Interswitch Founder Mitchell Elegbe Bags Silverbird Special Achievement Award for Driving Nigeria’s Digital Payments Growth

Interswitch Founder Mitchell Elegbe Bags Silverbird Special Achievement Award for Driving Nigeria’s Digital Payments Growth

LAGOS, March 1, 2026 — Founder and Group Managing Director of Interswitch Group, Mitchell Elegbe, has been honoured with the 2025 Silverbird Special Achievement Award in recognition of his pioneering role in building Nigeria’s digital payments infrastructure and advancing financial inclusion across Africa.

The award was presented at the 2025 edition of the Silverbird Man of the Year Award held on Sunday at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos. Elegbe was recognised alongside other distinguished Nigerians whose contributions have significantly influenced national development and industry transformation.

Organisers said the Silverbird Special Achievement Award celebrates individuals whose innovation, vision and sustained impact have left a lasting imprint on society. For Elegbe, the recognition highlights over two decades of leadership in shaping Nigeria’s modern electronic payments ecosystem.

Founded in 2002, Interswitch was established on the belief that technology could redefine how value moves within and across economies. Under Elegbe’s leadership, the company has grown into one of Africa’s foremost integrated payments and digital commerce firms, providing infrastructure that powers transactions for governments, financial institutions, businesses and millions of consumers. Industry stakeholders note that much of Nigeria’s electronic payments architecture is built on systems developed during his stewardship.

Reacting to the honour, Elegbe described the award as symbolic of a broader collective achievement.

“This honour represents far more than a personal milestone. It reflects the courage of a team that believed, long before it was fashionable, that Nigeria and Africa could build world-class financial infrastructure. When we started Interswitch, we were driven by a simple but powerful idea that technology could democratise access, unlock opportunity and enable commerce at scale. This recognition strengthens our resolve to continue building systems that empower businesses, support governments and expand inclusion across the continent,” he said.

Also commenting on the recognition, Cherry Eromosele, Executive Vice President, Group Marketing and Communications at Interswitch, noted that Elegbe’s leadership has been central to Nigeria’s digital payments evolution.

“Mitchell’s journey is inseparable from Nigeria’s digital payments transformation. His foresight and resilience helped establish foundational infrastructure at a time when the ecosystem was still nascent. This recognition affirms not only his personal legacy, but the broader impact of Interswitch in enabling commerce and strengthening financial systems across Africa,” she said.

The Silverbird honour comes days after Elegbe’s induction as a Fellow of the (NICA) at its Presidential Investiture and Fellowship Ceremony held at the .

The Fellowship, NICA’s highest professional distinction, is reserved for leaders whose contributions have strengthened credit systems, enhanced financial integrity and supported economic development in Nigeria.

With the latest recognitions, industry analysts say Elegbe’s legacy as a key architect of Africa’s digital commerce infrastructure continues to gain national and continental acknowledgment.