UPDATE: OPay confirms shutdown of ORide, OExpress, OCar, says payment, e-commerce businesses to remain

OPay blames tough operating environment for shutdown of ORide, others

Fintech startup, OPay has confirmed our earlier report that it is shutting down all services (Oride, OCar, OExpress) in Nigeria excluding its payments unit.

It has however clarified that its ecommerce units – the OMall and OTrade – will remain alongside the digital payment business.

In a statement made available to Nigerian Today on Thursday, the Chinese-backed startup blamed the decision “to the harsh business conditions which have affected many Nigerian companies, including ours, during this COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown, and government ban”.

The statement further read: “Globally, ride-sharing businesses have been heavily impacted by the pandemic. But several months ago, foreseeing this issue, OPay had already taken preemptive steps to restructure our business focus away from rides. It is worthy to note that this final restructuring has minimal impact on OPay as a whole business.

Also, read WARNING: Don’t copy Silicon Valley startups, many of them didn’t even survive the 6-weeks’ COVID-19 lockdown!

“It is important to clarify that ride-sharing had always been only one part, and not a major part of OPay’s diversified business in Nigeria. In fact, OPay had been investing more and seeing accelerated growth in its commitment to Nigeria’s financial and technology inclusion. During the pandemic, we have seen continued demand for our offline mobile money agency, and online digital payment, which remains the core of our business.

“From January to April 2020 for example, we witnessed a 44% growth of offline and online transaction value even in the midst of pandemic and lockdown. This is a testament to the high demand for flexible and easy financial services by Nigerians. OPay remains one of the most well-funded and profitable mobile money platforms in Nigeria, and we will continue to do more for our customers.”

It added: “Lastly, OPay will continue to invest in and grow in the eCommerce space, aligning its customer and business eCommerce units which will continue to operate and grow. We believe a financial platform coupled with the goods’ platform will form the future of Nigeria’s technology development.”