OPay, the payment app for 50 million Nigerians, targets $4.4 billion in New York

OPay Limited, the most widely used mobile payment application in Nigeria, made public the terms of its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange on October 23, 2026. The fintech is offering approximately 16 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) at between $19 and $21 each, representing a raise of up to $366 million and a valuation of as much as $4.42 billion, according to the Nigerian newspaper ThisDay, which cites the prospectus and Reuters. The final price is expected in early November 2026.

Behind these figures are, first and foremost, Nigerian merchants, drivers, and households. Founded in 2018, OPay offers payments, transfers, savings, and credit, and claims approximately 50 million monthly active users as of July 31, 2026, according to its prospectus. The group also operates in Indonesia, Egypt, and Pakistan. For the first half of 2026, it reported $467 million in revenue and $90.9 million in net profit, notes the specialized media outlet Launch Base Africa.

A Nigerian success, with capital from elsewhere

OPay was founded by Chinese billionaire Yahui Zhou, who is also behind Beijing Kunlun Tech; Opera Limited holds 8.6% of the capital, according to Launch Base Africa. In 2021, the company raised $400 million at a valuation of $2 billion. This time, Stanbic Africa Holdings, the British subsidiary of South Africa's Standard Bank, is purchasing approximately $184 million worth of shares in a simultaneous private placement, and the bank is among the four underwriters for the operation alongside Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and CICC. The public offering cannot be completed without this private placement.

7.6% of the capital, and a $1.06 billion deadline

The offering covers only about 7.6% of the company. In its filed documents, OPay itself warns that such a narrow float could reduce the stock's liquidity and increase its volatility. Launch Base Africa highlights another factor: approximately $1.06 billion in preferred shares become redeemable if no qualified listing occurs before December 31, 2027, and the group's equity was negative by $682 million in June 2026. The IPO is therefore also a financial restructuring operation.

A question remains that the continent knows well: the value created by tens of millions of daily transactions in Nigeria will be listed on Wall Street, in dollars, before American, Norwegian, and Asian investors. Nine of them have expressed interest in up to $270 million, without a firm commitment, and approximately $80 million of that sum comes from existing shareholders or their affiliates, specifies Launch Base Africa. The opening price in early November will reveal what the markets think of the largest financial application in Africa's most populous country.