Paga Group, Africa’s premier financial services infrastructure company, has announced a significant evolution in its leadership structure as it celebrates 17 years of operation.
The changes mark the close of a transformative first chapter and the formal launch of Act 2: an ambitious phase defined by deepening Paga’s infrastructure to connect Africans to global financial rails and commerce, new technology frontiers, and geographic expansion across the African continent.
The Paga of today is fundamentally different from the company that launched in 2009. What began as a consumer payments business built on a nationwide agent network has evolved into a full-stack financial services infrastructure provider, offering its platform to enterprises through Paga Engine, while continuing to serve consumers through the Paga app and merchants through Doroki.
Act 1 closed with a formidable track record:
- Total value processed grew 17x between 2021 and 2025, reaching $11 billion across 169 million transactions in 2025 alone, equivalent to over $1.5 billion processed monthly.
- Net revenues grew 5x over the same period, demonstrating the durability and scalability of the business model.
- Over 265 active blue-chip enterprise clients now build on Paga Engine, including PayPal, Meta, Amazon, LemFi, Tencent, Pesa, and Verto.
- Recognised by the Financial Times and Statista as one of Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies for three consecutive years: 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Act 2 is built on three strategic imperatives: deepening Paga’s financial infrastructure offering to connect Africans to both local and global financial rails; launching and scaling emerging technologies from Paga Labs, including stablecoins, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence; and entering new African markets where Paga’s infrastructure will deliver the greatest impact.
Paga Labs serves as the company’s dedicated engine for frontier innovation, identifying emerging technologies, bringing them to market-readiness, and integrating them into Paga’s core offering at the right moment.
It reflects Paga’s conviction that the next decade of African finance will be shaped by new forms of money movement, and that the company is uniquely positioned to lead that shift.
In order to execute Act 2 with the speed and focus it demands, Paga Group is fully operationalising its Group structure and announcing the following leadership appointments:
Tayo Oviosu, group chief executive officer & chairman of the Group Board and the Paga Nigeria Board
Paga’s founder will focus exclusively on the group’s expansion priorities: leading Paga Labs – its work on stablecoins, AI, and cryptocurrency; spearheading new market entry across Africa; and driving fundraising. Oviosu retains his roles as Group CEO and Chairman of both the Group Board and the Paga Nigeria Board.
Jay Alabraba, group director of Special Projects
Co-founder Jay Alabraba takes on a new mandate as Group Director of Special Projects, initially leading the company’s expansion into lending and collaborating with Oviosu on new market entry.
The role reflects Paga’s intent to pursue select high-impact opportunities with dedicated senior focus.
Ope Oyinloye, group chief operating officer & CEO, Paga Nigeria
With seven years at Paga, Oyinloye steps into the newly created role of Group COO with responsibility for all of Paga’s established businesses.
He also assumes the role of CEO of Paga Nigeria in an acting capacity, pending CBN No-Objection. His appointment reflects Paga’s confidence in the leadership depth it has built over the past decade.
“Seventeen years ago, we set out to make it simple for a billion people to access and use money. That mission has never changed, but what we are building to fulfil it keeps evolving. Act 1 proved that we could build a profitable, high-growth infrastructure business that the world’s leading companies trust. Act 2 is about taking that infrastructure to its full potential: connecting Africans to global financial rails, moving into new markets, and leading the next wave of financial technology. These leadership changes give us the structure and focus to move faster and execute at the level this moment demands,” said Tayo Oviosu, group chief executive officer & chairman, Paga Group.
“Paga has spent seventeen years becoming the kind of company that makes things work quietly and at scale. That is exactly the competency Act 2 requires. I am honoured to step into the Group Chief Operating Officer role at such a pivotal moment, and committed to maintaining the operational excellence and client trust that define Paga, while helping the business grow into its next chapter.” said Ope Oyinloye, the incoming group COO & CEO, Paga Nigeria.
