When School Becomes A Place for your Business

January saw the beginning and the end of two significant social enterprises, The 2 Monkeys and 8 Fahrenheit respectively.

It was the last day of operations for ice cream café 8 Fahrenheit on Jan 30, selling out ice cream and waffles mostly with fanfare. Metres away, The 2 Monkeys, a sandwich and bubble tea store, have just completed a month of food and beverage operations.

Such businesses run by students often come and go for a period of two to three years.

Managed by Entrepreneurs- Connect@NP (EC@NP), this ensures that a fair opportunity is given for students to start their own businesses.

Despite the limited time frame, there are still a myriad of advantages for budding, young and passionate entrepreneurs.

“Rental is really low compared to outside,” says Muhammad Zulkifli, one of the founders of The 2 Monkeys. He also adds that he pays less than a quarter on rent compared to outlets in shopping malls or elsewhere.

EC@NP also aids financially by covering renovation costs and sponsoring students some money if they have done well in business competitions.

“This really gave us a chance to start earning first,” says Foo Yong Long, 19, a final-year student in Business Studies and the other founder of The 2 Monkeys.

The origins of The 2 Monkeys began when Zulkifli and Yong Long won a sum of money in a business competition by EC@NP, giving them a monetary boost.

Starting a social enterprise on school premises also allows students to remain protected.

“It’s a good training ground for students who aspire to become good businessmen and women,” says Tan Jia Hui, 19, a final-year student in Business and Social Enterprise.

There is still room for improvement to groom potential businesspeople.

Jia Hui hopes that there will be more avenues for students to open physical shops, coupled with more chances for amateurs to network and seek professional mentorship.

But for now, students are mostly satisfied in what they are doing, and the extra help they receive.

“Ngee Ann always supports us in many ways,” says Yong Long.