A 20-year-old lady named Aaliyah Duah has graduated from Virginia State University, United States, and was presented the Entrepreneur of the Year award for her significant contributions.
Aaliyah Duah graduated from Virginia State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business management. She was named the Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) Entrepreneur of the Year.
She was presented the award in recognition of her outstanding work in promoting financial literacy and entrepreneurship in the black community.
At the young age of 20, Aaliyah is the owner of Financial Revolution, a social media platform that uses entertaining and relatable content to educate her peers on the importance of financial literacy and entrepreneurship.
Aaliyah mentioned that growing up in Brooklyn, New York City, she witnessed firsthand the negative impact that poor financial decisions can have on individuals and communities.
She added that it was during the pandemic that she had a revelation, realizing that she had been valuing materialistic things over what truly matters. Aaliyah stated that she decided to start a financial revolution in the Black community, working tirelessly to achieve that goal.
While in college, Aaliyah published her first book, The Blueprint for Investing, which provides readers with a step-by-step guide to investing in the stock market. In just two weeks, she was able to break statistics and sell over 100 copies.
She has also developed a financial literacy game called “Rap Cards,” which uses rap lyrics to teach young people about money management. Aaliyah has a financial planner called “The Billion Dollar Plan,” which helps individuals map out their financial goals.
Aaliyah is also deeply committed to community service. She was the Vice President of the Student Government Association at Virginia State University, where she advocated for an annual funded trip to Ghana, West Africa for students and faculty to learn about their African history.
Aaliyah has also hosted numerous back-to-school drives, free events, and webinars. She stated that college was not just an academic environment to her but it gave her an opportunity to grow.
”To me college was never about academia. It was about the experience. The experience to grow and learn, to be on your own. All I have to say is thank you VSU. I had my best years here. I learned who Aaliyah was and became confident in me. That’s all I needed to go out into this world,” she wrote on her Instagram.
Aaliyah’s work was recognized by McDonald who selected her as one of the 2023 Black & Positively Golden Change Leaders. Each change leader receives a $20,000 grant for their business and a media campaign that exposes their platform.
She said she plans to use these resources to continue developing creative and fun ways for people of color of all ages to become financially literate through music, films, courses, books, podcasts, and many more.
