OPay d & # 39; Opera still plans the expansion of Africa in Nigerian super app – TechCrunch
[ad_1]
The Opera Home Fintech Africa OPay He remains determined to create a super multiservice application in Nigeria as the basis for his expansion on the continent.
OPay also continues to operate ORide for limited passenger service, although the company is shifting its business from motorcycle transport to logistics.
Here are some of the updates that Opera offers Derrick Nueman, Vice President of Investor Relations and OPay Advisor.
I'm speaking with Heaven32 In the middle of a series of recent reports questioning OPay Nigerian strategy and speculating on his departure from certain verticals.
Related Downloads:
This is taking place against the backdrop of fierce competition between mobility and financial technology companies in the West African country. Nigeria is home to the continent's largest economy and largest population and is the main venture capital destination for African startups, from 2019.
Opera launched the OPay mobile money platform in Lagos in 2018 due to the popularity of its Internet search engine in Africa. A year later, the Norwegian company based in China has shaken the world of Nigerian startups by bringing together investors to support OPay with $ 170 million in venture capital. The scale of funding accounted for almost a fifth of all the venture capital funds raised for African startups in the previous year.
Image credits: Opera
Opera has raised its capital to work on building a wide range of Internet-based commercial products in Nigeria using OPay as financial profit.
In a 2019 prospectus, Opera described this multi-product strategy of creating the "African super application". The search for this platform has put OPay in competition with dozens of new local companies, such as the payment company. Pay and logistics adventure Max.ng – no corporate parents with deep pockets.
Opera remains committed to the super application strategy, according to Derrick Nueman. He described OPay as "glue that holds everything together and can offer all kinds of products there."
Nueman compared the approach to other models of multi-service Internet services, such as Grab or Gojek
"He takes what worked in Asia and attributes it to Africa, and to my knowledge, it remains the plan," he said.
Opera has tested several vertical services in Nigeria. So much has been a bit difficult to follow. Some like Howitzer – They've already been fired. Nueman confirmed a list of five current product offerings around Opay in Nigeria:
- OMall, a B2C e-commerce application
- OTrade, a B2B e-commerce platform
- OExpress, a logistics delivery service.
- FOOD, for delivery to the restaurant; and
- ORide, a motorcycle travel service
OPay – whose Nigerian country manager is Iniabasi Akpan – It is also evolving towards the sale of devices with Cooking pot, a mobile phone line preloaded with its applications.
Image credits: Opera
At ORide in particular, there has been speculation that motorcycle transport service will continue, especially after Lagos State in Nigeria severely restricted two-wheeled on-demand passenger services at the start of this year. Nigerian departure TechCabal reported this week that ORide was selling part of its fleet.
According to Derrick Nueman of Opera, ORide still offers limited taxi service. "On the passenger side, it continues to operate where it can." Many motorcycles are transferred to other functions within OPay. "What they did was redirect a group of their drivers to do things like delivery and logistics," said Nueman.
Several competitors of ORide, such as Max .ng and Gokada – also moved away from passenger traffic and headed for delivery logistics in response to regulatory restrictions imposed on motorcycle taxis.
Opera still plans to bring its super app model to Africa, according to Nueman. "OPay continues to search other markets. The idea is to take what has worked in Nigeria and export it, "he said.
At a launch in 2019, Opera named Ghana, South Africa and Kenya as potential growth markets.
On the expansion schedule, Nueman said it depends on getting the appropriate licenses and then evaluating the travel variables related to COVID-19 in Africa
The economic impact of the global pandemic has created uncertainty over the continent's largest economies and technology centers, such as Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, where blockade measures have limited income and start-up operations.
According to various accounts, Nigeria is already in headed for another recession because of the economic downturn and lower global demand for oil.
In OPay's plans to get through a turbulent economic environment in its main market, Nueman of Opera points to the company's venture capital coffers.
"At a high level, if you don't need capital or if you are well funded, you are ahead," he said.
Nueman also highlighted the growth in OPay's payment volume. "Between January and April … the volume of offline and online transactions increased by 44%. So even at the close, it is doing very well."
Where does the Opera adventure in Africa place this in the competitive scene of Nigerian startups? The pull on the payment volume is obviously a good sign for the company. However, the recession and small movements could hamper OPay's activities in Nigeria as competitors.
Having more capital and the ability to withstand a higher burn rate places OPay in a solid position compared to other startups. But it will take longer to determine if OPay can align its super-app products with the preferences of local consumers (or better) than the offerings of local tech companies.
As demonstrated in other marketsNot all VCs in the world will necessarily buy market-appropriate products.