Qatar student launches unique online social business

Hamza Iqbal, a senior at Georgetown University in Qatar, spent most of last year travelling around the globe on a ship as part of a unique study abroad program with the University of Virginia, called Semester at Sea.

What he didn't realise he was doing along his away sailing through four continents, was getting together a strong network of suppliers for his online social business CHASHMAY.com that retails premium prescription eyewear.

Iqbal came up with a unique idea for his online startup. Based in Hong Kong, CHASHMAY.com utilizes a unique procurement, processing and shipping model to take on one of the biggest monopolies in retail business: eyewear.

“Customers end up getting far better value for their purchase than at traditional retail outlets because we don’t have them pay for our rent on the high street ”, he says.

The online store donates a pair of glasses to someone in need through a parter NGO in Karachi, Pakistan for every purchase made. Details of this donation are included in the packaging and are not used for marketing to entice customers into impluse-buying the product.

The unique running model of this international start-up also allows for CHASHAMY.com to offer free 3-day shipping, anywhere in the world.

The business is based in Hong Kong, with suppliers in Shanghai, is remotely managed in Doha and has creative partners in California, Hanoi, Lahore and Istanbul.

Commenting on the hyper international aspect of this venture Iqbal, 21 explains, “It shouldn’t really be a surprise that an idea for a well-connected international venture like this pops up in Qatar, you’re exposed to people from several countries wherever you are, I go to school with people from 55 different ones. Just about anyone's network in Qatar could yield a miniature UN that actually collaborates with one another”, he jokes.

He credits the international atmosphere on campus at Georgetown University and at Qatar Foundation for making it seem easy, as well as his time on the shipboard study abroad program where he studied the foundations of setting up a responsible business and had the opportunity to visit social ventures in 12 countries.

“My time at Semester At Sea really was a defining time for me, it helped narrow down what I wanted to do and how I wanted to execute my plans for this venture in particular”, Iqbal explains.

The program has produced several other alumni in prominent positions of the globally connected social businesses, ranging from Tory Burch, to founders of QuickSilver and kiwa.org.