Interstellar Partner With Interswitch Group To Develop Blockchain-Powered Infrastructure
Interstellar Inc. has partnered with Interswitch Group to develop blockchain-powered infrastructure services and solutions.
Both firms have been working over the last two years on blockchain technology research.
As part of the partnership, Interstellar’s Blockchain technology stack (STARGATE) will be integrated with Interswitch’s industry-leading payments and digital commerce technology. This will enhance the vision of the businesses to drive greater financial inclusion and prosperity across the continent.
Both 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.
Founder and CEO at Interstellar, Ernest Mbenkum, said: “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.”
Divisional Chief Executive Officer for Transaction Switching and Payment Processing at Interswitch, Akeem Lawal, 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 digitise 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.”
Interswitch has been at the forefront of major 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 business footprint covers more than 26 countries in Africa.
– TheNation