Mitchell Elegbe is the youngest child of his family. He was born in Benin-city, in the old mid-western region of Nigerian, now Edo state. Mitchell Elegbe lost his father when he was still in his mother’s womb. Years later, he moved in with his uncle at Aladja, Delta State, who took responsibility for him and became the father figure in his life.
Mitchell Elegbe
Biography
Mitchell Elegbe had his secondary education in Delta State before moving to the University of Benin (UNIBEN). There he studied electrical/ electronic engineering. Mitchell Elegbe had several side businesses, including recording songs on audiotapes to sell and selling shirts to make ends meet as an undergraduate. He went for his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and was posted to Computer Systems Associates (CSA), a software implementation company that connected banks to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT).
Mitchell Elegbe got his first job as a field engineer in Schlumberger Wireline and Testing Scotland. He returned to Nigeria after a year and started working with Telnet, a fast-growing telecommunications company. After two years with the blessing of his employers, he left to start Interswitch.
Net Worth
Mitchell Elegbe founded Interswitch in 2002 to provide a solution to problems associated with payments in Nigeria. Interswitch is valued at $1 billion. November 12, a statement was released on Tuesday, visa confirmed that it would buy a 20 percent stake in Nigerian financial technology company Interswitch, for a total of $200 million.
Mitchell Elegbe
Family
Mitchell Elegbe’s family consists of his lovely wife, Mercy, and their four children- a set of twin boys, and a daughter, and another boy, Mitchell and Mercy met in the early 90s at the facility of Engineering at the University of Benin where Mitchell studied electrical/electronic engineering and Mercy studied chemical engineering. The biblical proverb says that ‘he who finds a wife finds a good thing’ so for Mitchell marrying his wife was one of the best decisions of his life.
Business and Career
Mitchell Elegbe is group managing director/chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors at Interswitch, a business he conceptualized and has led since 2002 when the company went into operation.
Interswitch has remarkably diversified its business, broadened distribution channels, and expanded into new markets across Africa, driving revolutionary payment innovation and social impact and delivering strong growth in revenue and profits (recognized by Deloitte in 2014 as Africa’s fastest-growing technology business). Mitchell Elegbe is an electrical/electronic graduate, and also an alumnus of the IESE/Wharton/CEIBS Global CEO program.
Mitchell Elegbe is a consummate people-centric leader who believes in motivating his colleagues at Interswitch to have confidence in their value as individuals. Apart from leading Interswitch to win numerous coveted industry awards, Mitchell’s leadership abilities have earned him several awards.
