UM Student Aisyah Maisarah Builds Three Businesses While Completing Biotechnology Degree

KUALA LUMPUR, AUGUST 2026 — Final-year Universiti Malaya biotechnology student Aisyah Maisarah Abd. Razak has built three business ventures while continuing her studies, turning an entrepreneurial interest that began in childhood into projects covering food, sustainable agriculture and biotechnology.

The 24-year-old, known as Sera, is the founder of Peti Sera Bakery, Farm Visit @ Ladang Mini ISB and social enterprise Insective Lab. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology at Universiti Malaya.

Sera said her interest in business started when she was just eight years old, when she sold small toys at school to earn her own money for stationery and ice cream. During secondary school, she later borrowed RM100 from an aunt to sell snacks at her hostel and eventually generated sales reaching thousands of ringgit.

Sera attributes much of her entrepreneurial drive to her parents.

Her late father was a businessman, while her mother later supported the family by selling steamed buns and pineapple tarts from home. After her father died when Sera was 11, she watched her mother work to generate income and raise the family.

That experience became one of the strongest influences behind her own decision to build businesses while pursuing higher education.

Her achievements have since earned several recognitions, including the Universiti Malaya Perdana Siswa Entrepreneurship Leadership Award 2023, a place as a finalist for the 2025 National Student Entrepreneur Figure Award, and a Silver Award under the Anugerah Remaja Perdana Rakan Muda, linked to The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award.

Her first major venture, Peti Sera Bakery, began during Malaysia’s Movement Control Order period, when her family lost its source of income.

Sera and her mother spent months developing a brownie recipe using just RM300 in savings as starting capital. What initially began as neighbourhood sales eventually expanded when Sera entered Universiti Malaya and started placing the brownies in shops around campus.

The business later received RM3,000 in support from Bank Rakyat UniPreneur, as well as bakery equipment through the Ministry of Housing and Local Government’s urban community economic empowerment programme.

The success of the brownie business also helped establish Sera as a young entrepreneurship figure, leading to invitations to speak at university events.

Her second venture emerged while she was in her second year of university.

Sera noticed that Universiti Malaya had a research farm housing more than 80 locally and German-crossbred Jermasia goats, and saw an opportunity to transform the site into an educational agritourism attraction.

She proposed Farm Visit @ Ladang Mini ISB to the Faculty of Science and used RM5,000 in community-project funding from Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman, where she was a scholarship recipient, to develop the initiative.

Students were recruited as tour guides, giving visitors an opportunity to learn about sustainable agriculture while also gaining practical experience.

The mini farm features several animal species, including goats, sheep, turkeys, Arabian chickens, guinea fowl, rabbits, ducks, tilapia and betta fish. Adult visitors are charged RM5, while children under 12 enter free. All profits generated are channelled back into improving the farm.

Sera described it as Malaysia’s first student-led campus agritourism initiative.

Her third venture, Insective Lab, takes entrepreneurship into the biotechnology and sustainability space.

The social enterprise breeds black soldier fly larvae, or BSF, as a protein source for livestock while also using the insects to process organic waste more efficiently.

The idea emerged after Sera discovered BSF research being carried out by Dr Hidayah Taufek at Ladang Mini ISB. She later formed a team with Dr Hidayah, Dr Irene Yong Seok Ching from the Faculty of Business and Economics, and six university colleagues to commercialise the concept.

The project received a RM35,000 Social Enterprise Grant from the Ministry of Higher Education.

According to Sera, BSF larvae can break down food waste far more quickly than traditional composting. While conventional compost can take two to three months, the larvae can process certain organic waste in a much shorter period.

Insective Lab generates revenue through two main activities: selling larvae and fertiliser, and offering training courses that teach farmers and livestock operators how to establish their own BSF farming operations.

The project has also developed an educational and community component.

The Insective Lab team trained 12 students from SMK Seri Pantai in Kuala Lumpur to operate a larvae farm at their school. Those students later received recognition in national-level competitions for projects highlighting the benefits of BSF farming.

Sera’s work with the insect-based enterprise has also led to invitations to speak at schools, higher-education institutions and government programmes about waste-to-wealth, the circular economy and biotechnology.

Despite managing three ventures, Sera has maintained strong academic performance and has received the Dean’s Award every semester, according to the report.

She said one of her main strategies is avoiding unnecessarily time-consuming study habits. Instead of producing highly decorated notes, she focuses on concise bullet points using an iPad so she can retain key information while saving time.

She is also selective about the activities she joins and prefers business models that can be partly automated. Peti Sera Bakery, for example, requires less direct involvement, allowing her to devote more time to the agritourism and social-enterprise projects that contribute to personal and community development.

Sera also stressed the importance of knowing when to push harder and when to slow down, arguing that pursuing ambitious goals should not come at the expense of physical or mental wellbeing.

She has also used Universiti Malaya’s Gap Year Programme, which allows students to take a structured break from academic study to participate in entrepreneurship, volunteering or other development programmes.

Beyond business, Sera remains involved in badminton, leadership and community activities. She has held roles with the UM Entrepreneurship Secretariat, Universiti Malaya Volunteer Secretariat and Ladang Mini ISB Student Committee.

She credits her parents with encouraging her to explore different skills from childhood, including piano, wushu, animation and science, even when the family faced financial limitations.

Looking ahead, Sera hopes to use her entrepreneurial experience and biotechnology background to contribute further to Malaysia through sustainable businesses and scientific innovation.

Her journey demonstrates how student entrepreneurship can extend beyond conventional small businesses, combining commercial opportunities with education, sustainability and community impact.