Of all acts of love, the one shown towards the poor is the greatest. Social scientists argue that humans are naturally selfish towards themselves but Adewale Adetona, popularly known as Islimfit, is showing that even the study of human behaviour is far from being complete.

Islimfit, a Nigeria-born digital technologist and marketing expert, has been using his strategic position in the industry to improve the lives of the common man at every level. According to the World Poverry Clock in 2020, 105million people in the country live in extreme poverty, a fact that triggered the idea of Menopays, a technological intervention by him aimed at helping the poor.

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Speaking in a recent interview on the reason for co-founding the start-up, Islimfit, the brain behind Lagos Digital Summit (LDS), said his passion is to make impact in the lives of poor Nigerians.

Islimfit explained a pathetic scenario where one of the co-founder of the project, Reuben Olawale Odumosu, lost his best friend to malaria because the victim’s family couldn’t afford a standard medication due to poverty.

“His best friend in high school died because his parents couldn’t afford NGN2,500 malaria medication at the time and point of need which led to them going for a cheaper drug that eventually led to his death”, Islimfit stated.

Speaking further, Islimfit said,  “Menopays exists to prevent such situations by making basic needs like healthcare, groceries and clothing available to our customers even when they don’t have the money to pay at that moment”.

Islimfit averred that the idea of Menopays is to take the burden of having to pay for essential services immediately off the poor masses in Nigeria, help them save more money and pay later, in the bid to eradicate poverty.

“So in light of this, at Menopays, we believe that if some particular things are taken care of, individuals stand a lot more chances of survival,” Islimfit explained.

Continuing,  Islimfit said, “Take for instance, someone earns NGN18,000, spends NGN5,000 on transport, NGN7,000 on food and rent and some other miscellaneous of NGN6,000; with Menopays, we take out the cost of transportation and food (by providing you access to our merchants) and we give them more time to pay over the next three months. 

“Which means each month the customer is positive cash flow of NGN6,000. We turn a negative cash flow into a positive cash flow and savings, thereby fighting poverty”,

Islimfit added.