Meet Wale Abba, The Man Behind Quickteller
Meet Wale Abba, the man behind Interswitch's Quickteller
International Switch, a Nigerian fintech behemoth, has been at the forefront of digital payment innovation for the past 19 years in Nigeria — where it is responsible for a large portion of the nation's electronic financial transactions (EFT) infrastructure — as well as other African countries.
Alumnus of Interswitch, TeamApt, is one of the startups that competes with some of the products offered by Interswitch and was founded by an Interswitch employee. Some of the company's former employees have gone on to hold senior positions in a variety of Nigerian startups, with fintech behemoth Paystack serving as an example.
In addition to payment switching, disbursement, collection, and other mobile financial services across the continent, the company offers a variety of products that are available across the continent's borders. The company also operates a network of cards called the Verve card network, which serves the majority of African cardholders.
Another option is Quickteller, a mobile-based B2C and B2B platform (with a mobile app) that provides loan services, online shopping, and the newly launched Quickteller Business suite of tools for businesses.
Originally known as Adewale Otolorin, Wale Abba is the mastermind behind Interswitch's widely used Quickteller service, as well as a number of banking apps and ATM interfaces. With over 15 years in the construction industry, he is now focused on passing on his knowledge, experience, and influence to the next generation, which he considers to be the "greatest investment."
Working in the public eye is not something I enjoy doing; instead, I prefer to work behind the scenes. My recent realization, on the other hand, is that in order to achieve some of the life goals I've set for myself, I must first take a step forward.
The majority of his time over the last four years has been spent mentoring people in product design, time-management, personality development, and helping them gain confidence, according to Wale.
The truth is that Wale was not always certain of what he wanted for his own personal development.
In search of a sense of fulfillment
If I had to describe Wale's development in one word, I'd say it was "experimental."
Having grown up as the youngest of nine children born to a politician in Lagos State's Amuwo-Odofin Local Government, his first serious exposure to graphic design came when he designed campaign fliers for his father during his father's political campaign. His previous designs were done for fun while he was playing Commando Stimulator in cyber cafes.
As a child, he struggled with low self-esteem, which he tried to hide behind his determination. During his undergraduate studies at the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, however, he came to a fork in the road and decided to change direction. He had intended to pursue a degree in business information technology upon returning to school, but was instead offered a position in creative computing technology instead.
“I enrolled in the course and went to the department, where I saw Playstation and Xbox consoles, as well as other high-tech items,” says the student. Then I thought to myself, 'This is different,' and I expressed interest," he recalls laughing.
Consequently, the construction and design of educational facilities occupied the majority of his time. Aside from the fact that he enjoyed it, he wished to achieve a high grade and, as a result, obtain an excellent job in the United Kingdom.
When businesses sent representatives to his school to recruit students who were a good fit for their organizations, things began to change for him. Upon further investigation, he discovered that the best students in the department had turned down jobs with these large corporations in order to pursue their passions in their home countries. He was taken aback.
“It was a watershed moment for me,” he says of the experience. Then it dawned on me: "At that point, I realized that at the end of the day, everything is about your happiness." As a result, I made the decision to relocate back to Nigeria.”
Building for massive impact
It was as a freelance designer for Nigeria's HiTV cable service that Wale landed his first job outside of the United Kingdom. He gained notoriety for founding Africa's first voting platform for the Future Awards, which was the first of its kind in the continent. Soon after, he received an invitation to become a member of the Interswitch team in 2010.
“I started working at Interswitch as a user interface designer. I started out as a designer for Interswitch and ended up working on a variety of different products. Are you familiar with what it's like to work on products that are used by millions of people?
You can change the behavior of hundreds or thousands of people simply by moving a button from one side to the other on your computer. As a result, you have the ability to influence others' perceptions of you. “That is the level of influence I hoped for,” he says, beaming with satisfaction.
He was a member of the Interswitch team that persuaded businesses to request visually appealing websites, paving the way for startups to develop software solutions to meet their needs. He was pleased to be a part of it at first, but he soon became bored with it.
He aspired to something greater than simply designing what a customer wanted. He wished to be able to construct what he believed customers required but did not request due to their lack of knowledge of the subject.
The following year, Wale joined Fidelity Bank, where he was responsible for developing the bank's Internet banking and mobile banking applications in just four months. Aside from that, he was responsible for the development of the software for the financial institution's first interactive ATM and for revolutionizing the way the financial institution approached product branding.
It was inevitable that Wale would come to the conclusion that he needed to return to Interswitch.
Incredibly, he has accomplished so much at Fidelity Bank in less than a year, and he is quick to credit Deji Olowe for his accomplishments in the company. In the meantime, Wale was working at Stanbic IBTC Bank, fine-tuning their product offerings.
As soon as he returned to Interswitch, Wale put everything he'd learned about user experience and anticipating client needs into practice. He made improvements to Quickteller, which he had created before leaving. He also worked in the department of Mobile Finance, which he found interesting.
Wale has created mobile applications for Access Bank, First Bank, and GTBank, among other financial institutions. In addition, he is in charge of the Western Union, MVisa, and Interswitch Point-of-Sale apps, among others.
In his own words, he acknowledges that his growth story would be incomplete if Interswitch had not been involved.
“Before leaving Interswitch, I was in charge of a team of approximately 22 people who worked in four different countries. It is still my firm belief that if it weren't for Interswitch, I don't know where I would be right now. In addition, the company gave me the opportunity to expand on the work I had already begun outside of Nigeria.”
A feeling of dread turned into a sense of determination
"I am a peacock, and I will spread my wings and fly!" is Wale's catchphrase. He is pleased with his professional achievements, and he is pleased with himself.
I started out as a graphic designer, moved on to product design and then began writing code, creating video games, and finally transitioning to marketing; I also worked in sales and even entertainment at one point. This means that I've had the opportunity to work in every unit and department. Every day, I come into contact with other people. It is important to me to understand how others think and perceive creativity.”
However, Wale is concerned that he is not doing enough and that, as a result, he will not leave a lasting impression on the people around him. That is the driving force behind him. A "community and talent pool" for people working in any field, "whether product design, project management, or technology," is what he hopes to build.
Are you interested in learning how he intends to bring this vision to fruition?
Wale talks about how he's been able to build such a powerful network of people over the course of his career. In his current position, he is the director of Bycep, an academy that connects students with a network of mentors.
Throughout my career, I've had the opportunity to build relationships with people from a variety of industries and at various stages of their lives. And all of the conversations have given me the opportunity to make a decision.”
Wale is also involved in event planning outside of the technology industry. In addition, he enjoys interior design, photography, and watching movies and television shows.
As a result of his return to Nigeria, Wale recalls with fondness the early months of his return, during which he collaborated with renowned Nigerian comedian Basket Mouth to create a website and promote his comedy show, Uncensored. Besides designing the Nigeria Music Video Awards' branding, he also co-founded a company with a friend, Adekunle Adegboyega, to produce affordable products for the general public.
He has political aspirations and believes that trying new things throughout one's life will help one's skill set to grow and develop throughout one's entire life.
He believes that you cannot afford to make significant improvements in a single area because someone will always be one step ahead of you in that area.
“You can only be good at one thing at a time. What will set you apart and make you more marketable is the breadth of your experience in a variety of different fields. His advice for improving is to "touch everything else; there is gold somewhere that fits your personality and suits you perfectly, and nobody will take it away from you."
The 35-year-old is currently the Head of Marketing at Indicina, a financial analytics startup powered by artificial intelligence. He also recently founded Aeropay, a payment platform. He acknowledges that he has other products in development that he would prefer not to discuss.
In order to maintain a healthy work-life balance, Wale relies on personal assistants to help him manage his work schedules and family responsibilities.
