On a poignant day marked by both reflection and anticipation, Olu Akanmu, the CEO of Opay Nigeria, bid farewell to his role as the CEO of Opay Nigeria, bringing an end to a chapter characterized by tireless efforts to deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria.
A visionary leader and champion of digital financial systems, Akanmu leaves behind a legacy of innovation and progress. In a tweet, he expressed heartfelt gratitude to his colleagues, ecosystem partners, and enablers for their work.
“My Gratitude to all my colleagues at Opay for the good work we did together in deepening financial inclusion in Nigeria, ensuring that less and less number of our people are left behind in collective work to make financial services more accessible to millions of Nigerians.”
Olu Akanmu
While acknowledging the substantial strides made, he emphasized that there is still much to be done to ensure that no one is left behind in the digital financial revolution. In his resignation speech,

Akanmu was quick to acknowledge the collective efforts that contributed to Opay’s achievements. He expressed gratitude to his dedicated colleagues at Opay and recognized their invaluable contributions to the organization’s success. Additionally, he thanked the various ecosystem partners and enablers who collaborated with Opay, as these strategic alliances were essential in advancing the shared vision of financial inclusion.
“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,” he said.
Olu Akanmu: A Journey of Financial Inclusion with Opay
Olu Akanmu is a Pharmacy graduate of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). He started his career as a Marketing Manager/ Regional Manager (Eastern and Northern Nigeria) with Glaxo Nigeria. He went on to work in the non-profit sector as Chief Operating Officer (Nigeria) for Population Services International (PSI), a global reproductive health charity.
Olu later moved to the telecommunications sector as General Manager-Consumer Marketing at MTN Nigeria Communications, playing a critical role in the growth of the business in Nigeria. He also worked as the Chief Marketing Officer, of Airtel Nigeria before crossing to the financial services sector. He was Executive Director for Retail Banking at FCMB for more than eight years before he was appointed President, OPay-Nigeria in 2021.
Under his leadership, Opay saw impressive growth during Nigeria’s cash crunch, thanks to its distribution strategies and infrastructure. Akanmu’s tenure as Opay Nigeria’s CEO was marked by a relentless commitment to driving financial inclusion through technology. Under his leadership, Opay made significant advancements in its mission to bring financial services to the unbanked and underserved segments of Nigeria’s population.
By leveraging digital solutions, the company played a vital role in reducing the number of individuals excluded from the benefits of the modern financial system.


Despite the progress made, Akanmu acknowledged that there remained a substantial number of Nigerians who were still excluded from the digital financial revolution. He emphasized that as a community, the Fintech industry needed to broaden its focus beyond the banked and underserved and extend its reach to the completely excluded population, representing at least 45% of Nigerians.
“Collaborations, public-private partnerships, and more deliberate coordination at the digital public infrastructure ecosystem layers, would be critical to ensure we succeed in the doing the next heavy lifting to extend the digital financial rail to the next 20 million.”
Olu Akanmu
In his speech, Akanmu painted a compelling vision of an inclusive society where every individual could unlock their full potential. He reiterated that financial prosperity should be widely shared, leaving no one behind. Emphasizing the importance of technology as an enabler, he believed that technology could be harnessed to bridge the gap and uplift millions of lives.