Interswitch Founder and CEO, Mitchell Elegbe, will be speaking at the virtual 2020 edition of TechCrunch Disrupt 2020 on September 16.
Mr. Elegbe, founded the company in Nigeria in 2002 in a bid to connect Nigeria’s banking system. Interswitch was a digital payments pioneer in Africa, predating even Kenya’s prolific M-Pesa product.
By 2019, Interswitch had since risen to unicorn status after Visa took a reported $200 million minority stake in the company. A true rarity among fintech firms on the continent. It is planning to list on a global exchange soon.
Interswicth which has a presence in 23 African countries, provides services including; Verve payment cards and Quickteller payment app. It is also the backbone of Nigeria’s online banking system.
In 2015, Interswitch launched its venture arm, the global ePayment Growth Fund.
At the conference, Elegbe will be speaking on Africa’s fintech landscape, Interswitch’s venture plans, and on the economic impact of COVID-19 on African startups.
Africa has a large population of people who are still unbanked, or underserved by the existing entities. According to the World Bank, about 66% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s 1 billion people don’t have a bank account. Fintech companies like Interswitch have stepped in to serve this population.
Disrupt 2020 will be virtual, and open to attendance by anyone with an internet connection. It will run from September 14th through to September 18th.