By Wilfred Golden
Student entrepreneurship is alive and thriving on university campuses across Malawi. From selling clothes and food to beverages and homemade crafts, young people are constantly finding creative ways to earn a living, support themselves, and explore their passions.
While many of these ventures remain informal and limited to campus grounds, it is not every day that you meet a student who dares to go beyond, who builds an actual online store, expands their market, and begins to operate like a full-fledged business.
That student is Rasheed Daud. An innovative third-year law student at the University of Malawi, who is the founder of Aras Smart Bello T-shirts, an online store that sells second-hand T-shirts, commonly known as Kaunjika. Raised in Mchinji as the third born in a family of four, Rasheed is balancing the demanding world of academics with the hustle of entrepreneurship and making it work.
Rasheed traces his inspiration back to home. For him, the entrepreneurial spirit runs in the family. He credits his father, a businessman, as his biggest source of inspiration. “From day one, my father has been my role model,” he shares. “Whenever we are chatting, our conversations almost always revolve around business.”
While pursuing his university studies, Rasheed began to notice a shift in his personal needs. “You know how it is when you are in university, your needs evolve,” he says. You want more than just the basics. It is not that my father was not providing, but I just did not like the idea of asking him for everything.”
That desire for independence sparked the idea of starting a business. It was his friend, Frazer Kamadzi, who first suggested they try selling T-shirts. “Frazer came up with the idea, and that is how it all started,” Rasheed recalls. “At the time, we did not think too far ahead. The goal was just to earn a little something for ourselves.”
Since then, Aras Smart Bello T-shirts has seen remarkable growth. “We started with less than 20 T-shirts but now there are times when we have 200 to 300 in stock,” he says. The growth has been exponential.
What began as a partnership with his friend Frazer who was more of an adviser than a business partner has now grown into a team of six people, Rasheed explains. “We are no longer just focusing on UNIMA, though it is still our primary market. Expanding beyond campus has opened up new opportunities for us.”
A major milestone has been the launch of their website, arassmartbellotshirts.com. “Just Google it and you will find our collection,” Rasheed explains. Customers can easily browse, select their preferred T-shirt, choose shipping options, and have high-quality products delivered straight to their door all from their phones.
What once was a business relying on face-to-face transactions now serves customers they have never met in person, proving that their reach and impact are steadily growing.
Of course, this growth has not come without its challenges. Balancing school and business has been a double-edged sword. “It is like a coin, it has both sides,” he says. On the upside, running a business has given him financial stability while at university. “I do not have to worry about money. I can afford what I need without stressing.”
But the demands of studying law often clash with his entrepreneurial responsibilities. “There are times I am deep in the library, then a customer calls and I have to leave to make a delivery. It interferes with my studies,” he explains.
Getting started also came with its own hurdles. Without capital, Rasheed used part of his upkeep to launch the business. “I had to start small and build from there,” he recalls. Still, Rasheed believes the benefits have outweighed the challenges, especially in a campus environment where there is a constant need for money.
Even though the business is still growing, Rasheed already counts a few significant milestones. “At the moment, I cannot talk about expensive or high-end purchases because the business has not grown to that point yet,” he explains.
“For me, my biggest achievements are creating a reliable source of income for myself and my business partners, and building a website that people trust and use to transact without any doubts. Those are the milestones I am proud of.”
Looking ahead, Rasheed and his team have big plans. By the end of this year, they aim to open two physical shops, one in Zomba and another in Mchinji. “We want to complement our website with physical locations,” he explains. “Some people are still skeptical about buying online because they worry about scams. Having shops will help us reach those customers who prefer seeing and buying in person.”
They hope to have these stores running by the end of the year or early next year. Looking further ahead, their long-term goal is ambitious. “We want to establish a textile company that produces fabrics right here in the country.”
As the new school semester approaches, Rasheed also plans to collaborate with fellow youths eager to join the business. Another exciting plan is to expand their website nationwide. “We want young entrepreneurs across Malawi to upload and sell their clothing on our platform,” he says. “This will help our fellow youths reach a wider market and grow their businesses.”
“As times are changing, working hard alone is no longer enough,” Daud reflects. “We need to work smart too.” He points to the second-hand clothes business as an example. “Many people are in it and they work very hard. But if you add smart strategies like using online stores, Facebook, or WhatsApp, you stand out and attract more customers.”
Rasheed encourages fellow youths to make better use of their time and resources. “Instead of using our data to watch unhelpful videos on TikTok, we should be on YouTube learning how people run businesses in our areas of interest. We may not all be in the same field, but we can all learn something useful if we take the time to study what others are doing.”
Click HERE to visit Aras Smart Bello T-shirts