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Interswitch signs partnership agreement with Azimo

29 Aug 2018, 03:44 pm
Financial Nigeria
Interswitch signs partnership agreement with Azimo

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The deal will further enable Azimo’s customers carry out instant money transfers from over 20 countries in Europe to any customer in Nigeria, the company’s biggest market.

Michael Kent, Founder and CEO, Azimo

Azimo, a London-based digital money transfer company, has signed a strategic partnership deal with Interswitch Group, a leading payment processing company, to serve more people in Nigeria. The deal will further enable Azimo’s customers carry out instant money transfers from over 20 countries in Europe to any customer in Nigeria, the company’s biggest market.

“A huge and rapidly growing population coupled with the explosion of smartphone ownership mean that Africa and in particular Nigeria is one of the most exciting markets on the planet,” said Michael Kent, Founder and CEO of Azimo. “We look forward to working with Fintech leader Interswitch to build new digital low-cost financial services that drive inclusion and transform the financial lives of our customers in both the UK and Africa.”

The partnership with Interswitch, according to the statement released by Azimo on Wednesday, will also help in tackling the problem of financial exclusion in Nigeria, where 40 percent of the population is unbanked, by reaching millions of more customers.

According to Azimo, Nigeria recorded remittances worth $22 billion or equivalent of 5.6 percent of the country’s GDP in 2017. This amount is higher than the country’s oil revenues. As the largest economy in Africa, digital money plays a significant role in the growth of Nigeria’s economy.

“We formed this partnership with Azimo as they are a global lender in cross-border payments with great tech capability and a strong knowledge of our core markets,” said Mitchell Elegbe, Group Managing Director and CEO of Interswitch. “This agreement is a key milestone in our common strategy to better serve Nigerians wherever they are located around the world.”

Under the longer-term deal, the two companies will build new mobile-based financial services for Interswitch’s rapidly expanding customer base of over 25 million people in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Azimo’s Founder and CEO is also part of the delegation accompanying the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, on her five-day visit to South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.

“The scale of opportunity for London businesses across Africa is huge,” the PM said. “111 African companies have already come to the Capital to raise the funds they need to invest and grow, and now we want to go further to ensure that the UK is the partner of choice for African nations.”

Theresa May is scheduled to be in Nigeria on Wednesday.


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