New Platform Launched To Encourage Tech Companies To Hire Black Talent

A Toronto-based organization dubbed the Black Professionals in Tech Network is launching a new platform for recruitment, events, and networking to encourage companies to hire Black talent.

The network has inked partnerships with many large companies such as Toronto-Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, and Microsoft since it was founded in 2018.

Its membership has now surpassed 50,000 Black workers, primarily across Canada and the United States – up from just 20,000 a year ago.

But on Tuesday, it revealed that it would be launching a new global platform called obsidi.com during a digital event.

The platform will function as a social network, with news and social feeds, and allow workers to upload personal details and résumés, which can help them connect with prospective employers and build networks with others.

While the Black Professionals in Tech network has long bridged these kinds of connections, often over the collaboration platform Slack, the organization hopes to centralize this work through obsidi.com.

“Our business has always been clear: that betting on Black is a good way to be,” Lekan Olawoye, BPTN’s founder, said in an interview with the Global and Mail. “Companies now get an opportunity to actually build networks, find people, hire people, get to know the community, and put their brand in front of the community.”

Hundreds of BPTN’s members have already signed up for obsidi.com.

Lekan Olawoye, BPTN’s founder, has bold plans for its growth, aiming for 150,000 members by the end of 2022 and a million over the next two to three years. Black workers can sign up for free, while companies hoping to recruit or network with them will need to pay to use the service.