Interswitch and Interstellar Partner to develop Blockchain-Powered Infrastructure

Interswitch and Enterprise Blockchain Infrastructure Services Company, Interstellar Inc. are collaborating to develop blockchain-powered infrastructure services and solutions.

For over two years Interswitch has been working with Interstellar conducting blockchain technology research. As part of this partnership, Interstellar’s Blockchain technology stack will be integrated with Interswitch’s industry-leading payments and digital commerce technology. Both companies have been preparing for the blockchain revolution in the African market with several ongoing initiatives including a Pan African Payment Ecosystem (PAPE) powered by a private permissioned blockchain network which includes a consortium of Banks and Fintech players.

Ernest Mbenkum, Founder and CEO at Interstellar, commented, “We are delighted to have established this strategic partnership with Interswitch, one of Africa’s most valuable fintech businesses. This marks the genesis of an innovative and collaborative partnership aimed at delivering impact-focused and enterprise-grade blockchain-powered services across the African continent.”

Interswitch has been a leading force as it pertains to innovation milestones in payments in Nigeria for the last 20 years, garnering recognition along the line as one of the fastest-growing technology companies in Africa (Deloitte Fast-Growth 50) and gaining acclaim as the first homegrown African Fintech Unicorn following a minority investment by Visa in late 2019. Today, Interswitch’s current business footprint covers more than 26 countries in Africa.

The company has taken several strides in the payment space in 2021. Interswitch in  February launched Quickteller Business, a new comprehensive corporate solution focused on empowering businesses of all sizes to facilitate payments and manage transactions from anywhere in the world. Last month, it teamed up with leading global open API banking solution provider, Codebase Technologies to speed up the transformation of digital banking across Africa.

 Akeem Lawal, Divisional Chief Executive Officer for Transaction Switching and Payment Processing at Interswitch said, “We are excited to partner with Interstellar on this journey and we look forward to the amazing things we will achieve together in the African market. This new alliance underscores the directional evolution of our blockchain innovation strategy which is premised on our strategic intent of developing a native, proprietary enterprise-grade distributed ledger technology stack that is practically tailored to the African context. This enables us to progressively digitize multiple industry value-chains across African markets whilst also supporting the actualization of the Pan African Payment Ecosystem, riding the wave of opportunities created by such initiatives as the AfCFTA.”