Africa’s 10 Biggest Financial Services IPOs, and Where OPay Lands
OPay prices its New York IPO this week. We ranked every major African financial services listing since 2006, tracked how hungry investors were, and mapped where the Nigerian fintech fits.
OPay is about to test what public investors will pay for Nigerian fintech. The SoftBank-backed company is selling 16 million American Depositary Shares at $19 to $21 each, raising up to $336 million on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker OPAY.
Nine investors have already indicated demand for up to $270 million of the offer. Standard Bank’s Stanbic Africa is buying up to $200 million of new shares in a separate private placement that closes alongside the IPO.
To put the deal in context, we ranked Africa’s largest financial services IPOs of the past 20 years. The list includes mobile money, fintech, banking and asset management listings. It excludes telecom operators, unless mobile money defines the business.
The rankingAfrica’s top 10 financial services IPOs, 2006–2026
Deals are ranked by the value of shares sold at the IPO price, converted to US dollars at the exchange rate of the time. Oversubscription figures appear only where the exchange, company or bookrunner published an exact number.
Ranked by value of shares sold
OPay shown at the top of its proposed range, pending final pricing
| # | Company | Exchange · Year | Value of shares sold | Oversubscribed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SafaricomKenya · Mobile money (M-Pesa) | Nairobi · 2008 | ~$806m KSh 50bn |
532% |
| 2 | Airtel MoneyPan-African · Mobile money | London · 2026 | ~$703m £529m base offer |
Not published |
| 3 | e-financeEgypt · Digital payments | Cairo · 2021 | ~$372m EGP 5.84bn |
10.2x overall Retail 61.4x · Institutional 6.8x |
| 4 | OptasiaSouth Africa · AI lending | Johannesburg · 2025 | $345m–$375m R6.5bn |
Not published |
| 5 | Alexander ForbesSouth Africa · Retirement & asset management | Johannesburg · 2014 | ~$347m R3.7bn |
Not published |
| NEXT | OPay PendingNigeria-focused · Payments & lending | New York · 2026 | Up to $336m 16m ADSs at $19–$21 |
$270m indicated before pricing |
| 6 | MNT-HalanEgypt · Consumer & microfinance lending | Cairo · 2026 | ~$150m EGP 7.84bn |
~16x total demand Institutional book 11x |
| 7 | FawryEgypt · E-payments | Cairo · 2019 | $97m–$100m EGP 1.6bn |
30x retail Institutional 15.9x |
| 8 | OragroupTogo · Pan-African banking | BRVM, Abidjan · 2019 | ~$98m CFAF 56.92bn |
Not published |
| 9 | CI CapitalEgypt · Investment banking | Cairo · 2018 | ~$96m EGP 1.7bn |
29.5x retail Institutional 6.1x |
| 10 | Transaction CapitalSouth Africa · Specialist credit | Johannesburg · 2012 | ~$85m R712m |
Not published |
The patternsWhat the numbers show
Mobile money owns the top
Safaricom and Airtel Money sold about $1.5bn in shares between them, nearly half the top 10’s total. No bank or pure fintech comes close.
Cairo runs the hottest books
Four of the five published oversubscription figures come from Egypt. Retail tranches there are small, so they fill 30 times over or more.
Sellers took most of the money
At least seven of the ten were fully or mostly secondary sales. Governments, parents and private equity funds cashed out. The companies themselves received little or nothing.
Banks barely feature
Oragroup is the only bank on the list. African banks raise equity through rights issues instead. Nigerian lenders raised ₦4.61 trillion ($3.33bn) in their recapitalisation drive, more than all ten IPOs combined, without a single new listing.
Hot order books don’t guarantee a strong debut. Airtel Money was several times oversubscribed, yet traded at 181p against its 196p offer price when unconditional dealing began.
SpotlightWhat OPay brings to the table
OPay · NYSE: OPAY
OPay breaks the pattern in four ways.
- It raises money for growth, not an exit. The 16 million ADSs are new shares, so the proceeds go to the company. At the midpoint, OPay expects about $474.6 million in net proceeds from the IPO and the Stanbic placement combined.
- It would carry the list’s second-highest valuation. At $4.2 billion to $4.42 billion, only Airtel Money’s $7 billion sits higher. That is more than double the $2 billion valuation from OPay’s $400 million raise in 2021.
- It would set a New York record for African tech. Jumia raised $196 million on the NYSE in 2019. Even at the bottom of its range, OPay would raise more.
- It gives Nigerians a way in. OPay’s board and shareholders have approved a secondary listing on the Nigerian Exchange after the New York debut, subject to regulatory approval.
The timing carries risk. Higher inflation and a selloff in AI stocks have cooled the US IPO market, and several companies have delayed listings. Track the latest terms on Renaissance Capital’s OPay deal page.
One question will follow the deal: is OPay an African company? It is headquartered in Singapore and incorporated in the Cayman Islands, yet Nigeria generates almost all its revenue. We show it on the list for that reason, marked as pending.
WatchlistFour deals that could reshape the ranking
OPay prices in New York This week
A price at or near the top of the range would put OPay at #6 by value and #2 by valuation. Watch whether the $270 million of indicated demand converts into firm orders.
Banque du Caire opens its books Prospectus approved 18 October
Egypt’s third-largest state bank plans to sell a 30% stake worth up to $453 million. If completed, it would enter at #3 and become the largest bank IPO on this list. The bank itself raises no new capital.
Dangote’s allotment results Offer closed 27 October
The refinery’s ₦2.15 trillion offer, about $1.6 billion, would be Africa’s largest IPO in any sector. Aliko Dangote says demand reached three to four times the target. Final figures are still pending.
Airtel Money’s stabilisation window Ends early November
If the over-allotment option is exercised in full, Airtel Money’s London offer grows from £529 million to £582 million.
How we built this list
- Value of shares sold is the number of shares sold at the IPO price. It includes shares sold by existing owners, so it is not always money received by the company.
- Oversubscription appears only where an exact figure was officially published. Safaricom’s 532% is the figure Kenya’s finance minister reported. Total bids of KES 226 billion against a KSh 50 billion offer imply about 4.5x on a simple ratio.
- MNT-Halan’s ~16x is our calculation: EGP 126 billion of demand against an EGP 7.84 billion offer.
- Exclusions: Network International (£1.1bn, London, 2019) is Dubai-based and earns most of its profit in the Middle East. Telecom IPOs such as MTN Ghana and Vodacom Tanzania are excluded, despite their mobile money units. Safaricom is included because M-Pesa defines its business today.
- Figures are current as of 28 October 2026.
Will OPay price at the top of its range, or will a cooling US market force a discount?
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