Having spent the last two years as a student entrepreneur, Mohamed “Moe” Abdalla believes this is the year his coffee shop will flourish.

“We have state-of-the-art equipment, coffeemakers, display cases, stainless steel fridges,” he said during a short lull at his coffee shop, SkyCafé. “We had nothing. We used to make coffee from percolators. And now … we are where we are because we have customers who believe in us.”

One of those customers approached the register as if on cue, calling Moe by name and requesting the café’s signature Majestic Sky Tea, the product of a generations-old family recipe. Abdalla smiled as he made the drink.

Last month marked the beginning of SkyCafé’s third year in business, located on the second floor of ASU’s SkySong Center.

Abdalla received a $10,000 grant toward opening the coffee shop at SkySong after presenting a business model to the Edson Student Entrepreneurship Initiative.

A molecular biology and biotechnology senior, Abdalla attributed the success he’s experienced to what he calls “social entrepreneurship.”

“Profits are good and everything, but you need to make sure that [the community] is not suffering,” he said.

This notion was factored into SkyCafé’s business model — 25 percent of all monthly profits are put into Abdalla’s charity organization, Business for Doctors. The primary goal of Business for Doctors is to provide health care to impoverished villages in East African countries like Tanzania and Uganda.

“You can be an entrepreneur, and you can always look into profit,” Abdalla said. “But if you’re a social entrepreneur, you can help more than one person. Not just you, you can help the rest of the community. So that’s why SkyCafé functions this way.”

SkyCafé employs two part-time workers in addition to Abdalla, all of whom are responsible for daily operations.

Kristie Osep, an interdisciplinary studies senior concentrating in business and mass communication, has worked with Abdalla for about a year.

“It’s student-run, so everything is done by me, Moe, or the other coworker,” Osep said. “Moe keeps me busy with little deeds, keeping the café running properly and always making sure we have what we need for the customers.”

Aside from monthly wages, SkyCafé’s expenses consist of the exotic ingredients used in creating gourmet teas, coffees, and sambusas, an African meat-filled pastry that is one of SkyCafé’s signature dishes.

Now, with the experience of owning and operating a coffee shop while juggling a career as a student, Abdalla is prepared for 2010.

“With this new year, the sky’s the limit for what SkyCafé can do,” he said.

Abdalla created a loyal base of clientele while learning the ins and outs of being an entrepreneur, maintaining his philanthropic ideals and incorporating business skills.

In 2010, Abdalla hopes to achieve the success he’s worked hard to obtain.

“I have 100 percent faith that we can make a difference,” he said. “We have laid the groundwork and this is definitely the time.”

Reach the reporter at joseph.schmidt@asu.edu