The dual-market strategy is designed to address a significant gap in Nigeria’s capital markets: the ability for domestic investors to own shares in large technology firms that generate substantial revenue locally but list primarily overseas. OPay reported that Nigeria accounted for 89.5% of its total revenue in the first half of 2026, amounting to $417.6 million. For the full year 2025, the Nigerian business contributed approximately $472.6 million, representing about 88.1% of the group’s total revenue. By listing on the NGX, OPay intends to provide a direct investment channel for Nigerian pension funds, asset managers, and individual shareholders.
The company is targeting a valuation of approximately $4 billion in its US offering, where it has applied to list American Depositary Shares (ADSs) under the ticker symbol OPAY. The US IPO remains subject to final exchange approval and other regulatory requirements. OPay has appointed Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and JPMorgan Chase to manage the offering. Additionally, Stanbic Africa Holdings Limited has agreed to purchase OPay ordinary shares in a private placement valued at $200 million, which will constitute 4.99% of the total ordinary shares issued by the company.
Financial performance underpinning the listing ambitions has shown significant growth. OPay reported revenue of $467.1 million in the first half of 2026, more than double the $197.5 million generated in the same period a year earlier. Net income rose to $90.9 million from $21.7 million. For the fiscal year 2025, the company reported $536.25 million in revenue and a net profit of $72.47 million, a sharp turnaround from a net loss of $50.83 million in 2024. The company’s payment network processed $358 billion in gross transaction value in 2025, up from $166.2 billion in 2024. Monthly active users increased by 57% to 39.3 million, while quarterly unique borrowers in Nigeria grew to 4.6 million as the company expanded its lending operations.
Despite the strategic rationale, OPay has issued significant caveats regarding the mechanics of the dual listing. The company warned that securities traded on the NGX may not be interchangeable with its NYSE-listed ADSs unless specific arrangements are established to facilitate transfers between the two markets. Without such cross-market transfer mechanisms, the Nigerian and US instruments could trade at different prices, potentially fragmenting liquidity and increasing volatility. OPay noted that there is no guarantee that the secondary listing would result in an active trading market, and the implementation of the NGX listing remains subject to prevailing market conditions, compliance with Nigerian laws, including the Investments and Securities Act of 2025, and necessary regulatory approvals from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the NGX.
The proposed listing aligns with broader efforts by the NGX to attract technology companies whose primary operations are based in Nigeria. NGX Group CEO Temi Popoola has previously called on such companies to provide domestic investors with access to the value created from local customers. While a successful listing would broaden the exchange’s technology exposure, the impact on market liquidity will depend on the number of shares offered locally and the pricing structure. The company has not yet disclosed how many shares it intends to make available on the NGX, nor has it confirmed a timeline for the local listing, which will follow the completion of the primary US offering.
Investors evaluating the $4 billion valuation will need to weigh the company’s rapid top-line growth against the competitive landscape in Nigerian payments and the complexities of managing a dual-listed structure. The upcoming US IPO will serve as the primary test of market appetite for OPay’s shares, with the secondary NGX listing contingent on that success and subsequent regulatory clearance.
