Interswitch Driving Financial inclusion in Africa: Can Africa`s Fintech Unicorn Sustain the Momentum?

Case Code: LDEN178
Case Length: 15 Pages
Period: 2002-2021
Pub Date: 2022
Teaching Note: Available

Price: Rs.300
Organization : Interswitch
Industry : Financial Services
Countries : Nigeria,Uganda,Gambia
Themes: Entrepreneurship, Banks and Banking , Innovation, Entrepreneurial, Strategy

Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts

Abstract

Interswitch Group (Interswitch), an Africa-focused integrated digital payments and commerce company, was founded in December 2002 in Nigeria by Mitchell Elegbe after he felt the urgent need for a simple and affordable digital payment system in the country which was then a heavily cash dependent economy. Interswitch was launched as a transaction switching and electronic payments processing company that built and managed payment infrastructure and soon grew to deliver innovative payment products and transactional services throughout the African continent. Over the years, Interswitch grew through funding and partnerships.

By mid-2020, Interswitch was present in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, and Gambia and its services and payment tokens were being used in 25 African markets. However, it was facing increasing competition from FinTech startups in Nigeria and across Africa. Startups such as Flutterwave and TeamAPT had already entered some of Interswitch’s product territory. Amidst these developments, industry experts wondered whether Interswitch would be able to broaden access to financial services for Africans, driving greater financial inclusion across the continent. This case study on Nigeria’s Interswitch is ideal for graduate and postgraduate management courses in Entrepreneurship and Strategy and General Management with particular focus on FinTech, and Financial Services.

Issues

The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:

Analyze the path of an entrepreneur from idea generation to market development to scaling up.
Discuss the challenges of achieving financial inclusion at the bottom of the pyramid.
Analyze the conditions under which financial inclusioncan be achieved in under-developed countries.
Analyze how the regulatory framework of a country impacts the growth of digital payments.
Examine the challenges faced by first entrants like Interswitch working to create financial inclusion in Africa.

Introduction

Interswitch’s Foundation Years – Setting The Stage For Building Financial Inclusion in Africa

Early Initiatives

The Next Phase of Growth

Changing scenario?

Future Outlook

Exhibits