Rapper Sean “Big Sean” Anderson is using his platform to give back to the next generation of leaders who are making a difference.
Recently, Anderson’s nonprofit, the Sean Anderson Foundation, partnered with Detroit-based Ally Financial and The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) to host an entrepreneurship competition for HBCU students called Moguls in the Making, reports Black Enterprise.
The weekend-long competition, which was held in Anderson’s home city of Detroit, hosted 50 students from various HBCUs across the country. During the competition, the students were paired in groups of five and tasked to develop business solutions that could solve various issues facing Detroit including employment, education and real estate. They were also afforded the opportunity to participate in mentoring sessions, hear from local business leaders and attend financial education classes.
In total, 10 teams pitched their ideas to a panel of judges which included Anderson, Ally Financial chief marketing and public relations officer Andrea Brimmer, Ally’s deposit and consumer strategy executive Anand Talwar, principal of Detroit vs. Everybody Tommey Walker and TMCF’s executive VP of business development, innovation and entrepreneurship George Spencer.
“I’m passionate about inspiring and helping young people,” Anderson said. “This is all about funding and creating an opportunity for our next generation of entrepreneurs.”
In the end, Anderson and his fellow judges selected five Florida A&M University students as the winners of the competition for their concept to address the topic of finance and banking in Detroit. Each of the winners, including Livi Grant, Keishon Smith, Nalani Kelley-Marsh, Emmanuel Dawson and Earl Perry were awarded Ally internships, a $5,000 scholarship and MacBook Air computers.
“Moguls in the Making is all about investing in inspiring business leaders of the future and really giving them a path forward in the world of business today,” said Brimmer.