Opay Nigeria announced this afternoon that it would be shutting down some of its business units (for now) to focus only on financial technology services.
A press statement by the company, basically blamed the development on the Coronavirus pandemic, as well as a recent regulation by the Lagos State Government which banned commercial motorcycles across much of the Lagos metropolitan area.
The business units that have been put on hold by the company include all its ride-hailing platforms (ORide and OCar), as well as OExpress, its delivery business.
“Globally, ride-sharing businesses have been heavily impacted by the pandemic,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
“But several months ago, foreseeing this issue, OPay had already taken steps to restructure our business focus away from rides.”
The Chinese owned company said it has invested in and enjoying “accelerated growth” and demand for its “offline mobile money agency, and online digital payment.”
“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, I fact, Opay had been investing more and seeing accelerated growth in its commitment to Nigeria’s financial and technology inclusion,” the company explained.
As a full-grown fintech firm and already a major player in the space, Opay will now continue to compete with the likes of Paga, Paystack, and even Flutterwave.
