Is this Malaysia’s youngest entrepreneur? Sec 2 girl markets own tudung line for schoolkids

KUALA LUMPUR — While most Form Two girls are still figuring out what to do with their lives, Ms Nur Iman Safiyah Mohammed Shahree appears to have it all figured out.

The student from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Subang Bestari has no doubt in her mind that she will be an entrepreneur and has already embarked on that journey, even before she has even sat for her PT3 assessment.

Form Two is equivalent to Sec 2 in Singapore, while PT3 is an assessment for Sec 3 students that is conducted via written and oral tests, as well as assignments and projects for certain subjects.

Nur Iman is the proud owner of her very own ‘tudung bawal’ range, named Baluna Bawal, which is targeted at schoolgirls.

Her foray into the business world began when she was 11-years old when she realised that her friends were interested in buying her collection of squishy toys.

Apart from selling the toys to her friends, Nur Iman managed to convince her parents, who are an accountant and a bank officer, to invest in her venture.

“They bought more squishy toys in bulk for me to sell. So I started selling them online,” she told Malay daily Harian Metro.

After two years, she gathered a sizeable number of followers on social media. Nur Iman then decided to use her earnings from her toy sales to invest in a new venture, by selling shawls.

Business continued to boom, and four months later, she released her own tudung bawal range, named ‘Baluna Bawal’, which came out in time for Hari Raya Aidiladha last year.

In November last year, she launched a brand new product, Tudung Sekolah Iman Safiyah (TSIS). The all-white tudung is targeted at tudung-wearing children who can wear it to school.

“Upon its release, we sold 500 items. The following month, we had an order for more than 1,000 pieces, so business is good,” beamed the girl.

She said the avalanche of orders means that she has had to rope in her parents as well as siblings to help her handle queries, as well as package and ship out the items.

Nur Iman admitted that online business is a challenging endeavour, as she has to entertain customers’ demands.

She said she is fine with managing her business from home at the moment, and it has not crossed her mind yet to appoint an agent or open an outlet.

“I’m still new in this field. For now, I am focusing on getting only the best quality material, ensuring that the workmanship is of good standards and according to my specifications.

“Inshaallah, in the near future, I would like to design a ‘tudung labuh’ for religious schools as well as tudung for school which come in various colours,” said Nur Iman, who added that she wants to become a successful entrepreneur one day and be able to buy her own building. THE NEW STRAITS TIMES