Chinese-backed fintech player OPay has reportedly shut down its venture across all verticals in Nigeria, given the notorious effect of the covid-19 pandemic.
The company though, said it was “pausing” its business in reaction to the negative outlook of the investment since its entry into the Nigerian space.
But analysts have speculated that this might be an eventual, humble goodbye to the market as the company, in just a short period operating in Nigeria, has been struggling to keep its head above water without success.
Recall that Opay has had to deal with the ban of its bike-hailing venture in Lagos, Opay’s biggest market, when the Sanwo-Olu led administration pulled the plug on bike transportation, arguing that bikes as a means of transport wasn’t in Lagos’ master plan.
Hence, coupled with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Opay, like many other businesses, has been displaced financially, and, perhaps, prefers to sink its own ship at this point.
Consequently, its ORide, OTrike, OMall and OTrade including OExpress and OFood will cease to operate, as the once disruptive company bows to economic pressure.
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According to Opay, its string of motorcycles diverted into logistics will equally be retrieved from the market.
However, the Chinese-backed company noted that shutting down the venture was in a bid to restructure its business framework.
“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. This is largely due to the harsh business conditions which have affected many Nigerian companies, including ours, during this COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown, and government ban,” Opay submitted.
There are other speculations that Opay will drift off from the bike and car venture to concentrate primarily on financial services. And, perhaps, find other African countries to deploy its ride-hailing business into.
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