From a WhatsApp group to a talent economy.
The story of how a mission to train Black professionals in Salesforce evolved into a platform that is redefining how the world invests in human capability.
The Problem We Saw
BlackForce was born out of frustration and purpose.
When COVID hit in 2020, Babatope Olajide was working as a Senior Salesforce Solutions Consultant. The pandemic exposed something he had been seeing for years. Black professionals and other underrepresented groups were struggling to break into the technology sector. Not because they lacked talent or drive, but because the pathways in were unclear, expensive, or simply not designed with them in mind.
He kept seeing brilliant Black professionals from Nigeria and other ethnic minority communities across North America struggling. They did not have access to the right training, skills, or networks. Traditional training was expensive. Degrees, diplomas, or certifications did not guarantee jobs. Employers struggled to find verified, job-ready talent. And the people who could benefit most from tech careers were the least likely to access them.
The gap was never talent. It was opportunity.
A Laptop and a WhatsApp Group
So he started teaching Salesforce for free in his spare time after work. No business plan. No funding. No grand strategy. Just a laptop and a WhatsApp group of people who wanted to learn. That scrappy beginning became BlackForce.
He built the curriculum himself. Ran the first cohorts himself. Stayed up late mentoring students while still delivering on consulting projects during the day. He was working 15 to 16 hours per day during COVID. When people started getting jobs, good jobs, six-figure jobs, the word spread. Enrolment grew organically.
BlackForce has always been fully virtual. There has never been in-person training, although the community has met in person for bonding events. At one point, over 400 people attended a single training session. Cohorts grew rapidly, reaching learners across Canada, the UK, and West Africa.
At the time, one in every 100 immigrants in Canada had heard of BlackForce. Today, that number is growing rapidly.
Scaling the Ecosystem
By 2022, it was clear the model worked beyond Salesforce Administration. We expanded into Business Analysis, Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, DevOps, Cloud Technologies, and Platform Development. We launched a CPD programme for working professionals who needed ongoing upskilling.
Training alone was not enough. We needed internships, work experience, mentorship, and a pathway to employment. So we built one. We launched the structured COHORT intensive programme with hackathons, group projects, Demo Days, and HR preparation that birthed real startups.
By 2024, BlackForce had graduated over 5,000 professionals. Alumni were working at Salesforce, Deloitte, Accenture, IBM, AWS, Microsoft, PwC, KPMG, Oracle, Google, and Apple. Some had started their own consulting companies. About 500 graduates, roughly one in ten, secured roles paying $100,000 or more within three to six months of completing the programme.
In 2024 and 2025, we launched paid work experience pathways providing up to two years of employment starting at three times minimum wage for exceptional young talents. Late 2024 brought the Early Stage Career Development programme for youth aged 18 to 25. In 2025, we announced the University Preparatory Academy (UPA) for teens 13 to 18, and student-built ventures launched through COHORT, including MicroAgent AI Dev Lab, Career Coach AI, Loyal Card Marketplace, and Slavo AI. We also launched CLARITY, our AI career coach for interview preparation.
The Skill Capitalization Pivot
In 2026, we asked the question that changed everything: if the world can price commodities, equities, and real estate, why can it not price human capability?
The answer was the Skill Capitalization Pivot. A strategic shift that transforms BlackForce from a training platform into financial infrastructure for Black talent. Instead of credit cards, upfront payments, or loans, we offer outcome-based investment. Instead of certificates, we offer AI-verified skill profiles. Instead of job boards, we offer an employer marketplace where companies co-design the training pipeline.
We integrated AI agents as first-class participants in the talent economy. The Human + Agents model means every learner is trained to work alongside AI systems, and every skill valuation accounts for agent-augmented productivity.
BlackForce no longer just trains people. We employ after training. One in ten students gets employed through us. Graduates can receive up to $10,000 in funding to launch their own ventures. We are now in discussions with universities, including Cambridge Judge Business School, to explore partnerships to scale further.
We went from a WhatsApp group to a fully structured programme with paid work experience, youth development initiatives, and now a platform that does not just train people but employs them and funds their ventures. There was no single breakthrough moment. It was thousands of small decisions compounding over time. This is not incremental improvement. This is an entirely new kind of institution. And we are just getting started.
Impact Award 2024
Nigerian Professional Group, Boston, Massachusetts
Impact Award 2025
West Africa Dreamin, Second Consecutive Year
This is where we are going.
The next chapter is being written right now by every learner, investor, employer, and mentor who joins the BlackForce ecosystem. We are not just training people. We are building an entire ecosystem from education to employment to entrepreneurship.