SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2’s first investment in Africa is set to help the mobile payment app expand its reach.
Nigeria-based mobile payments platform developer OPay has closed a $400m funding round led by telecommunication and internet group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, valuing the company at $2bn, according to Bloomberg.
SoftBank Ventures Asia, another vehicle for SoftBank, also took part in the round, as did DragonBall Capital, the investment arm of local services platform Meituan.
Sequoia Capital China, Redpoint China, Source Code Capital and 3W Capital filled out the round.
Spun off from web browser developer Opera in 2018, OPay provides a suite of fintech services to users, targeting underbanked customers and allowing them to make payments, transfer money and have savings through the mobile platform.
Currently, its monthly transaction volume is more than $3bn as it looks to expand into other markets in Africa and the Middle East.
The firm secured $50m in series A funding round in July 2019 led by Opera, Meituan (then known as Meituan-Dianping), IDG Capital, Source Code Capital, Sequoia Capital China and GSR Ventures.
In November 2019, Meituan, SoftBank Ventures Asia and Bertelsmann Asia Investments, a vehicle for media group Bertelsmann, contributed to a $120m series B round that also featured Gaorong Capital, Sequoia, GSR Ventures, Source Code Capital, Redpoint Ventures and IDG Capital.
While SoftBank had already invested in OPay’s previous raises through SoftBank Ventures Asia, the latest round marks the first investment in Africa for Vision Fund 2.
Kentaro Matsui, managing director of SoftBank Investment Advisers, which manages Vision Fund 2, said: “We believe our investment will help the company extend its offering to adjacent markets and replicate its successful business model in Egypt and other countries in the region.”

Fernando Moncada Rivera
Fernando Moncada Rivera is a reporter at Global Corporate Venturing and also host of the CVC Unplugged podcast.