What does ABPA stand for and what does the organization do?
ABPA stands short for ”Association Belge de profession Africain” which translates as “Belgian Association for African Professionals” in English. The association is a professional network that gathers African professionals and guide them in the work field.
The core values of the APBA are collaboration, solidarity and empowering the African community. The association has three pillars on which they stand by:
- Networking: The APBA organizes after works on a specific topic. There’s a mix of people with different backgrounds in these gatherings, like e.g. young graduated and professionals with a successful career.
- Young talents: The SPARK program is bridging the gap between enterprises and young talents. These young talents sometimes encounter difficulties in finding a job due to their background. The ABPA organizes workshops where both parties can attend. There the young talents can apply for the jobs that they are interested in.
- Role models: The ABPA organizes interviews with role models for the African professionals. These role models can be a source of inspiration in which they can identify themselves with. These role models also puts the APBA on the map.
The ABPA is more focused on the African diaspora but also on gender in some areas, more precisely for the following field of study: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). These fields are usually less attractive for women so in order to attract more women, the ABPA uses female role models to inspire young women.
What role does Syngenia partake in and what can we do in the future?
Syngenia has a partnership with the APBA for the SPARK program. We already organized two workshops in the past with APBA and will be organizing one next year as well. The ABPA would like to have a more intimate collaboration with Syngenia, by for example hiring more consultants from the APBA.
