‘Mash Up’ To Level Up

Zama Khumalo

The entrepreneurial landscape is forever changing and South Africa is slowly beginning to realize the importance of having Digital Entrepreneurs. Being in the Digital landscape, Mashudu Modau is the product of hustle and determination. ‘With just a sprinkle of patience, Modau has managed to change the industry one step at a time! 

Soweto born, Mashudu Modau better known as “Mash” has always had a hustler’s spirit as far as his early fundamental stages at school. Being an entrepreneur has always been a passion for Modau and with time and the evolving phases of technology, he noticed the missing link in the world of business and wanted to create solutions to make people’s lives easier. 

That’s when the creation of his online platform called ‘Lutcha’ came to play. Lutcha is a dynamic digital platform which gives people a chance to upload their podcasts or to listen too an assortment of podcasts. 

The podcast ranges from speaking about Entrepreneurship to Politics, basically everything. The aim of the platform is to become Africa’s greatest podcast library. 

“We want to take our rightful place as a leading new media platform documenting and advancing the African millennial narrative. That’s the plan, the goal and the vision,” he says. Mashudu even has his own show called the “Mash Up” which speaks about his journey of   coming of age as an entrepreneur and the pitfalls he has come across his journey.

The success of Lutcha is a new age phenomenon but Mashudu has tasted failure during his entrepreneurial journey especially with the closing down of his online platform the ‘Papershare’. 

“I wish I never closed Papershare. It was an online platform for matric students to download and share past exam papers. The biggest failure about it was our inability to make it self-sustainable, monetizing it and scaling it to have a bigger impact nation-wide. I wouldn’t call it a failure per say, but more of a regret”, he shares.

A humble gentleman who always seeks to assist others in line with Zulu idiom that says: “Ukusiza umuntu ukuzibekela” loosely translated:  “Helping others is an investment for the future”.  His initial goal is to see his fellow Africans unite and to take back the rightful ownership of our great African continent. 

A diverse character indeed and endowed with many talents, he has once been a judge at the MTN App Awards, a Community Manager for Yoco – A business system which helps entrepreneurs on the go to make their transactions easier. As if that was not enough, this talented individual became the brand ambassador for the South African Startup Awards. For Mashudu, the greatest joy he receives from all the work he does is impact.

Mashudu explains: “What drives me is adding value to people’s lives and making an impact in how they learn, build and grow themselves in whatever business venture they pursue”. He advocates for women to be treated equally and   fairly in the entrepreneurial landscape because women deserve if not more to taste the fruits of their hard labour. 

He believes giving women their equal space as their male counterparts is definitely easier said than done.  “The South African start up and small business ecosystem needs to be better built to cater for and enable women entrepreneurs. 

Currently there is just not enough being done for women and the businesses they are starting, building or growing. Women often are more sympathetic, something I believe gives them an added advantage to understanding markets, connecting with customers and building the best solutions that could be absolute game changers. We need to do better to empower and enable the innovative solutions women are creating,” he explains.

The future is beaming for Mr. Modau and he sees himself growing the Lutcha brand even further but to those around him, he is the key that many aspire to unlock. A young professional indeed and South Africa has a lot to witness from the young digital guru.