Dr (Mrs) Markie Idowu

Dr (Mrs) Markie Idowu has over 35 years of experience in Banking and IT, with 28 years spent in the banking industry. She has worked for several banks including GTBank, Fidelity Bank and Polaris Bank, where she left as Executive Director (ED) As Group Managing Director/CEO, Xpress Payment Solutions Limited, a leading financial technology company in Nigeria, she is leading major strategic initiatives and the transformation of the company to be Africa’s preferred choice for e- payments.

A life-long learner, she holds an MSc in Software Engineering with Distinction and Best Result from Aston University, UK. This was after graduating at 19 with first class in Computer Science from the University of Benin, where she finished as the Faculty of Science’s Best Graduating Student. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from Lagos Business School and a PhD in Credit Management. As an avid learner, she attends executive education programmes at Harvard, MIT, LSE, INSEAD, Euromoney, LBS, among others, to stay in the forefront of 21st-century knowledge.

Recently named Chair of Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN) Advisory Board 2023 – 2024 for her numerous contributions in the technology space, she was crowned Best Female Fintech CEO in 2022. She was honoured as one of “Africa’s Most Inspirational Women in Leadership” in 2022 and 2023. She is a member of Institute of Directors (IOD), Fellow of National Institute of Credit Administration, where she is also Vice Chairman of council, and an Honorary Senior Member (HCIB) of Chartered Institute of Bankers. She is a Recipient of the prestigious British Chevening Scholar Award (1992), Distinguished Leadership in National Development Gold Award (2005), Africa’s Best Payment Solution Personality of the Year (2020) and Payment Solution Personality of the Year (2023).