On a sweltering Friday morning in Lagos, Tayo Oviosu, founder and CEO of Paga, welcomes us with a metaphor: he’s like a duck—calm above water, paddling furiously underneath. It's a fitting image for a fintech visionary whose company is about to mark 16 years of relentless innovation, evolution, and impact. Paga is not just his life's work—it’s also, endearingly, the first word his son ever said.
From Agent Banking to a Full-Fledged Ecosystem
Launched in 2009 as an agency banking platform, Paga has since transformed into a three-pronged fintech ecosystem:
- Paga Engine – A digital infrastructure layer powering embedded financial services for over 200 businesses.
- Paga – The consumer-facing product akin to Cash App, targeting Nigeria’s mid-to-upper market.
- Doroki – A retail management tool for SMEs, helping them digitize operations and manage payments end-to-end.
This expansion, Oviosu explains, was fueled by a realization: many startups were struggling with problems Paga had already solved. By opening its infrastructure, Paga became more than a fintech—it became a platform for innovation.
A Massive Engine Under the Hood
The scale of what Paga has built is striking. In 2024 alone, the ecosystem processed ₦8.7 trillion (~$5.6 billion) in transactions—over 30% of its all-time volume. It now averages ₦1 trillion monthly in transaction value.
At the core of this growth is Paga Engine, which enables businesses to build seamless payment experiences. Clients like Meta, Lemfi, Cleva, and Omnibiz use Paga’s wallets and instant settlement rails to serve their users. Transactions clear in under three seconds, a stark contrast to the T+1 or T+2 delays typical in traditional banking.
“No T+1, no T+2 settlement delays,” Oviosu emphasizes.
Building for the Long Game
Scaling such an ecosystem hasn't come easy. Oviosu reflects on the emotional and operational toll of building in Nigeria.
“Everything takes longer than you expect, especially when creating something entirely new,” he says. “Behaviour change takes time. Resilience and belief in your mission are vital.”
This resilience has paid off. Paga’s consumer business is growing nearly 200% annually in active users and revenue. Unlike fintechs racing for Nigeria’s mass market, Paga is strategically positioning itself alongside neobanks like Sparkle, focusing on affluent users with more predictable margins and digital fluency.
A Smart Hedge Against Regulatory Shocks
Paga’s structure also provides resilience against external shocks. When Nigerian regulators banned five fintechs from onboarding new users in April 2024, Paga’s diversified setup—particularly the standalone Doroki business—helped cushion the blow.
The company has since overhauled its KYC process, leveraging Nigeria’s NIN, BVN, and biometric face-matching through Smile ID. It also cross-checks users against a national fraud list, significantly reducing fraud risks.
What’s Next? Growth, Caution, and Possibility
In Q2 2025, Paga is set to expand its consumer business into a new market. The holding company, having reached net income profitability in 2024, is also in the process of raising new capital to fund this growth.
“We’re not yet in a place where our profitability can drive all the growth we want,” Oviosu admits. “But we’re cautious—we prefer disciplined growth over growth at all costs.”
Despite flirting with the idea of an IPO, Oviosu still sees a strategic acquisition as the most likely exit path.
“It often aligns better with long-term strategy and reduces short-term public scrutiny,” he says. “But for now, the focus is scale.”
A Fintech Veteran, Still Paddling Hard
Sixteen years on, Tayo Oviosu remains committed to the mission he started with: making it easy for a billion people to access and use money. Whether through consumer apps, backend rails, or SME tools, Paga’s ecosystem continues to evolve—quietly powerful, like the duck Oviosu sees in himself.
In a noisy fintech world chasing headlines, Paga is building quietly, thoughtfully—and with impressive depth.