This 13-Year-Old Entrepreneur Is So Successful He Pays His Own Boarding School Fees
A 13-year-old boy in the UK is paying his own boarding school fees using profits from his Caribbean food business, a venture he started at just six years old.
Malaki Conteh now covers the portion of his school fees not covered by financial aid at The Prebendal School in southern England, where he attends as a full-time boarder. Tuition runs about £4,000 ($5,384) per semester, with Conteh paying the remaining balance after receiving a 50% scholarship, My London reports.
Turning a Family Kitchen Into a Business
Conteh runs Malaki’s Food & Drinks from a storefront in South London and from his family home in Surrey. The business sells Caribbean dishes, including jerk chicken, oxtail, curry goat, and patties, and also operates on food delivery platforms Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat.
Malaki employs both of his parents; during school hours, his father, Abdul Conteh, manages the shop. “Everything goes through me,” Malaki told My London. “If I don’t like something, I say no. I enjoy being my own boss. When I’m at school, my dad works for me at my shop and, if he wants a patty, he has to pay for it.”
Abdul Conteh confirmed that even family members pay for items, adding that a neighbor also contributes £65 ($87) a month to Malaki’s scholarship fund in exchange for parking in the family driveway.
Maliki also donates a portion of its profits to charity, including helping those who cannot afford musical instruments and supporting free equine therapy sessions, the Mirror reports.
Funding His Dreams
Conteh’s entrepreneurial journey began after his father told him he would need to pay for his own singing lessons if he wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a chorister. At six, he began selling plants outside his father’s office in Camberwell, later expanding into baked goods before settling on Caribbean food.
His earnings have also funded music and dance lessons, instruments, and other expenses. At one point, he raised £778 ($1047) through Facebook to buy violas.
Conteh has since made history as the first Black chief chorister in the 950-year history of Chichester Cathedral, one of England’s oldest cathedrals, conducting the choir on Christmas Eve. He auditioned for several elite cathedral schools, including St Paul’s and Westminster, and ultimately chose Chichester after receiving a bursary.
Image credit: Tony Kershaw / SWNS
