- Eyes Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kano, FCT for expansion
- Canvasses citizens’ driven projects
BY COBHAM NSA – Former Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, says DashMe Stores, a social enterprise she founded, has raised over ₦500 million to support vulnerable persons and orphanages across Nigeria as part of its corporate stewardship
According to her, plans are also on course to expand the initiative to other cities, including Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kano and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Adeosun said DashMe, which was founded in 2021 with just one outlet, has grown into a network of charity retail stores that convert donated items into funding for social projects.
She said in an interview on Channels Television’s Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, that the organisation currently operates one store in Abuja and three in Lagos, with a fifth outlet scheduled to open in Abeokuta next month.
“We started in 2021 with one store. We’re now on our fifth store and expanding. We have one in Abuja, three in Lagos, and one opening in Abeokuta. We’re talking about Ibadan this year and Port Harcourt, and we’re already discussing Kano”, Mrs Adeosun said
Explaining that DashMe relies on partnerships in locations where her team cannot be physically present, Adeosun said, “In each of those places, we rely on partners to work with us, and we’re seeing no shortage of people willing to get involved. They like what we’re doing. They like helping.”
Furthermore, she said DashMe operates a strict not-for-profit model, with all proceeds reinvested into social causes, adding: “Cumulatively, we’ve raised over ₦500m from our stores and partnerships, and that is exactly how much has gone out.
“I don’t get paid. The only people who are paid are the shop staff. Everything else goes back into helping people.”
On project execution, the former Minister said DashMe has built about four orphanages from scratch, refurbished several others and taken over long-abandoned projects, noting that one such project, started 42 years ago by a private individual, had remained unfinished, leaving children in rented accommodation for decades.
She disclosed that “Children’s lives are unstable enough without landlords issuing quit notices. They deserve to be in their own homes.”
While recounting a setback where one orphanage under construction was vandalised shortly before Christmas, with electrical fittings stolen, Mrs Adeosun said, “It was painful, especially because it was pointless. But we’ll soldier on and complete the project.”
She stated that with expansion to new cities beckoning, DashMe will remain focused on scale, accountability and compassion, stressing; “My vision was to build an African charity that works to international standards. One that challenges the narrative that Africans are waiting to be rescued. That narrative is not true.”
On biting poverty traumatising the populace, Adeosun said the issue is global and not unique to Nigeria, noting also that “Every country has a metric for classifying poverty.
“Interestingly, the country with the highest number of people in poverty is China. We talk about the boom of China, but we forget there is an underbelly of extreme poverty in rural areas”.
Also noting that Nigeria’s large population means poverty figures will always appear high in absolute terms, she said; “Because of our numbers, there will always be a core of poverty that remains.”
Identifying socioeconomic progress as a critical issue of development, Mrs Adeosun said: “What matters is whether people are able to move from poverty into the middle or lower-middle class. The worst kind of poverty is generational poverty, where generation after generation remains poor with no social mobility.”
According to her, education and enterprise remain the fastest routes out of poverty, adding; “Are we seeing young people from villages who have hope of a middle-class life through education or enterprise? If we are, then there is reason to be optimistic”
While maintaining that one person exiting poverty often supports several others through remittances and family support, the former Minister emphasised the role of individuals and the private sector in building social institutions, arguing that governments often formalise initiatives that citizens start.
She cited the origins of council housing and major hospitals in the United Kingdom, saying: “Government never starts anything. People start, and government takes it over.”
Calling to mind an instance where DashMe sought permission to refurbish a state-run orphanage, only for the government to promise to handle it, Mrs Adeosun said: “It’s the people that lead government. One of our challenges in Nigeria is that we expect government to lead the people. It should be the other way around.”
