Macauley Atasie
MD/CEO
Nextzon Business Services

Macauley Atasie is the MD/CEO of NEXTZON Business Services Limited, an emerging markets management consulting and enterprise development company whose operations started in March 2005. Before this he was Head ePayments, Ventures and Strategy Development in Accenture Nigeria where he left to be MD/CEO of HEIRS Alliance (a forerunner to the very successful HEIRS Holdings Limited).

Mac led the process for setting the tone for the Nation’s ePayment sector from the early 2000s; postulating the industry vision at various ePayment summits held in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. At Accenture, Mac led the conceptualisation and setup of Interswitch and eTranzact and also championed the reform agenda for the then ValuCard (now Unified Payments Limited). At the national level, he steered the group that defined Nigeria’s eGovernment’s strategy in 2005/6; a process that ushered in the establishment of National e-Government Strategies Limited (NeGSt). The NeGSt is a body chaired by NITDA, a sister MDA to NCC. The emergent strategy formed the basis for a lot of eGovernment transformation initiatives Nigeria has seen over the past decade.

Another feat achieved is the introduction of the first POS network and Agency Banking in Nigeria. He led the launch of the first for-profit business incubation platform in Nigeria with funding support from the World Bank. Mac is currently the President of E-Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (EPPAN), an umbrella body of all ePayments providers in the country.

Under Mac’s leadership, NEXTZON has supported over 400 clients across leading sectors of the economy including State Governments, Commercial Banks, Insurance Companies, SMEs and regulatory bodies including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) etc. The firm project-managed the development of the nation’s multisector FSS2020 (Nigeria's Financial Systems Strategy for year 2020) blueprint in 2006/8, working with over ten top rated management consultancy firms operating in Nigeria. The company has also conducted insightful researches for companies in various sectors such as General Electric (GE), Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), Federal Ministry of Communication Technology etc.

ac has been influential within the technology space in Nigeria featuring in notable events including the 2018 Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition where he was a panel member in discussing ‘Fintech Disruption: Which Way Africa’ and the Mobile West Africa Conference in 2017 on the development of Fintech. He was a major speaker at the 5th E-Government summit 2016 deliberating on increasing IGR Efficiency and Accountability through Smart Innovations.

Macauley has a BSc. (Second Class Upper Division) degree in Microbiology and MSc. in Pharmacy, both from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He has attended several courses and executive programmes at Stanford University in the United States, Cranfield University in the United Kingdom and Witts University in South Africa.