👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – OPay to NGX?

OPay, the Nigeria-focused fintech famous for its lightning-speed transfers and green army of point-of-sale (PoS) devices, has spent months preparing for a big debut on the American capital market. Now, in a slightly unexpected turn, the company may also be preparing to sell shares to investors back home through the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). It is unclear whether OPay could list exclusively in Nigeria or pursue a dual listing. 

What happened? According to local publication Nairametrics, OPay could be planning to list its shares on the NGX, though the company has not officially confirmed the plans. The timing, size of the offer, and number of shares it could sell are still unknown.

Explain like I’m new here: In May, Bloomberg reported that OPay was planning a US public listing, seeking a valuation of $4 billion. At the end of 2025, Opera, one of its key investors, held a 9.5% stake in OPay which was worth $294.6 million, implying a $3.10 billion valuation. At the end of Q2 2026, that investment had grown to $300.9 million in fair-value gain, showing that OPay’s valuation has ticked up slightly to $3.17 billion. If the $4 billion valuation ask goes according to plan, OPay’s listing would considerably grow its current $3.17 billion worth.

Sugar rush? The fintech’s performance is also drawing investor and potential stakeholder interest. In August, Bloomberg reported that Standard Group, South Africa’s largest lender, was in talks to acquire an OPay stake before it goes public. Temi Popoola, chief executive officer of NGX, earlier this month urged the Nigerian President to require Nigerian fintechs to list on the stock exchange, pointing out that companies such as OPay and PalmPay, which operate mainly in Nigeria, are considering foreign public listings. However, it is too soon to know whether that appeal affected OPay’s plans, especially without the fintech explicitly confirming its reported plans to list on the NGX.

Why the NGX might look interesting: In the first seven months of 2026, the NGX’s All-Share Index (which tracks the performance of NGX-listed stocks) rose by 57%. By the end of July, the total value of those companies jumped by ₦58.9 trillion ($43.8 billion) to ₦158.2 trillion ($117.8 billion). The surge and strong NGX performance could convince fintechs such as OPay that there is deep market participation and local capital to tap if they look in that direction.