By Dave DeFusco

When Brighton Mukundwi began his M.S. in Data Analytics and Visualization at the Katz School of Science and Health, he was thinking about a challenge many university students face every day: how to earn extra money while balancing classes and living expenses. Tuition, rent, food and transportation add up quickly, and student loans only increase the pressure. While many students are interested in entrepreneurship, starting a business usually requires money, inventory and risk—things most students don’t have.

At the same time, Mukundwi noticed another problem. Companies that sell popular products often struggle to reach college campuses. Traditional advertising can be expensive and ineffective, and it doesn’t reflect how students actually discover new products. Students tend to trust recommendations from friends, classmates, teammates and group chats far more than online ads.

Mukundwi saw opportunity in this gap. College campuses are dense, highly connected communities filled with strong social networks. These networks already influence buying decisions, but they are informal and unorganized. His project, Leveraging Social Networks for Commerce: A Campus Affiliate Marketplace Platform, aims to turn these everyday connections into a structured system that benefits both students and suppliers.

The solution he designed, called Stitch Affiliate, is a campus-focused online marketplace where students sell trending products and earn a commission on each sale. Unlike traditional businesses, students don’t buy products upfront, manage inventory or handle payments, and there isn’t financial risk or startup cost. Stitch simply formalizes peer-to-peer selling that already happens on campus.

“Students need income opportunities, and suppliers need campus access,” said Mukundwi. “Stitch connects the two using networks that already exist.”

The platform is built with simplicity in mind. Students sign up through a mobile app or mobile-friendly website. Once registered, they can browse a catalog of trending products selected by the platform. Each product comes with a unique affiliate link tied to the student. Affiliates then share these links with friends through social media, messaging apps or in person. When someone makes a purchase through that link, the student earns a commission. Stitch takes care of everything else, including order processing, payments, fulfillment and commission tracking. For the student, the process is clear and easy: browse, share, earn.

Behind this simple experience is a strong technical system. Stitch uses a cloud-based backend to manage product listings, transactions, payments and commissions. The platform is mobile-first, designed for smartphones since that is how students interact online. Every transaction is recorded in real time and sent through a data pipeline that feeds into an analytics engine.

This data is central to Mukundwi’s vision. Each purchase adds to a real-time database showing what products students want, when demand rises and which items perform best on campus. Over time, this data can reveal emerging trends, seasonal spikes and underserved niches.

For suppliers, this transaction data becomes valuable market intelligence. Instead of guessing what students want or spending heavily on ads, suppliers can see real demand and adjust their offerings. In the future, Stitch could offer advanced analytics tools such as trend reports and targeted promotions.

“Campuses are ideal starting points for this type of marketplace,” said Mukundwi. “Universities are tightly connected communities where trust is built in. Students naturally share products through dorms, clubs, sports teams and friend groups. This trust lowers marketing costs and leads to faster feedback, making campuses perfect testing grounds for new products.”

Stitch creates value for both sides. Product distributors gain instant access to hundreds of student micro-influencers without hiring sales teams or paying for ads. Students, meanwhile, gain more than just commissions. They get early access to trending products, exclusive offers and the chance to earn higher commissions and bonuses as top performers. Each affiliate also builds a verified sales profile that tracks performance and rankings.

Early pilot results from Zimbabwe are encouraging. About 30 percent of registered affiliates made at least one sale and 50 percent of active affiliates made repeat sales. On average, students made their first sale within seven days and completed about three sales per month. These engagement numbers show strong potential, especially in early-stage marketplaces where activity matters more than user counts.

Looking ahead, Mukundwi envisions expanding Stitch to universities worldwide, integrating with global supply chains and developing advanced analytics products. Over time, the platform could grow beyond campuses into a broader demand network that connects communities everywhere.

“We’re using data, technology and trust to create opportunity,” said Mukundwi, “while helping students earn income and giving suppliers a smarter way to reach their audience.”