
OPay has erstwhile again taken steps to assistance a ample fig of Nigerian youths amended negociate their acquisition needs by organising a assistance programme for students astatine the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU.
On March 12, 2025, OPay signed a memorandum of knowing (MOU) with OAU to acceptable the program of awarding scholarships to students of the instauration successful motion.

L-R: Mr. Omoboriowo Damilola Isaac, OAU SUG President; Prof. Niran Oluwanranti, OAU Director Linkages & Partnerships; Prof. Ebun Adejuyigbe, Executive Director COR; Prof. O.M.A. Daramola, OAU's DVP Admin; Mr. Justin Zhang, OPay's Chief Public Affairs Officer; Mr. Adekunle Adeyemi, OPay's Head of Marketing; Ms. Kinifeosi Joy, OAU SUG Secretary General, and a subordinate of OAU's faculty. Read more: https://www.legit.ng/education/1645620-opay-extends-n12-billion-10-year-scholarship-initiative-obafemi-awolowo-university.
In a chat with OPay’s Chief Public Affairs Officer, Justin Zhang, helium explained however they decided to springiness backmost to nine with their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) task and however Obafemi Awolowo University is 1 of the beneficiaries of this project.
According to Zhang, OPay started their N1.2 cardinal assistance inaugural successful 2024 with 2 universities, University of Ibadan and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU).
He explained that successful 2025, OPay had decided to instrumentality things further by giving OAU 20 assistance slots each twelvemonth for the adjacent 10 years. For this scholarship, selected OAU students volition get N300,000 each to screen their acquisition expenses successful the university.
Justin Zhang besides explained however OPay has taken steps to spouse with different universities to beryllium a portion of the N1.2 cardinal assistance program. According to him, their extremity is to sponsor 400 Nigerian students crossed antithetic states successful the country.
He said: “We passed the breakeven past year, OPay is making profit, not excessively much, truthful we privation to amusement Nigerians that we are serious, privation to enactment present for a agelong clip and enactment intimately with the society, we privation to marque wealth and springiness immoderate returns to the society. Making wealth isn’t the intent for this project. "For this assistance project, we are not targeting 1 oregon 2 apical universities successful Nigeria, we privation to sponsor 400 students successful Nigeria, you cognize determination are 36 states and galore universities here, truthful we privation to prime 20 universities to springiness them 20 slots each. We person sent letters to antithetic universities, immoderate person fixed america feedback and immoderate are inactive successful the process. If immoderate assemblage has involvement successful the assistance they tin besides get successful interaction with us, we would see each the conditions and determine whether to accidental yes oregon nary due to the fact that we tin lone sponsor 20 universities according to our program but successful the aboriginal we tin widen our tentacles.”Justin Zhang besides had this to accidental astir OPay’s assistance initiative:
"Last twelvemonth marked the opening of an innovative project, wherever we had to commencement determination to amended recognize the process and its workings. To bash this, we launched the inaugural astatine UI successful the South-West and ABU successful the North, allowing america to observe determination differences and place the champion ways to guarantee creaseless implementation. This year, we're expanding the programme to universities crossed Nigeria. Our extremity is to sponsor 400 students annually, providing each with N300,000, totaling up to N120 cardinal each year. Over the people of the adjacent 10 years, we program to put up to N1.2 cardinal successful this project.”OPay’s Chief Public Affairs Officer besides emphasised the company’s dedication to fostering maturation for young Nigerians arsenic helium explained wherefore education was the absorption of their CSR project. According to him, young radical were the aboriginal of society, and the pugnacious system has made it precise hard for galore of them to absorption connected their education.
Zhang said: “I person been successful Nigeria for 13 years, and during this time, I've witnessed the immense endowment here. Many of these individuals person large imaginable but deficiency the indispensable resources to afloat recognize it. That's wherefore OPay has decided to measurement successful and enactment them, helping them absorption much connected their studies. Our extremity is to alteration these students to make greater worth for nine aft graduation and to proceed improving themselves. This is the driving unit down our initiative.”Obafemi Awolowo University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Professor O.M.A Daramola, explained the enactment process for the OPay assistance initiative.

L-R: Mr. J. Adeola Odedire, OAU's Dean of Student Affairs; Ms. Shoyemi-Amodeni, Legit.NG Editor; Prof. Theodora O. Bello, Dean, OAU Faculty of Education; Prof. Niran Oluwanranti, OAU Director Linkages & Partnerships; Prof. Ebun Adejuyigbe, Executive Director COR; Prof. O.M.A. Daramola, OAU's DVP Admin; Mr. Justin Zhang, OPay's Chief Public Affairs Officer; Mr. Anuoluwapo Awoyeye, Legit.NG Editor; Dr. Lukman O. Olasunkanmi, OAU Senior Lecturer; and Prof. Odu Babajide Olugbeminiyi, Director, OAU Central Office of Research. Read more: https://www.legit.ng/education/1645620-opay-extends-n12-billion-10-year-scholarship-initiative-obafemi-awolowo-university.
According to him, the enactment process is going to beryllium based connected merit and the selected students would beryllium decided by a five-person committee which would see OPay and OAU’s representatives. He said:
“The enactment process is going to beryllium based connected merit. You cognize OAU is known for merit and standards, you tin inquire from anywhere. Those that person done it before, we person a template that we travel and successful that MOU it is stated that a committee volition beryllium acceptable up to negociate and bash the enactment and that volition beryllium 3 from OAU and 2 from Opay. If it’s a five-man committee from some parties, I cognize they volition travel up with the champion results and it’s going to beryllium based connected standards.”Speaking further, OAU’s Deputy VC (Admin) besides expressed his excitement astir OPay’s concern with the institution. He said:
“I consciousness ecstatic and precise blessed astir this collaboration betwixt Opay and OAU. This is 1 of the things that Obafemi Awolowo University stands for. We person truthful galore relationships with different radical and organizations, we’ve signed truthful galore MOUs but this 1 is precise unsocial successful that it is targeted astatine our students and due to the fact that of that, we are precise happy. It’s not a tiny feat to person OPay partnering with Obafemi Awolowo University. We admit Opay for doing this, it’s 1 of their CSR and we admit it a lot.”PAY ATTENTION: Сheck retired quality that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” artifact connected the location leafage and enjoy!
Source: Legit.ng