Nigerian Fintech To Return Millions To Investors After Shutting Down
Nigerian open banking startup Okra will return three years of runway to investors, as reported by Techpoint. The company was founded in 2019 to build APIs helping people securely access their bank accounts from third-party apps. However, the company shut down following the departure of its CEO, Fara Ashiru.
Okra still had three years of runway before it would return to its investors. Ashiru did not disclose the amount that would be returned, and Okra has not provided the exact amount that would be returned to investors; however, Techpoint estimated the figures.
Okra returns three years of runway
The company was in operation for five years and raised a total of $16.5 million. It likely spent nearly 60 to 75% of its funding, roughly $11 to $12.5 million, as many early-stage startups typically raise enough for 18–24 months of runway.
This leaves $4 million to $5.5 million that has been roughly unexhausted. Based on the assumption that the majority of this balance remained after paying severance and bonuses to employees, it is possible that investors may have received between $4 million and $5 million back.
Okra will also give employees generous severance packages depending on the length of time they’ve been with the company. Older employees allegedly received up to six months’ worth of their salaries, with bonuses provided for staff who had not spent much time with the startup.
Okra’s product Nebula
Nebula is Okra’s cloud product, designed to provide African businesses with a more affordable cloud option. Ashiru, now Head of Engineering at British startup Kernel, told Techpoint that some companies were starting to use Nebula but did not depend on it for mission-critical service, which made it difficult for long-term adoption and revenue success.
“This was a bold one and showed early promise, but the speed of adoption simply wasn’t fast enough. Moving forward would have meant raising more capital and extending our timeline significantly — something I didn’t feel was responsible without stronger commercial pull,” she said.
Image: olueletu
