…with Raquel Kasham Daniel
Over the last three years, Guardian Woman Festival has brought together women leaders, policymakers, business executives, entrepreneurs, creatives, development practitioners, media professionals and other stakeholders committed to advancing opportunities for women and girls.
As we prepare for the 2027 edition hosted by Federal Palace Resort, with the theme, ‘Women as wealth creators’, we spotlight Raquel Kasham Daniel, a social entrepreneur and creator of Voluserve, a digital platform that uses volunteering as a pathway to learning, talent development, and impact. She is also the Founder of Beyond the Classroom Foundation, expanding educational opportunities for children and young people in underserved communities.
Take us through your career path?
I like to say that my career actually started before I got into university. Very early, I found that my heart really beats around children and adolescent girls and some of the issues affecting them. I was still very clear that I wanted education to be part of my life, so I studied Education at the university. And while I was in university, I formally registered Beyond the Classroom Foundation. So I was studying and building an organisation at the same time. After graduation, I’ve had quite a diverse career. Over the last 15 years, I’ve written over 30 books for children, developed educational board games, and built programmes for girls and young people.
More recently, I’ve moved into technology, where I’m building Voluserve to make it easier for young people to find volunteering opportunities in Nigeria. And now I’m also actively working in the media space, where a big part of what I do is tell stories. So, even though the things I’ve worked on have changed over the years, I think there has always been this thread of people, stories, opportunities and building things that can make a difference.
What does women creating wealth mean to you?
For me, it means women being able to create value and actually benefit from the value they create. Women are working. We’re building things, supporting families, raising children, creating businesses, working in organisations. But sometimes, after all that work, we’re not necessarily building anything for ourselves. So I think we need to start asking ourselves, What am I building that I own? It could be a business. It could be property. It could be investments. It could be intellectual property. It could even be a skill that gives you more earning power.
How are you creating sustainable wealth as a woman?
I’m actually much more intentional about this now. For a long time, I was very focused on impact. I was building organisations, programmes and projects and thinking a lot about the people we were trying to help. But I realised at some point that impact alone doesn’t pay the bills, and you can’t keep building everything around passion and goodwill. So, a couple of years ago, I started thinking differently about money. That means saving and investing. Now, I invest in things like stocks, bonds and mutual funds, and I’m working towards bigger assets like real estate. I’m also building businesses, developing products and building platforms that can continue to generate value beyond the hours I personally put into them.
What is your charge to other women on living purposefully?
I would say, don’t wait until you have everything figured out. I definitely didn’t. Pay attention to the things you care about. Pay attention to the problems you naturally find yourself wanting to solve. Start there and allow yourself to learn as you go. Your direction can become clearer along the way.
Interested organisations can explore sponsorship, partnership and programme-hosting opportunities by contacting [email protected], Ricketts: +234 802 301 5115 or Olayinka: +234 808 695 1129.
