“We Built Something Magical” Says Co-Founder as Okra Shuts Down After $16M Raised and Bold African Ambitions

 

Once hailed as a trailblazer in Africa’s fintech landscape, Nigerian startup Okra has officially ceased operations. The startup, which rose to prominence for driving open banking innovation across the continent, had raised an impressive $16 million since its founding in 2020. Its shutdown also includes the closure of Nebula, its cloud-based platform launched as an infrastructure solution for Africa's digital economy.

Co-founded by Aisha Pandor and David Peterside, Okra set out to transform how African businesses accessed and shared financial data. The company quickly captured attention not only for its technical capabilities but also for its potential to enable broader financial inclusion.

“While the journey ends here, I’m proud that we built something magical. We took a shot at something ambitious, and we learned immensely,” Aisha said in a closing statement. Her words echo the sentiment of many in the ecosystem who admired Okra’s bold efforts to reshape banking access across Nigeria and beyond.

The company's vision focused on offering APIs that enabled companies to seamlessly plug into customers’ bank accounts, giving users more control over their financial data. Okra positioned itself as a key infrastructure layer for the rapidly growing African fintech market, where digital solutions are often forced to navigate fragmented systems and uneven data availability.

A major boost came in 2021 when the company announced a $3.5 million seed round led by Susa Ventures, followed by a $12 million Series A round led by Accel. That funding wave gave the startup both capital and credibility. At its peak, Okra counted several top-tier banks and fintechs as clients, and it drew attention from global investors tracking emerging markets.

Despite its early momentum, sustaining long-term growth in a complex regulatory and market environment proved difficult. Africa’s open banking ecosystem remains underdeveloped in many regions, making it hard for startups to scale without policy support or widespread adoption from incumbent financial institutions.

The decision to shut down was not sudden. Behind the scenes, the company had been re-evaluating its path forward for several months. Nebula, the cloud services arm launched to offer end-to-end infrastructure support for African developers and fintechs, was an attempt to pivot and diversify. But Nebula, too, failed to gain the necessary traction, and was quietly discontinued before Okra's full shutdown was confirmed.

Aisha acknowledged these difficulties in her farewell message, reflecting on the ambition that powered their early days and the complexities that followed. “It was never just about building software. It was about building trust, building infrastructure, and building possibility,” she wrote.

Across Nigeria’s tech scene, Okra's rise and fall has sparked conversations about the volatility of African startups that aim to build foundational tech in underdeveloped markets. Many founders and investors argue that the continent needs more robust policy frameworks, better access to local funding, and stronger support systems to help startups weather challenges beyond just capital constraints.

For Okra, the dream may have outpaced the market readiness. Building a data aggregation layer assumes a certain maturity in the financial ecosystem, something that is still evolving in many African countries. Although open banking holds promise, adoption remains slow and uneven, often leaving innovators stranded between regulatory uncertainty and user hesitation.

Yet, Okra’s story is not solely about an ending. It also serves as a case study in ambition, experimentation, and the challenges of pioneering in complex markets. The startup’s brief but impactful presence reshaped conversations around data portability, consumer consent, and financial infrastructure in Africa.

Other African fintechs have already begun adapting to lessons from Okra’s experience, taking more measured approaches to scaling and forming closer ties with regulators. While Okra has closed its doors, its influence will likely ripple through the ecosystem for years.

For many in the industry, Okra symbolized what could be achieved with courage and vision. “We built something magical” is more than just a parting line, it is a tribute to what was attempted and to the people who believed in building a better digital future for Africa.