Kike is the Founder and CEO of BYP Network, a platform for black young professionals to connect with each other and corporations. She has a BSc (Hons) Economics degree from the University of Nottingham and a MSc Management from the University of Florida. Kike is also a former Great Britain javelin thrower who received a full track and field scholarship to study in Florida.
The idea of BYP Network came after Kike studied abroad in the US and met fellow talented black students. Once back in London, the lack of diversity in the workplace coupled with low opportunities to meet others in the city prompted the idea. BYP Network events have since hosted events catering to thousands of black professionals, from networking drinks and recruitment fairs to charity fundraisers and the upcoming inaugural event Xmas in Wakanda.
The platform has led to Kike winning multiple awards. She has been named as a Sky Woman in Technology Scholar, and also won the Founders Forum ‘F-Factor’ Competition beating 200 applicants along with winning the New Entrepreneurs Foundation pitch contest.
Kike is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, University of Nottingham Hall of Famer and was once named as one of the top five black students in the UK. She credits her growth mindset, big vision and tenacity for her current successes. Most recently, she was named by FT as one of top 100 BAME leaders in tech, and invited to Paris by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, as part of his Business Growth Programme.
BYP Network is a platform for black professionals to connect with each other and corporations. Unlike anything seen before, we tackle the whole journey from grassroots to senior managers by providing a growth pipeline that focuses on mentorship, peer collaborations and career development. We do this through an online community and events to bring together these ambitious future leaders. Ultimately, we make it easier for innovative companies of the future to tap into diverse talent by creating an online and offline global community.
In two years, over 24000 connections have been made on our app, over 7000 people have downloaded the app, over 10000 members have joined, over 6000 people have subscribed to our weekly newsletters, and over 25000 people have followed us across social media - and that’s in 65 countries!
BYP Network is more than our app too - we run a website with weekly content including blog posts and newsletters, we have a recently launched job board, we host recruitment conferences and events, and we have our podcast launching in 2019.
With our app relaunching next year, it’s looking to be BYP’s biggest one yet!
Website: www.byp-network.com
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