After reaching a highly competitive final round, a team of Talladega College students earned a $10,000 scholarship in the 2025 Experian #IYKYK Pitch Competition. The winners were announced March 6 in Costa Mesa, California.
The team of Izuchukwu Mba, a junior computer science major, Ayomikun Oyeniyi, a sophomore computer science major, Thabhelo Duve, a sophomore computer science major, and Emme Hall, a senior marketing major, were among 500 students from 16 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who participated in in the Experian Credit Academy.
Mba, who served as the team captain, noted before the final round that he and his fellow Degans "worked diligently over the winter holidays and January" to develop their pitch which was made to Experiean's North American headquarters.
The #IYKYK Pitch Competition, sponsored by Experian and HomeFree-USA, challenged students to create solutions to help their college peers become debt-free within five years of graduation. It emphasized financial literacy and debt reduction, fostering collaboration among students, educators and organizations like Experian.
The pitch competition was part of Experian’s B.A.L.L. for Life initiative. The initiative's goal is to make credit education a standard part of financial learning. The initiative addresses credit invisibility, a critical issue that describes those who lack a credit report or credit score. Credit invisibility impacts 40% of consumers under 25 with 28% of Black consumers and 26% of Hispanic consumers being affected, compared to 16% of White and Asian consumers according to an article on edtechinnovationhub.com.
To view the team’s pitch, visit IYKYK Pitch Competition Semifinals: Team 18 - Izuchukwu , Ayomikun, Emme, Thabhelo.
The competition's winner was a team Fisk University who earn a $40,000 scholarship. The other finalists were the Bowie State University team who also earned a $10,000 scholarship.
