Iniabasi Akpan (Ini) is the Managing Director and Country Manager for OPay Nigeria, an International fintech company which is a member of the Opera Group of Companies owners of Opera AS Norway developers of the world leading browser Opera. At OPay, Ini works with a core team of local and international experts to foster financial inclusion leveraging digital and mobile technologies to deliver financial services to the underbanked and unbanked in Nigeria and across Africa.
Ini has held several key positions in the financial services and ICT industries. Before his current role, he was an Executive Director in Telnet (Nigeria) Limited and the Managing Director of SoftWorks Limited a (Subsidiary of the Telnet Group). With over 23 years of experience in Software and Systems engineering with a particular interest in IT business solutions, security and payment systems. Ini was responsible for the software and systems engineering of all Telnet’s IT business solutions, payment and financial system initiatives. Responsible for the first large scale deployment of Two Factor Authentication and Public Key Infrastructure in Nigeria for the Central Bank (CBN) and the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS)- a cheque automated clearing system and the rapid scale out of the Federal Inland Revenue System (FIRS) tax system; Ini ensured that IT business solutions and payment systems meet the needs of customers and have the security and scalability required by the peculiarities
of the Nigerian environment. While at Telnet, Ini also spearheaded and managed the incubation and operations of PayCom Nigeria Limited a Mobile Money Operator licensed by CBN in 2011 and which was later acquired by OPay in 2017.
With a B.Sc in Computer Science from the University of Lagos and an MBA from IESE in Spain, Ini understands business and technology and is able apply the knowledge to any assignment or business role in which he is engaged.