Led by Fara’s integrity-driven exit, Okra shuts down responsibly, returning investor funds and supporting employees.
In May 2025, Okra, a prominent Nigerian fintech startup, shut down operations, and co-founder Fara Ashiru Jituboh officially stepped down as CEO and CTO. The shutdown marked the end of a five-year journey for one of Africa’s early open finance pioneers – a company that, despite closing its doors, chose to exit with clarity, integrity, and a rare sense of responsibility.
Okra, founded in 2019 by Fara Ashiru Jituboh and David Peterside, built APIs that allowed users in Africa to securely connect their bank accounts to third-party apps, making it one of the continent’s first infrastructure companies focused on open banking.
Over the years, the company raised more than $16.5 million from investors, including TLcom Capital and Susa Ventures. Okra gained significant traction in the fintech ecosystem by providing data aggregation tools for financial service providers, and at its peak, it was considered one of the most promising African B2B fintech startups.
However, the macroeconomic climate shifted drastically. As Nigeria’s naira continued to depreciate, Okra’s reliance on foreign cloud infrastructure such as AWS and Azure became financially unsustainable. Cloud costs soared, draining resources and increasing operational pressure.
To address this, Okra launched Nebula in late 2024, a bold pivot aimed at solving the core issue. Nebula was a naira-denominated in-house cloud infrastructure service, designed to offer a cheaper alternative tailored to the local market.
Unfortunately, despite the strategic move, Nebula didn’t gain adoption quickly enough to stabilise the business. Okra still had around three years of runway in the bank, but the leadership team understood that sustaining the business long-term would require more capital, more traction, and more time than they had. Instead of dragging the company forward without a clear path to profitability, they made a decision that very few startups make: they chose to shut down intentionally and responsibly.
Rather than burn through remaining funds, Okra returned the unused capital to its investors (an uncommon but commendable move). On top of that, they provided severance packages to their employees, ensuring that staff weren’t left in the lurch. This commitment to fairness, especially during a shutdown, stood out in an ecosystem where many startups fizzle out without closure, explanation, or compensation.
Fara Ashiru Jituboh’s departure coincided with the shutdown. No new CEO was named, a clear signal that the shutdown was not a matter of leadership transition but a full company wind-down. After her exit, she joined London-based startup Kernel as Head of Engineering, bringing her deep expertise in fintech and infrastructure to a new environment.
It’s easy to celebrate startups when they raise millions. But what about when they decide to shut down gracefully, responsibly, and with integrity?
Startups can shut down. Market conditions can be brutal. But how a company dies says as much about its DNA as how it began.
We celebrate Fara Ashiru Jituboh and her team at Okra for an honest and respectful goodbye.
Have you registered for the Africa Female CEO Conference (AFCC)? Join over 200+ influential and emerging African women leaders at the inaugural AFCC on September 18th at Radisson Blu, Ikeja, Lagos, to chart the course for Africa’s future. Hit this link to reserve your slot: https://tix.africa/africa-female-ceo-conference-afcc
