This archive report was first published on 3 July 2020.
July 3, 2020, marked a significant day for OPay in Nigeria as the company announced the pause of some of its services due to a challenging business environment.
One of the verticals that have taken a hit is the ride-hailing service, ORide, which was launched after OPay secured Series B funding. The government of Lagos had earlier instituted a ban on motorcycles on major roads in the state, leaving only delivery bikes on the road following safety concerns.
"We can confirm that some of our business units, including the ride-hailing services, ORide, Ocar, as well as our logistics service OExpress, will be put on pause," OPay stated in a recent announcement.
According to the company, it foresaw a heavy impact in its ride-sharing vertical and therefore took preemptive steps to restructure its business focus away from rides.
OPay's diversified business in Nigeria includes a B2C e-commerce App, OMall, a B2B commerce platform, OTrade, food delivery services through OFood, and logistics delivery through OExpress.
"It is essential 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, [the company] had been investing more and seeing accelerated growth in its commitment to Nigeria's financial and technology inclusion," the company clarified.
Despite pausing some of its services, OPay will continue to offer payment services, which have seen high demand in the country. In Q1 2020, OPay recorded a 44% growth in the value of online and offline transactions.
