A four-person team of students from N.C. A&T State University took top honors in this year’s Moguls in the Making competition, an entrepreneurial pitch competition for HBCU students.
The annual event, hosted by Ally Financial and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, is designed to provide HBCU students with “career-launching business experience.”
Fifteen historically Black colleges and universities sent a total of 60 students to Charlotte to compete in the fifth annual event. A four-person team from North Carolina Central finished second, followed by Texas Southern in third place.
The N.C. A&T team included: Teco Bynum from Charlotte, Laia Garland from Charlotte, Nyla Wardfrom Charlotte and Javen Washington from Fayetteville. Each got a $20,000 scholarship and the promise of an internship at Ally.
Their winning concept, called Capital in Color Lending, was an AI-driven product line tailored for communities of color. The concept would use alternative credit history, non-traditional income and financial behaviors to prove credit worthiness. A similar program would allow borrowers to make incremental installments toward loan downpayments. Loans could be used to finance career development through trade schools and professional certifications.
