OPay shuts down ORide, OCar, others in Nigeria

Popular Chinese-owned African fintech startup, OPay, has announced it is suspending some of its Nigerian operations including ORide, OCar, and OExpress, excluding its payment operation, Opay.

In a statement on Thursday, the company said it is pausing some of its operations “due to the harsh business conditions which have affected many Nigerian companies, including ours, during this COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown and the government ban.”

According to a statement issued by the company, Opay attributed the demise of the business units to “the harsh business conditions which have affected many Nigerian Companies”, the COVID-a9 Pandemic, the Lockdown, and the Lagos State Government ban on motorcycles.

A Statement From OPay. pic.twitter.com/mjvsKle6yH

— OPay (@OPay_NG) July 2, 2020

The decision follows a memo sent by OPay’s investors to the Nigerian team yesterday directing all other verticals but payments to shut down operations and all the Chinese expatriate workers to return to China as soon as possible.

The Nigerian team is said to have already set up a team tasked with the recovery of all the ORide motorcycles on the road.