Nigeria’s OPay has paused some of its services due to a tough business environment. Ride-Hailing, one of the super app’s vertical has taken a hit, following the pandemic and the lockdown. Earlier, the government of Lagos 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, ” reads an OPay statement.
The company statement reveals that the firm foresaw a heavy impact in its ride-sharing vertical, and therefore “took preemptive steps to restructure [the] business focus away from rides.”
SEE ALSO: OPay Launches A Ride-Hailing Platform “OCar” After Series B Funding
https://twitter.com/OPay_NG/status/1278650469364248576/photo/1
Ridesharing is just one of the verticals of the company. The Opera platform runs a B2C e-commerce App dubbed OMall, a B2B commerce platform OTrade, food delivery services through OFood, and logistics delivery though OExpress.
“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. In fact, [the company] had been investing more and seeing accelerated growth in its commitment to Nigeria’s financial and technology inclusion.”
OPay to Continue Payments Services
The company will continue to offer payment services. The decision to continue its payment services despite shutting down the rest of its services stems from the high demand for financial services in Nigeria. In 2020 Q1, OPay recorded a 44% growth in the value of online and offline transactions.
Further, the company will also continue to grow and operate its eCommerce space, through OMall and OTrade,
