By Chinonso Alozie

OWERRI — Interswitch has opened the sixth edition of its TechConnect industry engagement series in Owerri, bringing together stakeholders to examine the future of digital payments and financial infrastructure in Nigeria.

The event, held at Protea Hotel, Owerri, was themed, “Built for What’s Next: Designing Adaptive Financial Infrastructure for a Dynamic Market.”

The gathering focused on the need for financial infrastructure capable of adapting to changing technology, customer expectations, emerging business models and the growing demands of the digital economy.

Stakeholders from government, financial services, technology and business sectors attended the event.

Delivering the keynote address, the Executive Chairman of the Imo State Internal Revenue Service, Justice R. Okoye, examined how connected and adaptive infrastructure could strengthen institutions, improve service delivery and expand economic participation.

Also speaking, the Vice President of Business Innovation and Growth at Interswitch, Tyoyila Aga, said financial infrastructure must be designed with resilience, flexibility, security and inclusion in mind as digital transformation continues.

Aga said, “As financial infrastructure evolves, we have an opportunity to design that change deliberately, with the resilience to withstand disruption, the flexibility to adapt, the security to earn trust and the inclusiveness to ensure that more people can participate in the economy.”

He said as financial services, businesses and government processes became increasingly digital, infrastructure must evolve from standalone systems into connected ecosystems capable of supporting new services, channels and changing customer expectations.

Aga also identified interoperability, cybersecurity, data governance and digital inclusion as important considerations in building infrastructure capable of remaining relevant as the market evolves.

A panel session examined the roles of government, industry and digital talent in shaping Nigeria’s digital economy, while a fireside discussion explored how public-private partnerships could support more connected and sustainable digital solutions.

The event also featured demonstrations of Interswitch’s enterprise payment and digital commerce solutions, highlighting how technology could improve transaction processing and payment experiences across physical and digital channels.

The Owerri edition is the first stop of the TechConnect 6.0 nationwide tour.

Further editions are scheduled to hold in Abuja on October 13, Ibadan on October 22 and Lagos on October 27, 2026.

The series is expected to continue providing a platform for stakeholders to discuss innovation, infrastructure and collaboration in support of Nigeria’s evolving digital economy.