LAGOS, Nigeria, June 5, 2024: 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.
Mitchell has the singular honour of being the first and only entrepreneur to have won in both emerging and master categories in any region and being invited to global jury.
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.
See the full list and profiles of the 2024 Jury Members for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The
Year Awards here https://www.ey.com/en_gl/weoy/judges
