How to be a Successful Immigrant in Canada

February is Black History Month. Jean Augustine in 1995 passed a motion in Canada’s House of Commons to officially recognize February as the month to honor Black Canadians. I am proud to present Kunle Tauhid. Kunle is smart, intelligent, humble and someone who works hard an example of a successful immigrant in Canada.

Kunle Tauhid is Vice President Financing and Consulting at BDC. The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) promotes entrepreneurship by providing highly tailored financing, venture capital, and consulting services to entrepreneurs. As the Vice President for the Financing and Consulting Business in Eastern and Northern Ontario, he is responsible for leading a team of a dedicated sales force that is focused on growing existing client relationships and helping Canadian entrepreneurs achieve their goals. Kunle talks about his own journey as an immigrant to Canada.

Kunle, please tell me a little about you?

My name is Kunle Tauhid, from Nigeria, married to Esther and we have two kids, Alexandra (21) and Andrew (19) both students at York University.

Your hard work, persistence is an inspiration to me.  Walk me through your immigration to Canada, the challenges and how you ended up at BDC?

Thanks, Jerry. My family immigrated to Canada in 2002.

I was a professional banker in my native country Nigeria where I obtained a Bachelors’s degree in finance and a master’s in banking and international finance from two elite Nigerian universities. Canada is an international hub of immigrants and professionals but luckily, having come from a Commonwealth nation it was easy to get my degree accredited and recognized as an equivalent to a Canadian university, through the University of Toronto.

I had a challenge getting into the system and getting senior leadership roles. In Nigeria, I had a decade of experience in banking, of which the last 3 were in leadership roles. It was a humbling experience, which I am thankful for, to have had to start from scratch again being given an opportunity to work for RBC as a bank teller. My last role in Nigeria was as a Manager responsible for a team of professionals with all the perks such as an official car, driver, return tickets and spending allowance to Europe for vacation.

Talk a little about your faith and how it helps you daily?

As an immigrant to Canada required taking a leap of faith for both myself and my wife. We had and have no immediate family here and relied on mostly information from friends who had come earlier. Our faith in God and the comfort of knowing that we had a Church family to come to through the International Church of Christ of which we were members in Nigeria helped a lot. The Church community here helped us a lot in our initial settling down and finding resources for us and the kids. I have to confess that the transition of my career was tough. I was able to overcome the challenges, learned humility through Christ. I had highs and rejoiced and lows and I cried. However, a great combination of hard work, positive attitude, and determination never fail.

Give my audience three tips on their household finances?

First, don’t spend what you don’t have. As an immigrant to Canada coming from a cash environment taught us this lesson early.
Secondly have a budget every month. We have been married for over 23 years and never gone a month without writing out our budget. A budget that is not documented is not a budget. It saves you a lot of stress
Third have a backup plan. Save for the rainy day.

How important is it for someone to maintain their credit rating?

In North America and indeed most credit-driven economies a positive and good credit rating gives you access to opportunities. Not only do you need a good credit history for access to financing but you also need it to earn your income. Today employers as part of due diligence use one’s credit history as a determining factor to hire as it speaks to one’s character. Landlords use it to determine if one will be a good renter. I cannot overemphasize the importance of a positive credit rating and history. And there are very simple tricks to maintaining that.

Explain the different kinds of credit ratings?

In Canada, Equifax and TransUnion are the two major rating agencies and the higher one’s credit score the better their rating. They range from poor, fair, good to excellent. Good to excellent give you better access to personal and commercial credit facilities

How has becoming a husband changed your life?

Becoming a husband has made me a better man. I have been blessed by God to have a beautiful and God-fearing woman, Esther as a wife for 23 years. Lessons in humility, listening, caring, extending grace, giving people a benefit of doubt and most important having someone to share with have come from being a husband. Despite being the finance “man” of the home, the discipline of having a budget came from my wife even before we got married. I made a lot more money than her but was always broke before the next pay cycle. It was my wife (fiancé at the time) who introduced me to the concept of budgeting and since then we have not looked back.

Has your approach to life and finances changed after having children?

Not at all. With life, God comes first and we teach our children to understand the same. The values that were instilled in us by our parents, we instill in our children. The financial discipline we had before having children is what we still maintain and our kids see and luckily are embracing those values as well. They understand that credit card is not free money and is used to create a positive credit history. My daughter has a credit card but uses it to make purchases that she already has the cash to pay for and as soon it is done, she transfers money to pay off the balance even before the statement arrives.

Give new immigrants some tips, advice on how to become successful like you?

Canada is a great country and every employer wants to hire and grow with employees that will help them succeed.

As an immigrant to Canada, do not be intimidated by the color of your skin, your accent or foreign degree. This is a beautiful country that is inclusive and embraces diversity. Be confident in your abilities and skill set. Be humble. Your first job may not be the high-power job you had in your country. Take your entry-level job as your door opener that will enable you to prove your mettle and capabilities. Come daily with a positive attitude and can-do mentality. Do not settle. Do not join water cooler conversations at work. Focus on your job and give it your best daily. Your employer and manager will reward those that help them succeed. Develop yourself professionally at an earlier opportunity and keep learning and taking personal lessons. There are many free resources that can help you to be better at your job. Give back. Volunteer, be part of your community.

Most importantly hold on to your faith. God and your faith that saw you through and brought you to this country don’t change.

When we move to a new country, we need to acquire a new skill set, explain what it means to do that for the corporate world?

As an immigrant to Canada, we may never get a job exactly in the field we were in, so it is important to be open-minded. For example, my wife worked in a PR agency in Nigeria but we found out quickly that the setting was different here and so we acted quickly after trying for a couple of months. She looked at other options for a career that she would enjoy. Since she liked working with kids and had lots of fun in our Church’s children’s ministry decided to go back to school to obtain an Early Childhood Education certificate in one of the colleges here. A job was waiting for her as soon as she was done schooling and she had a good career working for YMCA starting as a daycare teacher and rising through the ranks to a manager and then Director before leaving for another opportunity.

Tell me little about your culture, and where can I find good Nigerian food in Toronto?

I am from the western part of Nigeria of the Yoruba tribe. What we call Naija proper.  There are a few good Nigerian restaurants in the west part of Toronto, especially on the Jane street axis and Weston road. There is also a popular “suya “joint in the Etobicoke area.

As an immigrant to Canada, how do you balance faith, family, finance and food in the 21st century?

The 21st century is a fast-paced era in every aspect of life. With advanced technology, family dynamics have changed. Gone are the days when as kids fun was all outside playing soccer, running around, playing in the rain. As an immigrant to Canada and to keep one’s sanity there has to be balance. I have to remember that creation was set by a higher power and our wisdom with which we make things happen here is superseded by a higher power. I remain grounded in my faith.