Okra's Co-Founder, Fara Ashiru, Links Up with Kernel in the UK
In a surprising turn of events, Okra, a trailblazing Nigerian open-finance startup founded in 2019 by Fara Ashiru Jituboh and David Peterside, announced the closure of its operations in May 2025, six years after its inception [1][2]. This decision came shortly after co-founder and CEO Fara Ashiru left the company to join Kernel, a UK-based startup, as Head of Engineering.
Okra's journey was marked by significant milestones, including raising $16.5 million in funding, partnering with major Nigerian financial institutions, and pioneering open banking APIs that fueled fintech innovation in Africa [1][2][3]. However, the company faced substantial strategic and market challenges that ultimately led to its closure.
One of the key challenges was Okra's pivot to cloud services in 2024, a move aimed at reducing foreign cloud service costs amid Nigeria's naira depreciation. However, this shift faced competition from established players like Nobus Cloud and MainOne [1][2][3].
Sources close to the company suggest that Okra struggled to maintain relevance in a field dominated by better-funded rivals like Mono and Stitch [2]. The Nigerian open banking ecosystem, which presented opportunities for monetization and scalability, also faced slow regulatory adoption, further complicating Okra's path to growth [1][3].
Following its shutdown, Okra returned between $4 million and $5.5 million to investors, signalling an orderly wind-down rather than insolvency [1][2][4]. The startup's website remains live, albeit with restricted access to some sections, indicating that its online presence is maintained even after the shutdown [1][2][4].
With Fara Ashiru's departure and the closure of Okra, the future prospects of the startup are tied to the activities of its acquiring firm Kernel rather than as an independent entity [1][2][3]. Fara Ashiru's new role at Kernel is in AI revenue tools, leveraging her experience in fintech and API infrastructure [1].
The remaining leadership team at Okra includes Head of People Bodunrin Akinola and Legal Counsel Habib Akinpelu [1]. Kernel, Fara Ashiru's new employer, is a UK-based company that builds AI-powered agents for revenue operations [1].
This news marks a significant shift in the Nigerian fintech landscape, as one of its pioneering startups bows out, leaving a void that may be filled by other innovative players in the field.
References: [1] TechCrunch. (2025, May). Okra shuts down operations, as co-founder Fara Ashiru joins Kernel. [online] Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/01/okra-shuts-down-operations-as-co-founder-fara-ashiru-joins-kernel/ [2] Ventureburn. (2025, May). Okra shuts down: What happened to the Nigerian fintech startup? [online] Available at: https://ventureburn.com/2025/05/okra-shuts-down-what-happened-to-the-nigerian-fintech-startup/ [3] Techpoint Africa. (2025, May). Okra shuts down: What the closure of the Nigerian fintech startup means for the ecosystem. [online] Available at: https://techpoint.africa/2025/05/okra-shuts-down-what-the-closure-of-the-nigerian-fintech-startup-means-for-the-ecosystem/ [4] TechCabal. (2025, May). Okra shuts down: A look at the Nigerian fintech startup's journey and its impact. [online] Available at: https://techcabal.com/2025/05/okra-shuts-down-a-look-at-the-nigerian-fintech-startups-journey-and-its-impact/
The closure of Okra, a Nigerian fintech startup, signified a significant departure from the business landscape, marking a void that might be filled by future innovative technology players. With Fara Ashiru's move to Kernel, a UK-based tech company specializing in AI revenue tools, the future of Okra's technology now lies within that company.
