The Nigerian fintech startup, Okra, has expanded into the West African country’s growing cloud infrastructure market with the launch of Nebula. The fintech startup reportedly expects the cloud subsidiary to help it diversify its revenue streams and mitigate the impact of worsening economic conditions on its open banking business.
According to a Techpoint Africa report, Okra has positioned its cloud services unit as a more affordable alternative to industry giants like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Fara Ashiru, the startup’s CEO, has previously emphasized the importance of using local alternatives to services provided by global corporations.
“For too long, Africa has leaned on imported solutions, paying premiums for software and services,” Ashiru reportedly said.
By launching the cloud services unit, the Nigerian fintech joins other domestic cloud providers like Nobus, Galaxy, and Layer3, which are competing with the global giants. Unlike foreign companies that require payment in foreign currency, local companies like Nebula are said to be accepting payment in the rapidly depreciating local currency.
Moreover, the Nigerian National Cloud Computing Policy is reportedly encouraging government agencies to use domestic cloud service providers.
Despite raising over $4 million through two funding rounds, Okra has faced operational challenges, leading the startup to discontinue three products. It is expected that the Nebula unit will help offset losses from its open banking business.
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