OPay is preparing to extend its stock market ambitions to Nigeria after securing board and shareholder approval for a potential secondary listing on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), a move that could give domestic investors access to ownership in one of the country’s largest digital payment businesses.
The proposed Nigerian listing would follow the company’s planned initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), where it has applied to trade under the ticker symbol OPAY.
The arrangement would allow OPay to establish a presence in the United States capital market before potentially making its shares available to investors through Nigeria’s domestic exchange.
The company disclosed the decision in a Form F-1 registration statement filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on October 9, 2026.
However, the Nigerian listing is not yet approved by local capital-market regulators, and the company has not announced a date for the proposed transaction.
Its implementation will depend on the completion of the US offering, prevailing market conditions, applicable Nigerian securities regulations and the necessary exchange approvals.
The development is significant for Nigeria’s capital market because OPay generates most of its revenue from Nigerian operations, while its proposed primary public listing is taking place overseas.
According to the company’s US regulatory filing, Nigeria contributed approximately $472.6 million to OPay’s revenue in 2025, accounting for about 88.1 percent of the group’s total revenue.
The Nigerian business generated another $417.6 million during the first six months of 2026, representing approximately 89.5 percent of group revenue for the period.
These figures underline the importance of Nigeria to OPay’s commercial performance and raise a broader question about where investors can participate in the financial growth of major technology companies operating in the country.
Although Nigerian consumers and businesses account for much of OPay’s transaction activity, the company’s proposed international listing would initially provide access through the American securities market.
A subsequent NGX listing could create an additional investment channel for Nigerian pension funds, asset managers, institutional investors and individual shareholders.
It could also introduce a major financial technology business into a domestic stock market historically dominated by banking, telecommunications, industrial and consumer goods companies.
OPay’s financial performance provides an important backdrop to the proposed transactions.
The company reported revenue of approximately $536.3 million in 2025, compared with $205.7 million in 2024, indicating substantial growth in its payments and related financial services businesses.
It also returned to profitability, recording net income of approximately $72.5 million in 2025 after a loss of about $51 million in the preceding year.
The improvement came alongside higher transaction activity and expansion in its customer base.
As of July 31, 2026, OPay reported approximately 50.1 million monthly active users and 26.8 million daily active users across its operations.
The scale of its customer base highlights the company’s importance in digital payments, particularly in markets where mobile financial services are becoming an increasingly important alternative to traditional banking channels.
However, the proposed public offering also introduces questions about valuation and the rights available to investors in different markets.
OPay has reportedly been associated with a potential valuation of approximately $4 billion, although the final valuation will depend on the pricing and structure of the US offering.
Its preliminary registration statement does not yet establish the final number of American Depositary Shares to be sold or the offer price.
Consequently, the reported valuation should not be treated as a confirmed market capitalisation.
The distinction is particularly important because the planned US transaction involves American Depositary Shares representing ordinary shares in OPay Limited.
The company is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and maintains its principal executive offices in Singapore, even though Nigeria is its largest revenue market.
A secondary listing on the NGX would therefore require arrangements that comply with Nigerian securities laws while reflecting the ownership structure of the internationally incorporated parent company.
One of the most consequential issues disclosed in OPay’s filing concerns the relationship between shares traded in Nigeria and securities listed in the United States.
The company warned that shares traded on the NGX might not be directly interchangeable with American Depositary Shares on the NYSE unless arrangements are established to facilitate transfers between the two markets.
Without such arrangements, investors could face differences in share prices and trading liquidity across the exchanges.
That possibility is important because two listings representing economic interests in the same business do not necessarily provide identical trading conditions.
Currency differences, market participation, settlement arrangements and restrictions on transferring securities can affect how efficiently prices align.
For Nigerian investors, the eventual structure of the proposed listing will therefore be as important as the opportunity to buy shares.
The company will need to clarify whether it intends to offer existing shares, issue additional securities or use another approved mechanism to establish a local trading market.
Each approach could have different implications for capital raising, shareholder dilution and the availability of shares to domestic investors.
The timing of the Nigerian transaction also remains uncertain.
OPay has indicated that the secondary listing would follow its primary NYSE listing, making the completion of the American offering an important condition for the next stage of its capital-market plans.
The US IPO itself remains subject to regulatory and exchange requirements, and the preliminary prospectus does not constitute confirmation that shares have already been offered or sold to the public.
The proposed transaction also comes alongside a planned investment by Stanbic Africa Holdings Limited.
According to the US filing, Stanbic Africa has agreed to subscribe for OPay ordinary shares through a private placement connected to the completion of the offering, subject to specified conditions and investment limits.
The potential subscription is capped at the lowest of $200 million, an amount linked to Standard Bank Group’s qualifying regulatory capital, or the value corresponding to 4.99 percent of OPay’s issued ordinary shares under the transaction’s pricing formula.
The arrangement indicates institutional interest in the fintech’s growth, although the eventual subscription amount will depend on the final offering terms.
For the Nigerian Exchange, a successful OPay listing could strengthen efforts to attract large technology companies whose commercial activities are concentrated in Nigeria but whose ownership and financing structures are international.
It could also broaden the range of sectors available to domestic equity investors.
Nevertheless, the financial benefits of a local listing will depend on the quantity of shares made available, the company’s valuation, trading liquidity and the protections afforded to investors.
A listing that makes only a limited number of shares available could provide market visibility without necessarily creating substantial opportunities for broad domestic ownership.
Conversely, a sufficiently liquid local market could allow Nigerian investors to participate more directly in the financial performance of a company whose services are widely used across the country.
The planned NGX listing is therefore more than an additional step in OPay’s international capital-raising strategy.
It represents a potential connection between Nigeria’s expanding digital financial services industry and the domestic investment market.
Whether that connection becomes commercially meaningful will depend on the final transaction structure, regulatory approvals and the terms on which Nigerian investors are allowed to participate.
Until those details are disclosed, OPay’s NGX ambition remains a proposed secondary listing rather than a completed capital-market transaction.
