African professionals gathered on Saturday for the half-day African Immigrant professional Development Conference (AIPDC), hosted annually by the Center for Immigrant Career Advancement. Now in its seventh year, the keynote address was presented by Tom Gitaa, the founder and publisher of Mshale.
This year’s theme was ‘Harnessing the Power of Community.”
In the address Gitaa gave at the AIPDC, the publisher told participants that African immigrants’ economic contributions to Minnesota and hence their power has continued to grow in the last two decades.
“African immigrants have paid millions on taxes as their numbers have increased in Minnesota, to both the state and federal governments and their share is increasing each year,” Gitaa said. “The Federal Reserve Bank in a study published just before the pandemic said African immigrants in Minnesota paid over $200 million in state taxes and over $400 million in federal taxes.”
The conference’s main objectives since its founding have been to equip African immigrants with the tools they need to overcome barriers in career development.
When asked for advice on the challenges in obtaining startup capital that those who might want to go into business instead of being employed face, Gitaa encouraged them to learn and familiarize themselves with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): “CDFIs like African Development Center and African Economic Development Solutions both of which are headed by African immigrants, can be a good source of financing and business consulting if one is having trouble working with mainstream banks, a lot of African businesses in our state owe their existence to these organizations.”
Ose Sesay, who consults for major companies in their recruitment efforts, led a breakout session titled “Mastering the Art of the Pitch” where she told participants it was important to learn the right techniques in job searching and career advancement. Advice echoed in another breakout session led by Felix Okoth, host of the “Leadership & Personal Branding Podcast,” who said personal branding is important as it will help African professionals to avoid being underutilized and overlooked. Conference co-founders Miata Getaweh and Margretta Supuwood hosted another breakout session that explored workplace culture and the challenges it presents to African immigrant professionals.
A stimulating keynote panel comprising of accomplished African immigrant professionals in the medical and data privacy fields perhaps best illustrated some of the unique challenges many face, and the resilience that is needed. Consisting of Dr. Nini Mentan, Dr. Mankpondehou Etienne Djevi, Elias Usso and Huldah Hiltsley, the panel emphasized the importance of excellence and of Africans “being twice as good” to be taken seriously in the workplace and networking as much as possible.
“I was already a trained doctor in Benin where we speak French, and when I moved here had to learn English in order to continue practicing medicine,” Dr. Djevi said. Learning English and going through medical school again in the U.S. was not easy but he was able to overcome. What turned out to be a bigger challenge was obtaining a medical residency so he could become a fully licensed physician. He sent hundreds of applications without success.
“However, I just needed that one break through someone I met at an event and the rest is history,” said Dr. Djevi as he emphasized the importance of networking and talking to others outside of one’s comfort zone.
Brooklyn Park resident, Rita Apaloo, who is a civil servant and author is among the cofounders of the conference but has recently taken a break, said the break from organizing the conference has not stopped her from attending as it is an important gathering place for African professionals and the community.
“The speaker and the panelists are just always great and it is good for me to just listen to them,” Apaloo said. “Their stories are very inspiring.”
Author
About Jasmine Webber, Mshale Photojournalist
Jasmine Webber is a photojournalist at Mshale. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota.
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