The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe, 48 other entrepreneurs, representing 49 countries will compete for this year’s Ernst & Young World of Entrepreneur Of The Year award.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by Ernst & Young on Thursday, stating that Elegbe had earlier won the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year award for West Africa.

Elegbe alongside other country winners will be inducted into the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year ‘Hall of Fame’ for their exceptional entrepreneurial achievements and vie for the award at the global level.

Speaking on the award, Senior Partner and EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Leader for West Africa, Ashish Bakhshi, said the global event serves as a veritable platform to inspire today’s successful entrepreneurs so they could share their incredible entrepreneurial stories.

According to Ashish, this unique set of individuals is part of the larger collective, fueling the world economy, bringing new business concepts and products to market, as well as creating jobs and wealth.

“On behalf of EY West Africa, I want to wish Mitchell the very best of luck as he joins other top global entrepreneurs to compete for the world title. We, EY Partners and the entire staff in West Africa are proud of his achievements in the business world not only in Nigeria but on the Africa Continent”, says Ashish.

The award which is considered a top award for entrepreneurs in the business world is scheduled to hold in Monaco this June and features entrepreneurs from countries and territories around the world. It is a platform EY recognizes and celebrates global business leaders whose vision and innovation are transforming the business landscape through their inspiring entrepreneurial journey.

The first and only African to win the prestigious EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year award was the Group Managing Director and CEO of Equity Bank, Kenya, James Mwangi.