The president and Co-CEO of Opay Nigeria, Olu Akanmu, has stepped down from his position, after two years at the fintech company.
Mr. Akanmu’s resignation is coming amid the celebration of Opay’s fifth anniversary in Nigeria.
While appreciating stakeholders for their support during his tenure as Opay CEO, Akanmu specifically challenged the fintech community in Nigeria to deepen financial inclusion.
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Announcing his resignation via a post on LinkedIn, Akanmu wrote,
“End of a Chapter. Moving on to New Ones: My Gratitude to all my colleagues at Opay for the good work we did together in deepening #financialinclusion in Nigeria, ensuring that fewer and less number of our people are left behind in partaking out of the opportunities of the #digital financial system.
“Many thanks also to all our #ecosystem partners and enablers who complimented us, without which we would not have been able to deliver on the lofty mission of OPay which is to “deepen financial inclusion through technology. Yet there is still so much to be done collectively by us all to ensure that no one is left behind by the modern digital financial system.
“The lesson of the cashless or limited Cash period earlier in the year is that millions are not yet included despite the progress we have made collectively as an #ecosystem. For the Nigeria Fintech community, the imperative of ensuring that we serve not only the banked and underserved, but also the completely excluded which still represents at least 45% of our people should be our collective and greater patriotic mission, complementing the historic efforts of traditional players.
“Collaborations, public-private partnerships, and more deliberate coordination at the digital public infrastructure (#dpi) ecosystem layers, would be critical to ensure we succeed in doing the next heavy lifting to extend the digital financial rail to the next 20 million. The good work of a more inclusive #society where everyone can fulfill their God-given potential and prosperity becomes more widely shared continues.”
Akanmu was appointed as the CEO of Opay in 2021, to guide the company towards attaining all of its goals and objectives. His background in the banking sector provided him with the advantage to lead the fintech firm, which saw him perform exceptionally.
Under his watch, Opay recorded impressive growth, especially during the Naira shortage in the country, which saw the fintech app as one of the most downloaded digital banks in Nigeria in 2023, thanks to the cash crunch and failure of traditional banks.
Akanmu is a seasoned commercial executive with a wide range of expertise at high levels in consumer products, manufacturing, healthcare, telecommunications, and financial services.
Best wishes in his endeavors.