Former FCMB Director, Olu Akanmu Becomes Opay co-CEO

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Olu Akanmu
Former FCMB Director, Olu Akanmu Becomes Opay co-CEO

Chinese-owned African fintech startup, OPay, has announced the appointment of former FCMB Executive Director for Retail Banking, Olu Akanmu as the new president/Co-CEO for its Nigerian division.

According to the company, Olu Akanmu will work alongside the current leadership team to guide Opay Nigeria towards attaining all of the company’s goals and objectives.

Olu Akanmu, who has a previous background in the banking and telecommunications sectors, brings more than 20 years of corporate leadership to this role.

All You Need To Know About Olu Akanmu

Before his appointment Olu Akanmu had held the position of Executive Director for Retail Banking at FCMB for more than eight years.

Prior to this role, he had also held the position of senior vice president/Divisional head of retail banking at the same FCMB.

His background in the Nigerian banking sector may provide him with an advantage in leading the fintech firm, but he also has extensive experience in the Nigerian telecommunication services industry.

According to his impressive employment record, he had been the chief marketing officer for Airtel Nigeria, a position he held briefly between 2012 and 2013.

His immersion into this role was just shortly after he moved on from a five-year experience as the managing director for retail and consumer banking at the now-defunct Bank PHB.

He had also, for more than five years, held the position of General Manager for consumer marketing at MTN, shortly after leaving Insights Communication as their client service director.

Olu Akanmu has a rich educational background that spans many years within and beyond the shores of the country. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He also bagged an MBA from Lagos State University.

He had also attended the University of Witwatersrand and Edinburgh Business School, where he achieved a distinction in the Management Advancement Program and a post-graduate certificate in Business Research, respectively.

What You Should Know About OPay

OPay is one of Africa’s fintech unicorns, joining billion dollar companies like Flutterwave, Jumia, Interswitch and Fawry.

OPay raised $400 million in a fresh funding round. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the fundraising round, which valued the company at $2 billion.

OPay used to provide ride-hailing and logistics services across Nigeria before being forced to close due to a government ban. The company’s mobile money service, which has a network of agents and serves Nigeria’s unbanked and underbanked, is currently the most popular.

OPay’s monthly transactions increased 4.5 times to over $2 billion in December of last year, according to parent firm Opera. OPay also claims to handle around 80% of bank transfers among Nigerian mobile money providers and 20% of non-merchant point-of-sale transactions.