For Interswitch Group, gender inclusion is a deliberate strategy that fuels growth, drives innovation, and positions the company as a leader in Africa’s technology landscape. The brand has built an ecosystem where women do not just participate but lead, influence, and shape outcomes across functions that matter to the business and society. And it does this not by accident, but through intentional structure: mentorship programmes that connect women with experienced advocates, leadership development workshops that build both technical and strategic capability, inclusive recruitment and promotion practices that reward results over bias, and deliberate representation of women in the rooms where decisions are made.
Since its founding in 2002, Interswitch has grown from a payments solutions provider to one of Africa’s most respected fintech platforms. Over the years, the company has remained steadfast in its belief that diversity and inclusion are essential business imperatives. Today, that commitment is visible across its leadership ranks, its culture, and its actions. Women at Interswitch occupy key roles across product design, marketing, communications, strategy, and product development. They drive innovation, shape market narratives, and contribute meaningfully to both company performance and industry progression. Interswitch does not just employ women; it nurtures leaders whose influence transcends their roles.
Beyond its walls, Interswitch extends this commitment into the community. It does this by investing in digital literacy, financial inclusion, and youth empowerment. This is chiefly as it reinforces its core belief that empowerment is cumulative. When women are equipped to lead at work, they are equally equipped to transform communities. This is strategic, structured and measurable, and the women driving key functions across the organisation serve as clear evidence.
Different By Design
Interswitch’s approach to inclusion is rooted in the simple but powerful principle that every individual deserves equal opportunity to contribute, to be heard, and to succeed based on merit, effort, and impact. Gender is never a barrier to opportunity. This principle is not confined to policy documents. It lives in day-to-day interactions, performance expectations, leadership visibility, and the structures that actively support women’s advancement at every career level.
What makes the company’s approach distinctive is that inclusion is not treated as a seasonal initiative or a response to external pressure. It is embedded in how the organisation is run, how talent is identified, how careers are built, and how leadership is defined. The company has created an environment where showing up as a woman is never a disadvantage and where ambition, competence, and drive are the only currencies that truly matter.
Through internal networks, mentorship programmes, and leadership development initiatives, women across the organisation have consistent access to resources that build competence, confidence, visibility, and influence. Formal and informal spaces exist where women learn, share, and grow together, making Interswitch’s gender inclusion commitment not only visible but measurable. The result is a workplace where women do not wait for permission to lead.
The Forces Behind ‘The Switch’
This year’s International Women’s Day theme, “Give to Gain,” could not have found a more fitting home than Interswitch. At Interswitch, the women who lead brand strategy, product design, enterprise marketing, and communications view giving as more than charity. It is the philosophy that shapes how they lead, mentor, and build.
Leading this retinue of indefatigable Amazons is the irrepressible Dr. Cherry Eromosele who is the Executive Vice President, Group Marketing and Communications, Interswitch. The transformation of Marketing and Communications at Interswitch into a truly strategic function can be traced back to her, drawing on her extensive experience from senior leadership roles at GSK, MTN, and Diageo. For years, her mandate has been to provide leadership and inspire Interswitch’s marketing and communications teams across all its operations in Africa, executing dynamic marketing, communications and stakeholder engagement programmes geared toward maintaining and enhancing brand awareness, preference and equity, customer acquisition, transaction growth and sustainable social responsibility.
At Interswitch, her leadership has been vital in positioning the brand as a continental fintech pioneer through visionary marketing strategies that have not only strengthened brand equity but have also advanced financial inclusion across Africa. The women featured in this piece operate within a marketing and communications culture that she helped architect. Their confidence, their strategic latitude, and the seriousness with which their functions are treated inside the organisation are, in no small part, outcomes of her tenure.
One such woman is Gloria Imevbore, Digital Marketing & PR Manager. She captures the culture at Interswitch simply: “At Interswitch, every voice is heard, and every voice is valued. She describes a workplace where inclusion is sustained not by policy but by practice, where mentorship is consistent, and where the culture of respect and recognition is not aspirational but operational. For Gloria, “Give to Gain” is a call to intentional collaboration. Giving time, mentorship, and sponsorship to others is how women uplift one another and, in doing so, uplift the organisation at large.
That same spirit of intentionality runs through the work of Atinu Odunuga, Lead, Product and User Experience Design. She operates at the intersection of creativity and strategy, where user insights shape innovation and her voice directly affects products, users, and business outcomes. For Atinu, the visibility of women in leadership at Interswitch is not just inspiring. It is a constant reminder that advancement is tangible, not abstract. Her approach to “Give to Gain” centres on being deliberate about learning, unlearning, and sharing knowledge, and on empowering others to find their voice just as she has found hers.
Where Atinu works at the level of user experience, Ogechi Okwechime, Divisional Head, Growth Marketing (Enterprise), works at the level of outcomes. She describes a culture where performance is recognised, ideas are valued, and gender plays no role in determining who succeeds. Her mandate places her at the intersection of strategy, execution, and measurable business value, and she shows up every day focused on results. For Ogechi, “Give to Gain” is about mentorship as a strategic tool. Sharing knowledge and insight nurtures talent and strengthens the organisation. Investing in others, she believes, is never a zero-sum game.
Folayemi Akinfenwa, Growth Marketing Manager, Paytoken takes that argument one step further. She connects internal empowerment to societal outcomes, believing that when organisations invest in people through mentorship, support, and real opportunities, the impact does not stop at the office door. It flows into communities and inspires the next generation. For Folayemi, Give to Gain is about contributing to a cycle of progress. Women who are supported by leadership become role models, mentors, and advocates for others. That ripple, she says, becomes a wave.
Yemisi Owonubi, Head, Masterbrand, Communications & CSR, understands exactly what that wave looks like from the outside. She sees inclusion through the lens of brand authenticity, observing clearly from her seat in communications that how an organisation treats its people is ultimately how it is perceived by the world. At Interswitch, the internal experience and the external narratives are genuinely aligned. For Yemisi, “Give to Gain” is both a cultural principle and a brand story. It reflects how Interswitch engages its people, serves its customers, and creates value for communities.
Across these women, the same themes surface repeatedly: a culture where ideas are heard, ambition is supported, and women are trusted with mandates that matter. Their journeys are not accidental. They are results from an organisation that makes a deliberate choice to invest in people and build conditions that make women’s growth not just possible but inevitable.
The Spirit Of Inclusion
Interswitch’s story carries a clear message for Nigeria’s tech and business community: inclusion is not a corporate luxury. It is a core driver of innovation, performance, and growth. The company has demonstrated, through sustained and deliberate action, that creating conditions for women to thrive does not come at the cost of business results. It produces them.
When women are trusted with strategy, product development, brand leadership, and market expansion, they deliver. The results are not coincidental. They are the compounded return on deliberate, sustained investment in people. Diverse perspectives strengthen problem-solving. Inclusive teams build more resilient organisations. And companies that prioritise inclusion are better positioned to attract talent, serve diverse users, and create meaningful impact at scale.
The organisations that will define Africa’s technology future are not necessarily those with the biggest budgets or the most aggressive growth targets. They are the ones that understand people as the true engine of progress. Interswitch has already demonstrated that inclusivity and business performance are not in tension. They are complementary. When structures are built to support women’s growth, the result is stronger teams, better products, and outcomes that matter far beyond the balance sheet.
The Future Is Already Here
Interswitch Group’s investment in female leadership is a testament to what happens when inclusion is strategic, intentional, and action-oriented. The women leading across its functions are not isolated success stories. They are the product of a culture deliberately designed to amplify women’s impact, accelerate their growth, and equip them to shape the future of technology and business in Nigeria and beyond.
Each of these women brings a distinct perspective, a different function, a different lens. But across all of them, the same thread runs: an organisation that gave them space, backed them with structure, and trusted them with mandates that matter. That is not a coincidence. It is the result of a company that made a choice, years ago, to treat inclusion not as a programme but as a practice.
By giving time, mentorship, support, and real opportunity, Interswitch is gaining leaders who are confident, capable, and ready to define what the next generation of innovation looks like. In an industry where women’s contributions are still too often overlooked, Interswitch is making them unmistakable, one leader, one team, one breakthrough at a time.
My Results And My Impact Are The Focus
Ogechi Okwechime, Divisional Head, Growth Marketing (Enterprise)
At Interswitch, performance is recognised, ideas are valued, and gender plays no role in determining who succeeds. The metrics here are accountability and excellence, and I thrive in that environment. My role places me at the intersection of strategy, execution, and measurable business value, and I show up every day focused on delivering outcomes that align with organisational goals.
“Give to Gain”, for me, is about mentorship as a strategic tool. Sharing knowledge, experiences, and insights helps to nurture talent and strengthen the organisation. Investing in others is never a zero-sum game. When leaders pour into people, the gains are mutual, lasting, and compounding. My leadership is built around helping others realise their potential, not just in technical capability but in confidence and professional presence.
Inclusive Culture Is Not Just Internal. It Is A Brand Story
Yemisi Owonubi, Head, Masterbrand, Communications & CSR
From where I sit in brand and communications, I see clearly that how an organisation treats its people is ultimately how it is perceived by the world. When people feel seen, heard, and valued, their contributions become more meaningful, and that authenticity shows up in everything the brand communicates externally. Inclusivity, practised consistently, becomes a signal of trust, integrity, and purpose.
“Give to Gain”, for me, is both a cultural principle and a brand story. It reflects how Interswitch engages its people, serves its customers, and creates value for communities. My work is to ensure that the company’s internal values align with how the brand is projected externally. That alignment is what strengthens our identity and reinforces our position as a pioneer in inclusive leadership across Africa’s technology landscape.
Empowerment At Work Creates Ripples That Reach Far Beyond Corporate Walls
Folayemi Akinfenwa, Growth Marketing Manager, Paytoken
I believe that when organisations invest in people through mentorship, support, and real opportunity, the impact does not stop at the office door. It flows into communities, inspires the next generation, and drives sustainable growth across society. For me, Give to Gain is not solely about individual advancement. It is about contributing to a cycle of progress that influences innovation and expands possibilities for women across sectors.
Mentorship and investment in people create a ripple effect. When women are supported to lead, they become role models, mentors, and advocates for others. That ripple becomes a wave. Interswitch has shown me that empowerment at work translates to confidence, resilience, and competence that go far beyond any job title or corporate wall.
True Leadership Is About Influencing Decisions, Shaping Experiences, And Solving Real Problems.
Atinu Odunuga, Lead, Product and User Experience Design
At Interswitch, seeing women occupy visible leadership positions is not just inspiring. It is a constant reminder that advancement is not abstract. It is a tangible possibility. I work in an environment where I am encouraged to take ownership of projects, express ideas freely, and drive outcomes that matter. My voice is heard, and the work I do directly affects users, stakeholders, and business outcomes.
For me, “Give to Gain” means being intentional about learning, unlearning, and sharing knowledge. True leadership is about empowering others to find their voice, just as I have found mine. Impact, not title, is what I measure myself by, and Interswitch has given me the space to build both.
Every Voice Is Heard. Every Voice Is Valued.
Gloria Imevbore, Digital Marketing & PR Manager
For me, Interswitch is a place where inclusion is not created by policy alone; it is sustained by practice. Every professional, regardless of gender, is empowered to bring their best, express ideas confidently, and lead with clarity and purpose. Mentorship is not optional here. Support is consistent. The culture of respect and recognition is not aspirational. It is operational, and I experience it every day.
“Give to Gain”, to me, is a call to intentional collaboration. Giving time, mentorship, and sponsorship to others is not charity. It is strategy. It is how women uplift one another and, in doing so, uplift the organisation at large. Leadership is about creating opportunities for others, fostering relationships that outlast titles, and building a culture of shared growth. When individuals are supported to rise, the collective benefit is exponential.
