As the semifinals of the InterswitchSPAK National Science Competition draws to an end, nine contestants are left in the race for the crown as the best Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) student in Nigeria.

The student who emerges tops will bag the grand prize of N7.5 million in scholarship for a five-year period, a brand-new laptop, and a monthly stipend. The second-place winner will go home with N4 million scholarship spread over a period of three years, a brand-new laptop, and a monthly stipend.

The third-place winner gets N1 million scholarship spread over a period of one year, a brand-new laptop, and a monthly stipend.

It is interesting to note that these students emerged from over 20,000 students that sat for the Crux Computer Based Test (CBT) held nationally last year to compete for the bragging rights as the country’s best STEM student.

Preparations for the grand finale are in place and the excitement is high as followers of the show anticipate a stiff and rousing competition between the unusual mix of contestants left in the race.

While girls have made it through to the finale of previous seasons of the competition’s 4-year run, this season has the highest number of female finalists, they include Precious Akinyemi of Rhema Chapel International School, Oyo State, Joyce Onubogu of British Spring, Awka, Anambra; Towoju Atinuke of Seolad International College, Ogun State; and Orevaoghene Whiskey of Top Faith International School, Akwa Ibom State.

Other finalists equally competing for the grand prize include Zulqarnain Abubakar of Apt Scholars Universal College, Ogun State; Chimdubem Duruji of The Ambassadors College, Ota, Ogun State; Oraibi Okari of Jephthah Comprehensive Secondary School, Rivers State; Adesayo Elumaro of The Ambassadors College, Ota, Ogun State; and Stephen Nwaneri of Adedokun International Schools, Ogun State.

Over the years, InterswitchSPAK has remained committed to driving the interest of young African students in STEM subjects by encouraging and rewarding them in their pursuit for excellence.  InterswitchSPAK is a flagship CSR initiative of Interswitch, Africa’s leading integrated payments, and digital commerce company.

To catch the grand finale, tune in to DSTV Africa Magic Family 154 on Sunday, 29^th January 2023 at 5:30 pm, with a repeat broadcast on Wednesday, 1^st February 2023 at 3 pm; and on the AIT Network at 7.30 pm on Sunday, 5^th February 2023.

You don’t have to miss the action while on the go, you can watch the show on platforms such as LinkedIn and YouTube.

Stay tuned for the finals. It promises to be nothing short of entertaining, educating, and thrilling. Bond with family while at it. What better way to inspire the budding generation than to give them something to aspire to, knowing that if they can dream it, they can achieve it.

Interswitch Group, one of Africa’s leading financial technology and integrated payments solution providers has announced receipt of a Payments Service Holding Company (PSHC) License issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This follows an earlier announcement by the CBN regarding new licensing categories for participants in the Nigerian Payments System.

By virtue of this development, which was formally communicated on Friday, January 13, 2023 by the apex bank, Interswitch essentially becomes one of the inaugural licensees by the CBN in this category.  According to the regulator, the PSHC regulation requires companies with existing or prospective operations across multiple license categories to set up a payments service holding company (PSHC).

The activities of each of the PSHC subsidiaries operating within those respective licensing regimes are clearly delineated, for clearer accountability, effective risk management and the enablement of better regulatory oversight by the CBN.

The statement from Interswitch also outlines that Interswitch’s Group Holding Company retains     ownership of the PSHC in Nigeria as well as its other subsidiaries outside of Africa.

This recent development interestingly coincides with Interswitch’s 20th anniversary commemoration, which has seen the company cement its position as a pioneering and integral enabler that has actively supported the growth and development of fintech and payments progressively across Africa over the last 20 years.

It also serves to reinforce Interswitch’s progressive outlook as a frontier-driving company which keeps pushing boundaries to facilitate the creation of new ecosystems that help businesses and individuals scale and thrive, in line with its purpose of inspiring Africa to greatness through innovation, value-creation and excellence.

Commenting on this development, Interswitch’s Founder and Group CEO, Mitchell Elegbe remarked that ‘Twenty years ago, we placed a bet on latent potential we saw in the introduction of e-payment channels at the time, particularly ATMs for the delivery of cash just-in-time, and today, we are gratified  to see how far the financial technology and payment systems in Nigeria have grown. On the back of our receipt of this additional license, we remain strongly committed to close partnership with the Central  Bank of Nigeria to facilitate the delivery of the Payments Vision (2025) and of course, the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.

Elegbe further reiterates Interswitch’s resolute focus on its over-arching mission to continue championing technology solutions that connect and empower individuals, businesses, and communities across the continent.

Nigeria will on Saturday 28th of January 2023 join the international community to observe Global Data Privacy Day 2023.It is a Day that has been set aside to create awareness of fundamental rights and freedoms relating to the privacy of citizens in the data processing ecosystem.

In line with the overarching global objective of awareness on data privacy, the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), will be organizing a National Privacy Week, which is a week of intensive focus on awareness creation in the area of data subjects’ rights, capacity building on data governance, data breach remediation among others.

The Hon. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, will flag-off the National Privacy Week with a press conference on the Global Data Privacy Day. The National Privacy Week also coincides with the one-year anniversary of the establishment of the Bureau.

The NDPB under the leadership of Dr. Vincent Olatunji as its National Commission and CEO will set-up an Accelerated Data Breach Remediation unit to resolve petitions from data subjects within the National Privacy Week.

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta was at the weekend in Lagos decorated with an Award of Exemplary Leadership in Public Service.

The award was conferred on Danbatta at the 12th Anniversary Lecture and Award of Nigerian NewsDirect, one of the long-standing media players in the Nigerian Communications industry in Lagos on Friday.

Danbatta, who was represented at the event by the Director, Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, said it was gratifying to have been considered worthy for the award in recognition of the initiatives deployed by the  Commission in carrying out its statutory mandate.

The EVC stated that the theme “Good Governance: Private and Public Sectors’ Roles in Raising Revenue, Growth and Positive Turnaround of Nigerian Economy” provides the veritable opportunity for all stakeholders to seek better ways of advancing the course of good governance both in public office and in the private sector of the Nigerian economy.

In giving concrete expression to the strategic vision of the Commission with respect to the theme of the programme, Danbatta said the Commission is ever determined to ensure collaboration with all stakeholders in the Nigerian communications industry and even beyond as it remains one of the surest ways of enabling a positive turnaround of the Nigerian economy.

Danbatta thanked the organisers of the programme for the award and acknowledged that it was a call for more work to be done to push the frontiers of good governance that ensures national development and economic growth.

While presenting the award, the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Nigerian NewDirect, Dr Samuel Ibiyemi said Danbatta was eminently qualified and deserving of the prestigious recognition on the strength of the huge role he has played in the attainment and surpassing of Nigeria’s national broadband target of 30 percent in 2018 and that he is currently among those leading the charge for the realisation of the new national broadband penetration target of 70 percent by 2025.

Dr Ibiyemi added that with the incontrovertible facts on the ground, it was easy for the board and management of his organisation to agree that through an effective regulatory regime and various cutting-edge initiatives, Danbatta has stabilised the telecom industry and strengthened the telecommunications sector as a major contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and boosted telecoms investment inflows from $36 billion to over $70 billion between 2015 toll date.

Other eminent Nigerians who were conferred with various categories of awards at the event include the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami; Dapo Abiodun, Governor of Ogun State; Bello Hassan, Managing Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation; and Mimi Adzape, Executive Chairman, Benue State Internal Revenue Service among others.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has signed a revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) with provisions to deter unapproved lottery and gaming practices on telecommunications platforms through information and intelligence sharing.

The Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta noted that the MoU, which will impact the gaming industry, is in sync with the Commission’s Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) and is in a bid to promote fair practices in the industry for the protection of telecommunications consumers in relation to lottery and gaming activities.

He said the collaboration is in line with the provisions of Commission’s SVP, 2021-2025, which provides for facilitation of strategic partnership and collaboration with other bodies to enhance service delivery.

He explained, “The initial MoU expired in 2022, amendments and modifications have been made since no MoU is cast in stone, especially given the industry’s dynamic nature.”

The Director General of NLRC, Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila expressed confidence that the MoU will yield favourable outcomes in curbing illegal online gambling as he shared his hope that NCC and NLRC will achieve their intentions in the interest of gaming stakeholders.

He noted how unapproved lottery and gaming activities and practices undermine the integrity of domestic and global gaming markets to the detriment of stakeholders in addition to undermining consumer confidence in these markets, hence the collaboration with the Commission to arrest such tendencies.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Executive Commissioner (Stakeholder Management), Barr. Adeleke Adewolu disclosed that the MoU was designed to address recent technology information-sharing capabilities, and consumer satisfaction and to enhance areas of co-regulation in line with the Federal Government’s digital economy mandate.

The new MoU replaces one that was first signed by both organizations, which expired in 2022. It provides complementary approaches to deter unapproved lottery/gaming practices on telecommunications platforms through information and intelligence sharing in recognition of how unapproved lottery and gaming activities and practices undermine the integrity of domestic and global gaming markets to the detriment of stakeholders in addition to undermining consumer confidence in these markets.

Under the agreement, following requests from NLRC, NCC shall endeavour to block or disable illegal lottery gaming operators on the telecommunications service providers’ platform in Nigeria and NLRC

The document was developed by a Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) comprising representatives of NCC and NLRC to implement the MoU and other matters that promote collaboration between both organizations in their regulatory functions.

Densiva.ng is one of the leading online market-places in Nigeria where serious buyers can meet genuine sellers in a safe and secure manner for the purpose of transacting business.

The platform is open and ready to help wholesalers/retailers & service providers get more customers/clients.

Mr. Julius Osezua, the Managing Director/CEO of Densive.ng described the digital marketplace as the fastest growing classified ads platform in Nigeria where sellers of various kinds of goods and service providers can register and post ads for free (unlimited amount of ads can be posted daily).

Julius said that sellers can also make money on the platform easily without the financial burden of commission payment. It is basically a NO COMMISSION platform.

He explained further:

“The platform is highly secure as there are measures that have been put in place to fish out bad actors on the platform and protect both buyers and sellers. More importantly, registration on www.densiva.ng takes less than two minutes to complete.”

When asked if the platform was open to outside investment, the CEO responded:

“Every company that intends to address the needs of millions of people across Africa should be open to outside investment and Densiva.ng is no exception to that.”

He further stated that “Densiva.ng is willing to work with investors who also share in its vision of becoming the biggest and most trusted Classified Ads Marketplace in Africa.“

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Interswitch eClat, Dr. Wallace Ogufere; Executive Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Interswitch Group; Cherry Eromosele; H.E., Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki and Founder/ Group Managing Director, Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe at the Interswitch 20^th Anniversary Ball which held in Lagos on Saturday, January 14, 2023.

Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce company, Interswitch, has wrapped up its 20th anniversary celebrations with the Interswitch Ball event which took place in Lagos.

The event, which drew top government functionaries, representatives from the financial services sector, captains of industry, customers, employees, and other well-wishers, was an evening of good speeches and entertainment – a befitting end to months of celebrations.

Members of the Board of Directors of Interswitch, led by the Board Chairman and Lord Lieutenant of Greater London, Sir. Ken Olisa, OBE, were also present to add pomp and pageantry to the celebrations.

In his goodwill message, which was broadcast during the event, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, Vice President of Nigeria, commended the payment company’s pivotal role in shaping and growing Nigeria’s payment system over the past two decades. Speaking about Interswitch, he said:

“It’s incredible that what began as a noble idea, has in barely two decades, become something of an icon of technology and innovation, literally pioneering Africa’s ongoing fintech revolution. In 2002, only 569 million people were connected to the internet worldwide, and at that time, Nigeria had less than 200,000 people with internet access. It is therefore a testament to the quality of the talent and courage of the founders of Interswitch that they saw the future clearly and predicted the potentials of a nascent technology for scale and application.”

His Excellency, Governor of Edo state, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, who was present to celebrate the milestone, congratulated the organization on the milestone and applauded Interswitch for being a laudable example of the good that can come out of Nigeria.

The anniversary celebrations, which kicked off in August 2022 with the launch of a campaign themed, ‘Never Stop’, have amplified Interswitch’s innovative milestones in the digital payment ecosystem, designing products and solutions that have, for two decades, continued to drive prosperity across Africa.

The theme – Never Stop – has resonated across all of the Group’s activities; from Interswitch Connect which featured the launch of innovative tech solutions, to the launch of the Payment Innovation Jury report, and the commemorative editions of the biggest fitness event across Africa – VerveLife and InterswitchSPAK National Science Competition.

While addressing attendees, Mitchell Elegbe, Founder and Group Managing Director, Interswitch, shed more light on the fintech giant’s twenty-year journey, and its outlook for the future. He said:

“Two decades ago, we wondered what singular problem we could solve that would automatically solve other problems by extension. We identified the payments problem and set out to solve it, making a bold move to make commerce easy and trade blossom naturally by eliminating the mystery associated with cash, and the stigma associated with not having it. We ensured that cash was available in the exact time and quantity required, and transferrable electronically. We established a new paradigm, dethroning cash and enthroning commerce and connections. Twenty years after, the Central Bank of Nigeria is leading Nigeria towards a fully cashless economy, layered on the work we began two decades ago. “

From inception, Interswitch has continued to improve the Nigerian and African payment space by providing upscale technological systems and infrastructure for players in the payments sector. These systems are used to create solutions that boost business efficiency, as they deliver value to their customers.

In alignment with the Never Stop theme, Elegbe added that the Interswitch Group remains committed to its goal of pushing for excellence while building a payment ecosystem that empowers individuals and businesses to scale for own prosperity and national economic development.

Today, Interswitch switches payment in countries across Africa, owns Nigeria’s first indigenous payment card – Verve- and Quickteller, arguably the largest digital payment platform in Nigeria.

On the back of Interswitch’s wide range of APIs, the digital payment space across Africa has thrived, with the proliferation of fintechs and digital payment service providers on the continent. And the Good People of the Switch – as Interswitch employees are fondly called, don’t seem to be stopping, because they Never Stop!