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Interswitch Sends Forth Charles Ifedi in Grand Style, Announces Mike Ogbalu III New Verve CEO
Interswitch, Leading Africa-focused integrated digital payments and commerce company, on Friday, January 19th 2017, celebrated one of its pioneer executives and outgoing Chief Executive Officer, Verve International, Charles Ifedi, with a befitting send-forth event.
The colourful event, which held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, was attended by top Nigerian financial services executives.
The send-forth provided an opportunity to appreciate Charles Ifedi, who has been with the company since inception, for the numerous achievements during his time as Divisional CEO at Interswitch Limited and CEO of Verve International.
A first class graduate of Computer Science from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria and an MBA holder from Cranfield University, Charles was a pioneer management team member of Interswitch and led the Verve and consumer facing business of the company.
Under his watch, Verve International dominated the Nigerian payment card market and became a leading African payment card brand helping millions of people conduct millions of transactions safely, securely and without hassle.
Charles was pivotal to the strategic partnership with Discover Financial Services (DFS), a partnership which has expanded the acceptance of Verve card into 185 countries of the world including USA, UK and Dubai.
He also supervised the launch of Verve International in Kenya to serve the East African market, a development which has positioned Verve as the key to African Exchange.
Charles also spearheaded the introduction of Paycode, a revolutionary payment token which has made it possible for people to withdraw cash at the ATM and make payments on POS without the need for a physical debit cards.
This possibility of cardless transactions in 2017, at a time the world was celebrating 50 years of the ATM, heralded a new era in payments.
It was a clear indication of Charles’ vision and foresight that this could happen in a Nigerian company.
Speaking at the event, Founder and CEO, Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe said, “We have come a long way since establishing Interswitch in 2002 and many of our successes can be attributed to Charles and his team and we cannot thank them enough for that.
However, we are very confident in the future of Verve and Interswitch as a group with Mike Ogbalu III stepping in.
His drive and passion for innovation and operational excellence is an asset that will help strategically steer Verve along the right paths for future”.
Mike Ogbalu III, who will be taking over from Charles as the new CEO of Verve International was present at the event.
Mike joined Interswitch in 2015 and prior to his appointment as CEO of Verve International, he served as the Divisional Chief Executive Officer, Interswitch Financial Inclusion Service (IFIS).
Trading as Quickteller Paypoint, IFIS is positioned to serve as the interconnect point and infrastructure for integrating and delivering electronic payment services to the unbanked and under-banked.
Under Mike’s leadership, IFIS successfully increased the availability of digital financial services in financially excluded locations in Nigeria, with Quickteller Paypoint crossing the 10,000-agent milestone in its first year of operation.
Mike is passionate about improving the life of millions of Africans by working with partners to provide access to cost-effective financial products and under his leadership, it is expected that Verve International will continue to break bounds, pioneering technology and raising the bar in card services in Africa and beyond.
News
Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
News
As Nigeria Struggle, Tanzania Turns off Power Plants Due to Excess Supply
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
News
President Tinubu Appoints Jim Ovia as Student Loan Fund Chairman
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Jim Ovia, renowned banker and businessman, as the Chairman, Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Ovia’s appointment is contained in a State House statement titled, ‘President Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as Chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund,’ and issued on Friday by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the President, Media & Publicity.
The statement noted that “Ovia is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading banks and a respected business leader, with a surfeit of efforts and benefaction towards nurturing and empowering young Nigerians.
“He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana.”
The National Student Loan Programme is a pivotal intervention that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the implementing institution of this innovation, demands excellence and Nigerians of the finest professional ilk to guide and manage.
“The President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds,” the statement partly read.
Ovia’s appointment will also ensure “that Nigerian youths, irrespective of who they are, have access to higher education and skills that will make them productive members of society and core contributors to the knowledge-based global economy of this century.”
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