TALENT And PASSION | Jean-Philippe Vézina | Coach in Afro-Branding

As part of the show Talent et Patient, hosted by Sacha Doam, the guest of the day, Jean-Philippe Vina, delivered a rich testimony, blending identity quest, entrepreneurship, and an Afro-centered vision of leadership. A leadership coach, strategist in afro-branding, and founder of the agency Coaching Mauvaise, he now supports Afro-entrepreneurs in their professional and personal development.

Born in Haiti, Jean-Philippe Vina experienced the orphanage at a very young age before being adopted, around the age of one, by a French-speaking Quebec family. Settled in Montreal, he grew up in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood. While he emphasizes the safety and opportunities he received thanks to his adoption, adolescence marked a turning point: the realization of a lost connection with his culture of origin.

This quest for identity became the guiding thread of his life, from the age of 15 until today, at 46. It has nourished his personal and professional journey, leading him to explore music, radio, hip-hop, then marketing and the community sector. These experiences gradually led him to develop his skills in leadership, management, and strategy.

Trained in coaching at Concordia University in 2011, Jean-Philippe Vina worked for a long time in various sectors before officially launching his Afro-centered coaching activity in 2023. His approach is distinguished by a method he calls “afro-magnetic,” combining personal identity, cultural heritage, and life mission.

“An entrepreneur can never take their business further than what they believe is possible for themselves,” he explains. For Vina, business coaching and personal development are inseparable. He draws from Afro-descendant traditions, symbols, and stories to give meaning to entrepreneurship and success.

Three pillars structure his approach:

Unique identity (the concept of Inanga, inspired by West Africa),

Community and cultural anchoring,

The life mission beyond the individual.

In his support work, Vina identifies several crucial stages. For entrepreneurs in the launch phase, fear of failure, financial insecurity, and the need for validation are frequent obstacles. For those progressing, the challenge is to move from the status of executor to that of strategist, by learning to delegate and take a step back. Finally, legacy builders seek to give a deeper meaning to their journey and to leave a lasting mark.

He also emphasizes the importance of storytelling, not only to build a strong brand but also to transform inner narratives that limit self-esteem: “The little voices that say you’re not good enough are often the biggest blockages.”

One of Jean-Philippe Vina’s flagship projects is the community farm Les Jardins Lacou. Inspired by a traditional Haitian agricultural model, this initiative aims to grow African and Caribbean-origin vegetables and herbs in Quebec. But beyond agriculture, it is an identity and cultural project.

Thanks to storytelling work around Afro-descendant culinary heritage, Vina managed to transform this project into a “magnetic” brand, quickly adopted by the public and widely covered in the media. Each basket of vegetables came with recipes and stories, embodying the entrepreneur’s Afro-centered philosophy.

Today, Jean-Philippe Vina continues his mission of support with concrete tools:

a free afro-magnetic alignment quiz, allowing entrepreneurs to assess their progress,

targeted quarterly challenges, open to all, to take new steps in their journey.

“My mission is to help Afro-entrepreneurs prosper, but also to embody a strong, aligned, and proud identity,” he concludes.

Through his personal story, expertise, and Afro-centered approach, Jean-Philippe Vina illustrates how the quest for identity can become a powerful lever for professional and social transformation.