How Unchained Inc. Is Remedying The Black Talent Shortage In The Corporate Pipeline

Many corporations have been seeking long-term solutions to remedy their inability to attract and retain diverse talent. One under-utilized resource that some organizations are looking to is students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Many companies that are based within the U.S. and abroad are still struggling to understand why there are so few Black candidates in the talent pipeline and why once they are hired, they often leave within a few years. Bilal Issifou designed what he is hoping will be the solution to this pervasive issue. Bilal is a 21-year-old entrepreneur and HBCU graduate from Togo who founded Unchained Inc., “a tech-based start-up company with a social professional platform that helps students who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities obtain employment and career development opportunities, while helping corporations find top diverse talent.” Bilal sat down with Forbes to discuss the untapped resource within HBCUs, how he envisions Unchained will change the corporate landscape and how companies can partner with Unchained to cure their talent pipeline issues.

Janice Gassam Asare: The first thing that I wanted to ask you is what is Unchained and why did you feel like a platform like Unchained was necessary to create?

Bilal Issifou: Okay, that’s a great question…Unchained Inc., is a tech startup company on a mission to strengthen the HBCU to corporation pipeline, while making diversity, equity, and inclusion the standard for recruiting as a whole. The reason that I created the platform was [because] as an HBCU student, myself, I saw the disparities in the schools themselves, as far as students getting access to information about opportunities.

And then also on the outside, companies not knowing how to outreach or engage HBCU students. So, throughout my matriculation, I was able to obtain different opportunities that prompted me to want to facilitate a platform that allows other students to get the same opportunity I did because that changed my outlook. So, the main reason was to be a resource for HBCU students, and minority students to get opportunities. And the second reason is to help companies recruit and sustain more diverse talent and always continue to get better over the years with that.

Asare: Absolutely. So, another question that I wanted to ask you is, what would you say are the benefits to partnering with HBCU students versus Black and brown students and other racially marginalized students at white-serving or predominantly white institutions? I know that some people question the value that HBCU students bring…whether [in] corporate or outside of corporate. So, what would you say as an individual that graduated from an HBCU? What would you say are the benefits to partnering with HBCU students versus Black and brown students from predominantly white institutions?

Issifou: So, speaking from personal reference, as an HBCU student, I feel like HBCU students have a different edge just because of the way the schools are set up…HBCUs early on, when you get on campus, they started to talk to you about different career opportunities, professional development, and then your peers around you are always elevating and doing different things. So naturally, the environment causes you to want to succeed, but succeed at a higher level. And then also have pride in what you do. HBCUs are all about pride and aspiring to be better. HBCU students, they leave college with a different outlook on the world strictly because of their environment and what was around them. Also, HBCU students are very talented when it comes to having different life experiences, and how that translates to a company is having a company with someone with diverse experiences and diverse outlooks allows the company to not only excel, but also may assist with the succession plan. Because if you’re thinking about a company who has been around for a while and wants to continue to succeed, bringing fresh, new, bright talent is the best way to sustain that.

Asare: Absolutely. I love that. So, they bring a different and a unique edge to corporate America that perhaps Black and brown students, and other racially marginalized students at white-serving institutions don’t necessarily bring. So how does Unchained differ from other organizations and associations that are similar to it?

Issifou: So, Unchained Inc. differs from others in our space because we focus on industries that have large gaps in diversity, such as industrial manufacturing, financial institutions and healthcare. And we focus on those companies and help bridge that gap while also being a resource for the students. Our primary goal at Unchained is to service the students, but also service the employers. A lot of companies focus on one, but diversity is a big issue and it takes a lot of moving pieces to tackle.

Our approach is [that] we’re providing resources to these students and we’re working with these companies to help them where they’re lacking…because at the end of the day, this is a team effort. Recruiting is one thing, but it’s also about sustaining the candidate, creating that diverse environment for them. Our company moves all the pieces so we focus on the students and the employers and we bring it, make it harmonious.

Asare: Absolutely. Earlier, you [brought] up a really good point about how HBCU students are an untapped resource for corporations that they don’t always necessarily look to first. So, I think that the model of Unchained is really, really valuable to corporate spaces just because of that. Have you made any connections or have you met any interesting people while you have been creating Unchained and doing this work?

Issifou: So, actually I have been able to, throughout my entrepreneurship journey, meet a lot of different people…one that I’d like to mention is Percy ‘Master P’ Miller…me and my business partner ended up meeting him in Miami. We got the opportunity to pitch our business to him. From there, our relationship grew because he really liked what we were doing. And he also has similar interests in the HBCU space and wants to bring overall awareness to that. From our first meeting, things progressed and we’ve been working together to pretty much provide opportunities and our tagline is ‘breaking the chain’. So, breaking the chains means breaking barriers. Historic barriers that have stopped minorities from getting certain opportunities or [company] practices that have stopped minorities or diverse talent…we are pretty much using Unchained to provide students more resources and exposure in the HBCU space. [Percy Miller] actually joined our advisory board recently.

Asare: That’s amazing. I was going to ask that, but I’m glad that you elaborated on the name because I’m sure some people are wondering. I figured I knew what it meant, but I think that it’s good that you elaborated on why you decided to name it Unchained and what the mindset behind that was. So…for leadership and people in different positions within organizations—how can they get involved with and collaborate with Unchained?

Issifou: The easiest way to get involved is by partnering with us and becoming a client because essentially, we’re trying to build this network and community of companies that are on the same mission we are because that’s where the synergy is going to be at. Companies who are interested can reach out to us on our LinkedIn, at Unchained Inc., [or] via my email BIssifou@unchainedinc.com. The main way we foster our relationship or move forward is by partnering, working together, seeing what the needs are, how we can add value and then moving forward from there.

This interview was lightly edited for clarity and brevity.