It is one thing to carve a niche for yourself and be known for doing great things while you’re in your motherland; it is another thing entirely to go to a place where no one knows you, build up from the scratch and make impactful waves in diaspora. This is the story of Temitope Fashakin, the founder of Giving Aid International Network (GAIN), who, through GAIN, has made funds for quality education accessible to those who cannot afford it on their own. Asides being able to gather scholarship funds during the pre-COVID period, Temitope was also able to pull this off during the peak of the Covid outbreak and lockdown.
Covid-19 rocked the boat of several organizations and some have been overwhelmed by it. However, this is not the case for GAIN as Temitope was able to harness scholarships of over 130 million naira for 4 students who resumed school last year and are currently students in the US for their undergraduate program. This is a feat worth gushing over.
It is possible to wonder about how passionate Temitope is about encouraging and putting in the work towards educational inclusion. Bear in mind that this was not just some ‘out-of-the-blue’ initiative that was established when he left the country as he has been putting smiles on students’ faces since his undergraduate days at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun state, Nigeria. As an undergraduate student, Temitope raised scholarship funds of over three million dollars ($3,000,000) and with these funds, he facilitated undergraduate and graduate scholarships for students to school in the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany. As of today, the beneficiaries of the scholarship are now seasoned professionals abroad.
One would think that Temitope would bask in GAIN’s success and rest on his oars. Nevertheless, Temitope’s drive for entrepreneurship would drive him to set up a Fashion and Food services brand, Farii Ideas and Concept Services; which has grown into a well-known brand in Victoria Island, Lagos.
He then went back to his first love which is educational services and established Qpat Solutions, a brand designed to provide educational and cost-friendly consultancy services to schools and organisations. He co-founded Qpat with Dr (Mrs) Temilade Sesan, a woman of many parts. Dr Sesan is a seasoned renewable energy consultant, architect and academic.
Temitope Richard Fashakin has been a member of the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Yali Network and the United States Information Resource Center.

Temitope is one who believes in giving back to his society; and he has dedicated his lifetime in doing so. He is one who believes in developing the future of the country, which are the Nigerian youths. And he does this by providing access to quality education which will help buffer the effects of the Nigerian educational system on young Nigerian talents. Temitope is one who would defy the odds and circumstances such as COVID-19 to ensure that Nigerian students can have a chance at quality education. Temitope is a Nigerian in the diaspora, doing great things both in Nigeria and the United States.