Okra’s Journey Ends: From Open Banking Pioneer to Cloud Service Provider and Beyond
Okra, a Nigerian fintech company initially celebrated for its open banking solutions, appears to have ceased operations, marking a significant shift in the African tech landscape. The company’s journey, from disrupting the financial data aggregation space to a short-lived foray into cloud services, highlights the challenges and pivots faced by startups in the region.
Nebula’s Unfulfilled Promise and Leadership Transition
In late 2024, Okra strategically repositioned itself with the launch of Nebula, a cloud platform designed to compete with established giants like AWS and Azure. Nebula aimed to offer cost-effective cloud solutions, priced in naira, to Nigerian startups seeking to avoid dollar-denominated expenses. However, this venture seemingly failed to gain traction. By June 2025, founder and former CEO Fara Ashiru Jituboh transitioned to a new role as Head of Engineering at Kernel, a UK-based RevOps startup. Simultaneously, she stepped down from all leadership positions at Okra. Reports now indicate that both the Okra and Nebula platforms are offline, suggesting a potential closure of the company.
Okra’s story serves as a cautionary tale and also a learning opportunity within the rapidly evolving African tech ecosystem, demonstrating the complexities of scaling and adapting to market demands.
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