Virginia State University alumna Aaliyah Duah has been named the HBCU Entrepreneur of the Year in honor of her outstanding work in fostering entrepreneurship and financial literacy in the black community.

Aaliyah founded Financial Revolutionn, a social media platform that uses engaging content to inform her peers about the value of financial literacy and entrepreneurship at just age 20, and she has already had a big impact, according to Black News.

She saw firsthand the damaging effects that bad financial choices can have on people and communities while growing up in Brooklyn, New York City. She had a realization, though, that she had been prioritizing worldly things over what was truly important – this came about as a result of the pandemic.

Aaliyah made the decision to start a financial revolution in the Black community at that precise moment, and has since devoted her entire life to making this happen.

The young entrepreneur wrote her first book, The Blueprint for Investing, as a sophomore in college. It offers readers a step-by-step tutorial for stock market investing. She broke records and sold over 100 copies in just two weeks. Additionally, she created the game, “Rap Cards,” which teaches young people about money management through the use of rap lyrics.

Aaliyah also owns “The Billion Dollar Plan,” a financial planning enterprise that helps clients define their financial goals.

The young leader is passionate about community service in addition to her business ventures; she pushed for a yearly funded trip to Ghana, West Africa, to give faculty and students an opportunity to learn about their African history, while serving as vice president of the VSU Student Government Association. Aaliyah has also organized a lot of back-to-school drives, free events, and webinars.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have a reputation for producing outstanding graduates and have produced many well-known, notable individuals.

No matter their age, these alumni never give up on raising the bar and dismantling any barriers that people of color might encounter in their same field or industry.

Some notable HBCU alumni include; Dr, Martin Luther King Jr., Alice Walker, Vice President Kamala Harris, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Oprah Winfrey, Chadwick Boseman, and many others.

Aaliyah Duah has been chosen by McDonald’s as one of the 2023 Black & Positively Golden Change Leaders in recognition of her work. Each change leader is given a grant of $20,000 to use for their business as well as a publicity campaign that highlights their platform.

The young change-maker wants to use these tools to keep developing innovative and entertaining ways for people of color of all ages to learn about money management through music, movies, courses, books, podcasts, and many other mediums.