Innovation Lifecycle and Fintech Firm Performance: a Case Study of Opay in Nigeria

This study examined the impact of the Innovation Lifecycle on the performance of fintech firms, with a specific focus on Opay in Nigeria. The study was motivated by the increasing importance of structured innovation management in enhancing competitive advantage and service delivery within the fintech sector. The specific objectives were to: (i) assess the effect of leadership support on product launch speed in Opay, (ii) determine the impact of resource allocation on feature development in Opay’s services, and (iii) examine the extent to which internal process management influences operational efficiency at Opay. A quantitative survey research design was employed, with data collected from 171 respondents across different operational units of Opay, of which 159 valid responses were analysed. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to test the relationships between variables. The findings revealed that leadership support had a strong positive influence on product launch speed (β = .692, p = .000), indicating that visionary leadership, strategic direction, and timely decision-making significantly accelerate market readiness. Resource allocation was also found to be a critical driver of feature development, with Human Resources (β = .587, p = .000) and Financial Resources (β = .372, p = .000) significantly contributing to innovation outcomes. However, Technological Resources showed no significant effect (β = .003, p = .967), suggesting that technology alone cannot drive innovation without skilled personnel and adequate funding. Furthermore, internal process management, through process automation (β = .655, p = .000) and workflow optimization (β = .304, p = .000), was found to substantially improve operational efficiency, while Interdepartmental Coordination had no significant effect (β = –.071, p = .468), indicating that unstructured collaboration may impede efficiency rather than enhance it. The study concludes that people, processes, and purposeful leadership not technology alone are the core enablers of sustainable innovation in fintech firms. It recommends that fintech organisations prioritise leadership development, strategic investment in human and financial capital, and structured process optimisation to maximise performance outcomes. The findings contribute to literature on organisational innovation, resource management, and operational efficiency within technology-driven firms in emerging markets, offering empirical evidence for policy and managerial decision-making.