Edward Asagba
Hamilton,ON
Summary
Accomplished business executive with a track record of success and 20 years of experience in the fintech industry, including senior leadership roles at one of Africa's largest financial technology companies. Goal is to leverage strategic vision, industry expertise, and leadership skills to drive organizational growth and success. Proven record of converting corporate vision into results that exceed stakeholder expectations. Currently focused on acquiring 1 million active merchants across Africa by 2027. Successfully diversified and expanded digital channels and product lines for Interswitch's consumer business under the Quickteller brand. Turned around a 12-year loss-making business to a profitable one within 3.5 years as the Chief Executive Officer. Led the design, development, and delivery of several payment solutions that significantly grew Interswitch's market position, outpacing competition in banking, corporate, and government sectors. These solutions currently generate over $6 million in gross margins and process over $12 billion in value annually. Versatile Managing Director with proven abilities across all levels of organizational management. Talents lie in developing partnerships, overseeing personnel, and developing tactical plans to meet strategic goals. Significant background in [Area of expertise], ready to drive success for your organization.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
Work History
Managing Director, Merchant Acquiring and Digital Ecosystems
Interswitch Nigeria Limited
04.2021 - Current
- Executive oversight of the Digital Ecosystems and Merchant Acquiring businesses for the group
- The Digital Ecosystem business is an ecosystem of value added services for B2B clients while the Merchant Acquiring business prospects and manages Payment Aggregators and Merchants
- Oversight entails managing teams responsible for sales, business development, product development, software engineering and service management using Agile methodologies
- Grew revenues by 51% for the Digital Ecosystems business and 84% for the Merchant Acquiring business in 9 months
- Grew the number of active merchants by 2,000% in 2.5 years
- Launched Interswitch's developer portal and API Gateway for the Digital Ecosystems business
- Oversaw the addition of several new and novel payment methods (Pay with Transfer, Pay with USSD, Pay with Wallet, Merchant Code, and contactless payments) on the Interswitch Payment Gateway and at offline Merchant locations in addition to existing Debit Card and Credit card options
- Incubated and established the Interswitch Developer Community – a community of software engineers and professionals
- Grew to 4,000+ developers in 12 months
- Sponsored the Interswitch Developer Academy – an annual 3 month program that trains young graduates on software engineering disciplines.
- Increased overall company performance by implementing strategic management initiatives and streamlining operations.
- Developed comprehensive business plans, outlining long-term goals and actionable steps toward success.
- Cultivated a strong organizational culture built on integrity accountability teamwork which resulted in higher retention rates among staff.
- Delivered consistent revenue growth by identifying new business opportunities and expanding service offerings.
- Enhanced team productivity with implementation of agile methodologies, fostering culture of continuous improvement.
Divisional Chief Executive Officer, Digital Commerce
Interswitch Nigeria Limited
07.2019 - 03.2021
- Executive oversight of the Digital Commerce business and strategy for the group
- The Digital Commerce business comprises of an ecosystem of value added services for B2B clients and a consumer lifestyle B2C business under flagship brands
- Oversight included strategy development, sales, business development, product development and service management working with cross functional teams in a matrix organization
- Achieved development and deployment of new service channels for the Quickteller consumer brand across internet, Mobile App and USSD channels
- Grew number of monthly active B2B clients by 50% to 500+.
Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer
Interswitch East Africa (Uganda) Limited
12.2012 - 06.2019
- Executive oversight of the Interswitch Uganda subsidiary
- The Interswitch Uganda subsidiary is a standalone entity with its own Board of Directors based in Kampala, Uganda
- Oversight included building strong relationships with financial institutions in Uganda and key financial institutions in East Africa, forging partnerships with stakeholders in financial technology and payments, developing and implementing the company's vision while creating value for shareholders
- Doubled annual revenues in 3 years, achieved profitability in 3.5 years
- Grew EBITDA by CAGR of 30% year on year
- Won and implemented Stanbic Bank Uganda's Agency Banking business. Stanbic Bank is the largest bank in Uganda
- This service alone grew transaction volumes by 400% and doubled annual transaction revenues
- Established strategic alliances with other payment switches in Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania
- Achieved deployment of new products and services for Mobile Money, bill payments, Point of Sale and EMV CHIP and PIN cards
- Negotiated and implemented Centenary Bank Uganda and PostBank Uganda joining the network
- Both banks are in the top 5 banks by customer base and their joining the interbank ATM network, grew volume of transactions by 300% and transaction revenues by 100%
- Grew client base from 9 financial institutions and 1 corporate organisation to 20 financial institutions and 40 corporate organisations.
Chief Technology & Operations Officer
Interswitch East Africa (Uganda) Limited
10.2011 - 12.2012
- Senior Management representative of the group in the subsidiary
- The Uganda subsidiary was the first subsidiary outside of parent operations in Nigeria
- Responsibilities included ensuring Interswitch East Africa (Uganda) technology strategy serves its business strategy, product development, implementation of new and existing Interswitch products, directing all infrastructure, technology and business operations activities and providing guidance in policies, procedures, controls
- Directed the delivery of an upgraded end to end inter-bank and inter-entity secure financial payments switching and processing infrastructure across multiple channels (ATMs, Point of Sale and Internet) for all transactions across the financial payments network significantly improving customer experience and service availability by 30%
- Achieved the upgrade of the digital office and products infrastructure to a high performance, highly scalable environment to enable new Interswitch products and solution sales in the Uganda market
- Implemented the first Mobile Money ATM Cash Out service in Uganda with Airtel Money.
Divisional Head, International Business
Interswitch Nigeria Limited
04.2008 - 10.2009
- Senior Manager with responsibility for International Business which entailed managing relationships with all clients outside Nigeria
- Identifying, developing, and managing rewarding and credible partnerships with industry leaders in selected markets and achieving the formulation of strategic alliances
- Also responsible for all sales and implementation of Interswitch products and services outside Nigeria, architecting and driving acquisitions and joint ventures to achieve Interswitch's international expansion
- Built alliances and gained new clients in existing and new markets covering Cameroun, Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Gambia generating $ 1m+ in revenues
- Developed the business case for the Gambia National Switch, now called Gamswitch and worked with the banks in Gambia to provide support, logistics and technical expertise and funding for its take off.
Divisional Head, Interswitch SoftApps
Interswitch Nigeria Limited
04.2008 - 10.2009
- Interswitch SoftApps was the software engineering department responsible for developing new products and services
- Responsibilities included managing the teams that architect, design, develop, deploy and support software solutions that leverage the payment switch infrastructure to provide value added services to Interswitch customers that meet required quality standards and exceed customer expectations
- Other responsibilities were supporting the Business Development and Client Engagement Divisions in the design of new products; providing technical support on complex solution sales efforts, pricing, and cost benefits; directing the software development strategy, operations, and projects
- Directed, designed and managed the development, implementation and support of products and solutions that as at were processing US$ 8b+ annually and generating revenues of US$ 2.8m+ annually
- Directed the pricing, negotiations, business development, implementation, and delivery of a collections solution for the Nigeria Customs Service
- Designed and managed the implementation and delivery of a solution framework that enables the configuration and rapid deployment of revenue collections solutions reducing customization efforts from 5 to 6 months to 1 week.
Education
Scaled Agile Platform Strategy for Business -
Boston University
2020
Miller Heiman Senior Management Program (SMP) -
Lagos Business School
The Franklin Covey Focus Workshop on Leadership -
Franklin Covey
Tango Business Management Simulation -
Celemi
Execution Excellence and Balanced Scorecard; Emotional Intelligence Program -
STI Consulting
The Leadership Challenge Workshop -
Iris Consulting
Shell Intensive Training Program (specializing in Information Technology) -
Robert Gordon University
BSc. Computer Science (Hons) -
University of Lagos, Akoka
Skills
- Operations Management
- Team Collaboration
- Client Relationships
- Account Management
- Business Planning
- Strategic Planning
- Partnership Development
- Business Development
- Strategic Partnerships
- Digital Transformation
- E-commerce strategy
Other Information
Married, Passionate about people and technology, Movies, reading, music, 8-ball pool
Languages
English
Native or Bilingual
Timeline
Managing Director, Merchant Acquiring and Digital Ecosystems
Interswitch Nigeria Limited
04.2021 - Current
Divisional Chief Executive Officer, Digital Commerce
Interswitch Nigeria Limited
07.2019 - 03.2021
Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer
Interswitch East Africa (Uganda) Limited
12.2012 - 06.2019
Chief Technology & Operations Officer
Interswitch East Africa (Uganda) Limited
10.2011 - 12.2012
Divisional Head, International Business
Interswitch Nigeria Limited
04.2008 - 10.2009
Divisional Head, Interswitch SoftApps
Interswitch Nigeria Limited
04.2008 - 10.2009
Scaled Agile Platform Strategy for Business -
Boston University
Miller Heiman Senior Management Program (SMP) -
Lagos Business School
The Franklin Covey Focus Workshop on Leadership -
Franklin Covey
Tango Business Management Simulation -
Celemi
Execution Excellence and Balanced Scorecard; Emotional Intelligence Program -
STI Consulting
The Leadership Challenge Workshop -
Iris Consulting
Shell Intensive Training Program (specializing in Information Technology) -
Robert Gordon University
BSc. Computer Science (Hons) -
University of Lagos, Akoka
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