Meet Carter Cofield and George Acheampong; they are behind Melanin Money, which seeks to empower the Black community towards achieving financial freedom and equity. The overall aim is “create merchandise, targeted initiatives, and programming, with a mission of closing the wealth gap by 10%,” Melanin Money’s co-founder George Acheampong said on the brand’s website.
Investment specialist Acheampong and Cofield, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), are basically helping their fellow Blacks to be the wealth starters for their families by providing financial solutions catered to the unique needs of Black people.
“Melanin Money was born out of urgency and purpose. One day, we discovered an article predicting that Black wealth would hit $0 by 2053. While alarming, it highlighted a real issue—our community’s lack of advanced financial literacy,” the duo told Black Enterprise.
“We’re not just talking about budgeting and saving but higher-level concepts like investing, tax-saving strategies, and entrepreneurship. What sets Melanin Money apart is the expertise we bring. George is the #1 financial advisor in North Carolina, and I (Carter) am among the top certified public accountants in the country. We’ve built a platform rooted in authentic, expert-driven education designed to equip our community with tools to thrive financially.”
The partners believe they have what it takes to break generational cycles and build financial security among the Black community, explaining that this can be achieved largely by normalizing conversations around money.
“It all starts with exposure—showing our community what financial freedom looks like and making them believe it’s attainable. ‘You cannot be what you cannot see.’ Once that belief is instilled, we can begin educating on the actionable steps to achieve wealth. It’s equally essential to normalize conversations around money. That’s why we launched the Melanin Money Awards, celebrating our clients for attaining net worth milestones ranging from $100,000 to $10 million. By showcasing these successes, we’re breaking the taboo and proving that true wealth is within reach for people of color,” the duo said.
Touching on the future of their brand, the partners noted that the focus is to make the Melanin Money Awards the biggest celebration of Black wealth in history. The two are also behind The Melanin Money Show, which they hope to become the No.1 financial literacy platform for people of color.
Lastly, they want to double down on their mission to educate, empower, and equip their community to achieve financial freedom.
“Our success is evident: We aim to decrease the wealth gap by $100 billion and create 100,000 Black millionaires. In just three years, we’ve helped our clients increase their net worth by over $100 million,” the partners said.
