billion is a testament to continued investor confidence.
At its last funding round in 2021, OPay raised $400 million from investors, including SoftBank and Sequoia, which boosted its valuation to $2 billion. Since then, the fintech has expanded its customer base substantially, reportedly now serving 50 million users across multiple African countries. This growing user base, coupled with OPay’s continued expansion into new verticals such as payments, loans, and insurance, has likely contributed to the sustained investor interest.
While the growth rate has slowed, OPay’s ability to hold its valuation and even see modest increases suggests that investors still see potential in the company’s long-term strategy and market position. As global venture funding remains cautious, OPay’s ability to maintain investor trust could signal a more stable future, particularly in Africa’s digital economy.
Whether OPay can continue to defy the global trend of valuation slashes remains to be seen, but its strong user base, diversified product offerings, and investor confidence position it as one of the more stable players in the fintech space.
