Mitchell Elegbe, the Founder and Group Managing Director of Interswitch Group has been appointed into the global jury of the Ernst & Young (EY) World Entrepreneur of The Year Awards, which takes place annually in June in Monte Carlo, Monaco, France.

According to EY, the World Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame is an elite corps of men and women who have been recognized for their exceptional entrepreneurial achievements.

For 38 years, since 1986, EY has been celebrating ingenuity through the Entrepreneur of the Year program. The program has recognized more than 10,000 outstanding entrepreneurs for their vision, innovation, courage, and leadership in building and growing successful businesses — businesses that influence the way people live, the products and services we depend on, and the economic vibrancy of our local communities and global markets.

In June 2023, Elegbe, alongside 48 other accomplished entrepreneurs from 45 countries across the world were inducted into the 2023 WEOY Hall of Fame With Interswitch’s Elegbe holding the unique distinction of being the only black and African global finalist and inductee into the coveted hall of fame, as well as the only entrepreneur in the 38-year history of the awards to have won in both the emerging and master categories at various times in their region (West Africa).

For the 2024 edition, he was invited by EY’s global leadership to join the global jury being 1 of 9 former finalists who form the judging committee for the 2024 global awards of the initiative, holding this week in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The 2029 jury is made up of entrepreneurs drawn from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, India, Poland, Nigeria (Elegbe), The United Kingdom, The USA and South Korea.

Elegbe is widely regarded as one of the pivotal architects of Nigeria’s payment innovation revolution, and has gained acclaim globally for his contributions as an exceptional African entrepreneur, who has contributed in no small measure to the economic development of Nigeria and Africa as a whole, having distinguished himself in business leadership and technology development.

A multiple award-winning professional and a renowned business leader in the Information Technology and Financial Services industry, he has won several awards, some of which include Harvard Business School Association (Nigeria) Leadership Award in the General Management Category; African Banker Awards 2019 as the African Banker Icon; CNBC/Forbes All African Business Leader (AABLA) Awards for West Africa as well as Financial Technology (Fintech) Africa Awards, Payments and Transfer category in 2016, among other deserving recognitions.

He is also a Bishop Desmond Tutu Fellow of the African Leadership Institute, an Endeavor Entrepreneur and also a member of the Board of Endeavor in Nigeria.

Mitchell Elegbe founded Interswitch in 2002 to provide a solution to problems associated with payments in Nigeria and has since led the company to consolidated growth as a leading payment and digital commerce company that helps to build and manage payment infrastructure and provides robust technology-based solutions to individuals, financial institutions, and governments across Africa.

ALX, Africa’s leading tech career accelerator, dedicated to developing and empowering Africa’s tech talent, partnered with the organisers of the maiden edition of the Youth Tech Summit put together by the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Network, Lagos.

This event brought together tech enthusiasts, industry professionals, and key stakeholders to explore the transformative potential of technology in shaping Africa’s future.

The summit featured insightful discussions on how technology can drive economic growth, create job opportunities, and empower the next generation of African leaders.

The Country Manager of ALX Nigeria, Ruby Igwe, delivered a compelling keynote address that highlighted the role of tech-driven entrepreneurship in ensuring employability and economic growth (SDG 8).

“The YALI Network Tech Summit has been a remarkable success, showcasing the vibrant potential and innovative spirit of Africa’s tech community,” Ruby remarked. “At ALX, we are committed to nurturing this talent and providing the necessary tools and resources to help Africa’s youth thrive in the digital economy.

“We are excited to be part of this journey and look forward to supporting future editions of this impactful event.”

In addition to the keynote address, Adebimpe Odulana, the Partnerships Lead at ALX Nigeria, participated in a dynamic panel session focused on how strategic partnerships can expand job opportunities across the continent.

The session provided valuable insights into creating sustainable employment solutions through collaboration between educational institutions, tech companies, and government agencies.

The YALI Network Tech Summit provided a platform for attendees to engage in meaningful dialogue, network with industry leaders, and gain practical knowledge about the latest technological trends and innovations.

ALX’s involvement shows its dedication to fostering a robust tech ecosystem in Africa and driving inclusive growth through technology. With the introduction of its Virtual Assistant, Al Career Essentials and Professional Foundations programmes which require no admin fee, it continues to champion tech education and innovation and remains steadfast in its mission to empower Africa’s future leaders.

The positive reception of their contributions at the YALI Network Tech Summit reaffirms ALX’s role as a key player in the tech industry and its commitment to supporting initiatives that propel Africa towards a prosperous future.

A multistep phishing scheme aimed at employees that process financial documentation was discovered by Kaspersky. The scheme begins when victims receive an email from the legitimate address of an auditing firm.

This initial interaction is intended to make the recipient less suspicious: like a preparatory step to ease into the main fraudulent activity. Then a notification from the Dropbox service follows, containing malicious links to archives where cybercriminals have uploaded phishing files designed to steal credentials.

The first step involves victims receiving emails purportedly from a legitimate auditing firm. These emails are sent from an authentic address, which has most likely been hijacked by attackers. They employ social engineering tactics to lower victims’ guard and prepare them to receive a Dropbox archive.

“The email appears legitimate from both a human standpoint and in terms of protection software. It contains a plausible cover story that an official audit company has information for the recipient, complete with a disclaimer regarding sharing confidential information.

In addition, the email contains no links or attachments and originates from an easily searchable company address, making it nearly impossible for a spam filter to detect,” explains Roman Dedenok, a security expert at Kaspersky.

The only suspicious trait in this email is that the sender uses “Dropbox Application Secured Upload”. This service doesn’t exist. Although files uploaded to Dropbox can be password-protected, nothing more can be done.

Following this email, the perpetrators send their victims an official Dropbox notification. If the recipient is already primed to respond by the initial message, there is a higher likelihood they’ll follow the link to review the document.

Clicking on the link reveals a blurred document with an authentication window on top of it. The document acts as a large button, with its entire surface being a malicious link. Upon clicking, the user will see a form requesting their corporate login and password: credentials that cybercriminals seek to steal using this multistep scheme.

These attacks are considered targeted and were observed by Kaspersky in isolated instances. The scheme is described in detail in the Kdaily post. To stay protected, it is advisable to warn employees and encourage vigilance. Here are a few pieces of advice:

Provide your staff with basic cybersecurity hygiene training. Conduct a simulated phishing attack to ensure that they know how to distinguish phishing emails.

Overall, all company employees should remember to input their work password only on sites owned by their organisation. Neither Dropbox nor external auditors can know and need your work password.

As perpetrators constantly devise more sophisticated schemes to steal corporate account data, we recommend implementing real-time protection, threat visibility, investigation and response solutions, such as  Kaspersky Next product line.