Business

At age 16, he spent $23 to buy a website domain. 9 years later, his blue-collar business brings in $1.3 million a year

Almost a decade later, what started as a blue-collar side hustle by two brothers, now has over 20 employees and is on track to bring in about $2.3 million in 2025, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

Published

10 months ago

November 24, 2025

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Image credit: CNBC

Growing up, Zames Chew thought he wanted to work a white-collar role at a company like Google, but his career took a different turn.

Today, the 26-year-old runs the Singapore-based handyman service Repair.sg, alongside his 24-year-old brother and co-founder, Amos Chew.

In 2024, their Singapore-based company Repair.sg brought in 1.7 million Singapore dollars (about $1.3 million), according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

“When I was younger, my dream was always to work in big tech,” said Chew. But one day in early 2016, he discovered a gap in the market.

“Our parents were looking for a service provider to fix something around the house,” said Chew. “I was just looking online, and … there [seemed] to be nowhere to find service providers [online] back in the day.

So I was like … let me put together a website and see what happens from there.”

So, at age 16, Chew spent 30 Singapore dollars (about $23) to buy a website domain name, had his father help him register the business, and Repair.sg was born.

Starting a side hustle at 16

As kids, the Chew brothers loved being hands-on.

“My brother and I would do everything together. That means building Legos, building PCs, taking things apart,” said Chew.

”[We] have always been building projects together, and it has [been] our dream to … work together when we became adults.”

The two were able to realize this dream during their teenage years after starting Repair.sg.

The company gained momentum slowly until the last few years when its growth started to soar, said Chew.

For the first three years of the company, the brothers were still in school, so they had to squeeze in work for the business in between classes, or during their evenings.

What a lot of people don’t know is that there’s a lot of education … [and] licensing behind some of the services that we do, and it goes beyond just taking a screwdriver and hammer [to] things,” he said.

So they spent years acquiring the knowledge, skills and licenses necessary to run their business.

In addition, before the business scaled, they would take on most jobs themselves such as replacing lights, and fixing furniture.

“For the first seven years, up until perhaps even early 2024, [the business] was basically at the brink of death most of the time,” said Chew. “We were young and weren’t very good business owners.”

Credit: CNBC

Business

TIME Names Moniepoint CTO Felix Ike Among 50 Global Executives of the Year

In its citation, TIME said Ike “has helped to establish the business as one of Africa’s leading financial platforms.

Published

1 day ago

September 25, 2026

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TIME magazine has named Felix Ike, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Nigerian fintech Moniepoint, to its inaugural Executives of the Year: Tech and Data list.

Ike is the only executive representing an African company among the 50 leaders selected for the 2026 list.

The list, unveiled on Tuesday, September 22, recognises chief information officers, chief technology officers, chief data officers and chief product officers whose decisions are shaping how major organisations deploy technology and use data.

Moniepoint is also the only African company represented on the inaugural list.

Ike was named alongside executives from Netflix, CrowdStrike, Dell, Duolingo, AT&T, OpenAI, Anthropic, Shopify and Reddit, among others.

In its citation, TIME said Ike “has helped to establish the business as one of Africa’s leading financial platforms.

“The recognition follows Moniepoint’s inclusion in TIME’s 2025 list of the 100 Most Influential Companies, giving the Lagos-founded fintech another global distinction.

Business

Naira Exchange Rates, Friday September 25

Published

1 day ago

September 25, 2026

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21 Views

Black Market Rates

₦1382DOLLAR (USD)

₦1855POUND (GBP)

₦1545EURO (EUR)

1000 DOLLAR (CAD)

₦70 RAND (ZAR)

370DIRHAM (AED)

190YUAN (CNY)

₦100G.CEDI (GHS)

₦2350 CFA F.(XOF)

₦2250 CFA F.(XAF)

₦850 AUSSIE (AUD)

Official CBN Exchange Rates

DOLLAR (USD)₦1328.67

POUND (GBP)₦1758.36

EURO (EUR)₦1511.63

SWISS FRANC (CHF)₦1605.45

JAPANESE YEN (JPN)₦8.38

CFA FRANC (XOF)₦2.31

WEST AFRICAN UNIT OF ACCOUNT (WAUA)₦1808.03

CHINESE YUAN (CNY)₦197.92

SAUDI RIYAL (SAR)₦353.86

SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR)₦81.09

Business

Djibouti, Ethiopia and Dangote to build $660 million petroleum pipeline

In Kenya, Dangote and the government are ⁠due to break ground on a new 700,000-barrel-per-day crude oil refinery in Lamu next week.

Published

2 days ago

September 24, 2026

OCHEFA

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Ethiopia, Djibouti and Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote plan to build a $660 million refined petroleum pipeline ‌that will connect Ethiopia and Djibouti, a spokesperson in Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office said on Thursday.

The project will include a 120-km (75-mile) pipeline, as well as approximately 375,000 cubic metres of storage capacity ⁠at Damerjog in Djibouti and 800,000 cubic metres at Dewele in Ethiopia, the spokesperson told Reuters, adding it should become operational within 18 months.

Abiy said on his X account the project will be developed through a partnership between Ethiopian Investment Holdings and the Dangote Group, which separately is already building a $4 billion fertiliser pipeline ‌and ⁠power plant, and a polypropylene packaging facility, in Ethiopia.

The project aims to reduce logistics costs and delays along the Ethiopia-Djibouti transport corridor, Abiy said.

Developers say the infrastructure will strengthen ⁠energy security and improve supply chain resilience for the two countries, he said.

Abiy is on a visit to Djibouti and ⁠made the announcement alongside its president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, and Dangote.

In Kenya, Dangote and the government are ⁠due to break ground on a new 700,000-barrel-per-day crude oil refinery in Lamu next week.