OPay Keynote at BusinessDay Fintech Summit 2026 in Lagos

In Short

• OPay was the headline sponsor of the inaugural BusinessDay Fintech Summit 2026 in Lagos.
• The company’s COO and CTO, Dotun Daniel Adekunle, told the industry to move beyond payments.
• His message was to build “intelligent finance”, meaning financial services that use data and automation to improve outcomes, not just process transactions.

What Happened

OPay led a major session at the inaugural BusinessDay Fintech Summit held on April 22, 2026, at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos.

The event theme was “The Next Financial Frontier: Intelligence, Infrastructure and Inclusion in Africa’s Digital Money Economy”. It brought together fintech operators and other players in the financial ecosystem to discuss what comes next for digital finance across Africa.

Adekunle delivered a keynote titled “Payments are solved. The next frontier is different.” He argued that basic digital payments, meaning sending and receiving money electronically, are no longer the biggest bottleneck in many African markets.

He pushed fintechs to focus on stronger infrastructure and intelligence. In plain terms, that means using user data and tools like AI, which is software that can spot patterns and make predictions, to help people make better money decisions.

The talk also called for a shift in success metrics. Instead of optimising only for transaction volume, he said companies should measure financial health, user empowerment and long-term value.

OPay staff also joined panel discussions, including a session focused on AI, data and automation in finance.

Why It Matters

African fintech has spent years scaling wallets, bank transfers, POS networks and agent distribution. As those rails mature, competition shifts from “who can move money” to “who can use money data safely and well.”

For startups and investors, the next wave may look more like credit decisions, fraud prevention, savings guidance and personalised financial products. All of these depend on good infrastructure and responsible data use.

For regulators and customers, this direction also raises questions about privacy, consent and how automated decisions are explained. As more fintechs add AI-driven features, trust will depend on clear rules and strong product safeguards.