THE BLACK Young Professionals Network (BYP) has launched a new division in Birmingham.

Following its success in London, the BYP Network, which connects young black professionals with each other, corporations and tailored opportunities, officially expanded to another regional location on Sunday (March 1).

Leading the launch, held at Birmingham’s Revolución de Cuba, Daneille Guthrie, the newly appointed Birmingham network leader, said: “This event kick-starts our journey of shining the light on young, black talent in this city. I’m passionate about creating a seat at every table for black professionals like myself, who can excel and achieve with the same opportunities as their peers.”   

“People that come to go away thinking, if they can do it, then I can do it too”

Daneille Guthrie

The launch comes as new research reveals that black millennials are at a greater risk of being in unstable employment.

The study by the Carnegie Trust UK, the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies and Operation Black Vote found that young people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are 47 per cent more likely to be on a zero-hours contract.

Also supporting the Birmingham launch was network founder, Kike Oniwinde. Oniwinde, along with her team, has amassed over 40,000 members and worked with blue-chip companies such as Sky, Netflix, Airbnb and Facebook since BYP Network’s launch in 2016.

At the event she spoke of her own experiences in the workplace and the critical need for collaboration with other black professionals at every level. Determined to make the network a real success, Oniwinde also reinforced her ambition as founder.

“We have an aggressive growth target of launching in 30 cities this year – not just in the UK, but overseas in the USA as well,” she said.

Advice

Other key speakers at the event included seasoned black professionals from the local area such as Elfried Samba, head of social content at Gymshark; Marvin Robinson, chief executive at Peterborough United Football Club Foundation; Vanessa James, head of corporate client remediation operations at Deutsche Bank and Venandah Madanhi, founder of Talk about UK.  

Each speaker focused on sharing practical tips and advice on how to remain resilient; how to overcome challenges in your career; believing in your own ability and celebrating success.    

Guthrie told the engaged and lively crowd: “The event not only allows for people to meet like-minded individuals, but to also learn from the best in the industry right now who look like them and faced similar hurdles. And for the people that come to go away thinking, if they can do it, then I can do it too.”

The BYP Network launched in Cardiff in October last year.