Utilities: governance and staking.
Holder can vote on allocation of treasury funds, risk parameters, the amount of tokens issued and stake their tokens into the Safety Module (SM) to provide funds that can be used to secure the protocol

- The utilities of the token (governance and staking)
- Staking rate is still low relative to the circulating supply and it only pays out the native token. Also, the protocol does not redistribute much of the fees it creates to its users like

The value created by Aave is its decentralized liquidity protocol enables borrowing and lending of crypto assets without intermediaries. Its innovative features, including flash loans and interest-earning functionality, create a more inclusive financial system. A stable interest rate model provides stability for borrowers and lenders. Aave has transformed DeFi with a secure, efficient, and transparent platform.

Earned from charging lending and borrowing's fee plus the fees from flash loans are deposited (0.09%). 
These funds are governed by Aave token holders. It’s worth mentioning that the value captured by fees is reflected in the token by governance

The business model for AAVE protocol:

Revenue comes from:
0.09% fees charged from borrowers to borrow funds, paid to lenders in the same asset

Reserve factor and flash loan fees, which add to the Treasury
AAVE token emissions to incentivize lenders to provide liquidity in the Security Module

Revenue is denominated in:
The same asset as the borrowed funds and AAVE token

Revenue goes to:
Lenders as fees for providing liquidity
Treasury for operational expenses, investments, and incentives SM