Business

This is Why Folabi Clement Solanke Moved from Soccer into Education

Published

5 years ago

December 18, 2020

This is Why Folabi Clement Solanke Moved from Soccer into Education

One of the lesser understood aspects of running a nonprofit is that salability and relatability are just as important as the charitable act itself. If you want to drive funds to a specific cause, you need to make it relatable.

If your parents pass away from cancer, you’re more likely to donate to cancer charities. If you had a difficult childhood or have children yourself, you’re more likely to donate to children’s charities.

For Folabi Clement Solanke, the goal was always to help children in the poorest areas of Nigeria. He began by staging soccer tournaments and worked with major US teams like Phoenix Rising to ship essential sports equipment and other supplies.

He wanted to raise awareness and funnel some much-needed funds to these regions, but he soon realized that Americans aren’t really that interested in soccer.

That’s when he switched his focus to education, an area that desperately needs assistance and is severely short on funds.

Primary school education is free in Nigeria, but millions of kids don’t attend and the ones that do are forced to subsist on the barebones. They don’t have desks or chairs; many have little more than a blackboard and a willing teacher. That’s the extent of their entire education and it’s why Nigeria has some of the lowest literacy rates in the world.

It’s not about what’s more or less important. The goal is to raise awareness, get more money, and direct this to the areas that need it most. Whether that money is generated through soccer tournaments, music events, or raffles, it doesn’t matter—it all goes to the same place, it all helps to fix the problem.

The key is to find the right angle and for Solanke, honesty has been the best approach.

“I think charities are overly cautious about these things and aren’t as open as they perhaps should be. I don’t mind coming out and admitting that I need social media engagement. I need celebrities, influencers, and sports stars. It’s not a popularity contest. I’m not trying to increase those numbers for my own vanity. It’s about getting more eyes on the things that matter. That’s how we get funding and that’s how we make a difference.

Everyone can help. It’s not just about donations. If you have 1,000 followers and you promote an event, maybe 1 or 2 of your followers will donate money, supplies, or time. Maybe they’ll share it to an even larger number of followers.”

The pandemic and the SARS protests have placed a massive obstacle in Solanke’s way, making his job even harder, but he hasn’t given up and has redoubled his efforts. To support him on his journey, visit his website or find him on Instagram.

Business

Black Banx Group — Third Quarter 2025 Results

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2025

Matthew Wiles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE · Road Town, British Virgin Islands · October 30 2025

Black Banx reports USD 4.3 billion revenue and USD 1.6 billion pre-tax profit in third quarter 2025

Black Banx Group today announced its results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2025, delivering strong performance with further progress toward its full-year targets.

Key figures for Q3 2025:

Revenue: USD 4.3 billion
Profit before tax (PBT): USD 1.6 billion
Cost-to-income ratio: ≈ 62%
Customer base (period-end): ~92 million clients

YTD (first nine months) results: Revenue USD 12.7 billion, PBT USD 4.7 billion, positioning the Group on track toward its full-year ambitions of ~USD 17 billion revenue and ~USD 6.4 billion PBT.

“Our Q3 results reaffirm the scalability and resilience of our platform,” said Michael Gastauer, Group CEO. “By continuing to scale our client base, deepen engagement, and drive operational efficiencies, we maintain momentum toward our 100 million-customer milestone and full-year ambitions.”

Daniel Dumitrascu, Group CFO, added: “We are pleased to demonstrate sequential improvement in our cost/income ratio despite ongoing investment in growth markets. With the first nine months delivered, our Q4 plan is well calibrated to close the year strongly.”

Business highlights:

Net customer adds of approximately 8 million during Q3, bringing the total client count to ~92 million as of 30 September 2025. On pace for the 100 million-customer target by year-end.
Continued growth across emerging markets, driven by expansion efforts in Africa, South Asia and Latin America.
Strong transaction volumes across cross-border payments and cryptocurrency-adjacent services, contributing to top-line resilience.
Ongoing initiatives to optimise operations and automate processes delivered a sequential improvement in cost/income ratio to ~62% from ~64% in Q2.
Strategic investments sustained in growth markets while preserving profitability and shareholder value.

Outlook:

With three quarters behind it, Black Banx remains aligned with its 2025 full-year targets of approximately USD 17 billion in revenue and ~USD 6.4 billion in pre-tax profit. The company anticipates a seasonally stronger Q4 performance, underpinned by ongoing global client acquisition and further monetisation of its platform.

About Black Banx Group:

Black Banx Group is a global digital banking and fintech platform serving tens of millions of private and business clients across more than 180 countries. The Group offers seamless, borderless banking services, including multi-currency accounts, cross-border payments and cryptocurrency-compatible solutions. Headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, Black Banx is dedicated to innovation, financial inclusion and delivering value to its stakeholders.

Media Contact:

Black Banx Media Relations
Email: [email protected]

Forward-looking statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the Group’s business strategy, financial prospects, targets and trajectory. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.