Paga Founder Steps Down After 17 Years
- Paga founder Tayo Oviosu is stepping back from leading Nigeria’s operations after 17 years, moving into a Group CEO role focused on expansion across Africa and new technologies.
- Opeyemi Oyinloye, Paga’s general manager of business operations for seven years, has been named Acting CEO of Paga Nigeria, pending Central Bank of Nigeria approval. This is the first time in Paga’s history that someone other than its founder will lead its biggest and most mature market.
- Paga processed ₦17.1 trillion ($12 billion) in transactions in 2025, a 96% year-on-year jump and is currently profitable, giving it a stable base for its next phase.
- Oviosu’s group-level agenda includes expanding into new African markets, stablecoins, blockchain, AI-powered commerce, and fresh fundraising to finance it all.
Tayo Oviosu is stepping away from the day-to-day running of Paga Nigeria after 17 years, transitioning into the role of Group CEO, while Opeyemi Oyinloye, the company’s general manager of business operations for seven years, has been named Acting CEO of Paga Nigeria, pending approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
It is a moment that carries real weight. The appointment marks the first time Paga Nigeria will be led by someone other than its founder since the company launched in 2009. Oviosu was emotional, informing the CBN of the change, saying, “My child’s first word was Paga.”
The restructuring comes at a moment of strong commercial momentum Paga processed ₦17.1 trillion ($12 billion) in transaction value in 2025, a 96% year-on-year increase.The company also became PayPal’s local partner in Nigeria in January 2026, marking the global payments network’s return to the country after two decades, and launched US banking services for the African diaspora through a partnership with Regent Bank in 2025.
As Group CEO, Oviosu will lead Paga Labs, a unit that has been quietly operating for about 18 months, investing in stablecoins, blockchain, and AI-enabled commerce and pursuing the goal of becoming, in his words, “the global financial services infrastructure for Africa.”
Oyinloye was described by Oviosu as an obvious choice, someone with seven years of deep operational visibility who ensured that “whatever sausages were being made were made really well,” giving him insight into every dimension of the business from strategy to culture.
As CEO of Paga Nigeria, he will report to the Paga Nigeria board, which Oviosu will chair. Paga’s leadership restructuring reflects a broader trend among African fintechs, where founders are increasingly shifting into group or strategic roles as their companies scale across markets, a pattern also seen at companies like Flutterwave as they evolve from local payment solutions into multi-market financial infrastructure providers.
