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Driving women forward: uMashesha is all about matching a driver to a need

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Christine Mesolo, the CEO and founder of uMashesha, spoke with Maya Fisher-French and shared her journey of starting her transport network company with bootstrap funding

With 18 years’ experience in the transportation industry, businessperson Christine Mesolo realised that despite the success of Uber, there were opportunities for new players to enter the app-based taxi industry.

With a focus on fair treatment of drivers and building up a female driver base, Mesolo launched transport network company uMashesha in 2017, building off her existing BMW driver project which provides transport to BMW factory shift workers.

“We had built up a team of driver-partners, but it was all working on a manual basis.

"So, I started to investigate how I could make the transportation service easier to use. I investigated many options and discovered a mobile app which could be tailor-made for our needs.

"Once the app was in place, we realised that this platform could cater for many different types of driver services,” explains Mesolo.

Using the existing partner drivers and cash flow from the BMW project, Mesolo built up uMashesha to offer a range of services all with the same basic principle – matching a driver to a need, whether that means needing a lift, couriering a document, moving furniture, fetching a child from school or even doing grocery shopping.

uMashesha is currently expanding its business by creating jobs for graduates and unskilled people, thanks to an injection from funders.

It currently has 796 driver partners in Gauteng, Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal, 30 full-time operational staff and 44 interns.

LESSON ONE: HAVE A THICK SKIN AND SET BOUNDARIES

Being an entrepreneur is a tough path to follow but even more so if you are a woman in a male-dominated industry.

“Business is harsh, anyone who goes into business must have a thick skin to deal with the business environment.

"But as a woman, I found that people often tried to undermine me or take advantage to get a better price.

"They always tried to negotiate because they thought I would be soft,” says Mesolo. This is a phenomenon most women in business experience.

Because women are perceived to be nurturers, people are more likely to try negotiate them down, expect them to undervalue themselves or not be too demanding on getting payment.

As a businessperson, you need to have strong boundaries and know what you are worth.

LESSON TWO: BUILD ON WHAT YOU HAVE AND DEVELOP NETWORKS

Mesolo has been very strategic in how she is building uMashesha. She used her existing platform of drivers and cash flow from the BMW project to kick-start uMashesha.

This allowed her to bootstrap the funding of the app. She then worked on developing other strategic relationships.

Her courier service initially tapped into the attorney document business, which has a high demand for documents to be couriered for signatures.

In order to grow the mini-moving business, she worked with universities and colleges where students are required to remove all their belongings from residences at the end of each year.

She is currently working with individual schools to sign on as a preferred lifting service and in that way expand – via word-of-mouth – thanks to the parents.

LESSON THREE: CREATE RELIABLE PARTNERSHIPS AND TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT

“It would not have been possible to be where we are today without the dedicated team of champions I work with, those staff members and partners who were prepared to take on projects at risk,” says Mesolo.

uMashesha’s model is similar to Uber in that the drivers run their own business and own their cars, however uMashesha drivers receive 85.5% of the fare (compared to 75% for Uber) and rates double over weekends in line with the Labour Act requirements for weekend remuneration.

uMashesha has strict vetting criteria for drivers.

However, this has created a challenge as many driver applicants have old cars, criminal records or do not have clean driving records.

To assist suitable drivers buy their own cars, uMashesha has used its buying power to partner with Auto Kustom, a digital car dealership which helps source affordable cars.

Auto Kustom founder Elton Govender says since they are a digital platform, they are not limited to any province when sourcing the best deal, and they are not restricted to a particular vehicle brand.

“The result is we are able to get lower prices for customers, that they would not be able to obtain [on their own].

"We have helped a number of Uber owners acquire vehicles for the platform at reduced rates, ensuring that the monthly premium is as low as possible given the industry.”

LESSON FOUR: INVESTORS WANT EXPERIENCE AND A CASH-GENERATIVE BUSINESS

After a year of operation, uMashesha has managed to secure funders to push it to the next level, but Mesolo says it is difficult to get funding, unless you can prove the business is viable and you have a track record.

“When we went to look for funders we had to show that the business was already running.

"They also want to know all about you and your background before they buy into [your idea]. They want your background to benefit the business.”

Mesolo has run transport businesses for 18 years, including transport provision during the 2010 World Cup.

LESSON FIVE: TO GROW YOU NEED TO MARKET

While Mesolo was able to bootstrap the creation of the app and the start of the business, no matter how great the product, it will never grow if people do not know it exists.

“You have to do the marketing to grow the business,” says Mesolo, who adds that while some of the new funding will allow the business to enhance its capabilities, most of it will go to marketing and national expansion.

LESSON SIX: BE SOCIALLY AWARE

Social upliftment is extremely important for Mesolo. uMashesha has focused on creating opportunities for women, but one of the biggest challenges is safety for female drivers.

Most women do not feel comfortable picking up strangers – and certainly not driving at night – yet that is when the demand for drivers is at its peak.

As part of their focus to provide jobs for female drivers, uMashesha uses female drivers for their grocery shopping service as well as school-lifting service.

uMashesha also takes an active role in empowering the communities in which they work.

“It is our aim to assist previously disadvantaged individuals to gain qualifications, which would otherwise not be possible without investment from companies such as ourselves.

“We place screened interns in our employ for a period of 12 months and mentor them with relevant skills they might lack – to make them eligible for opportunities.

“Once they are reassessed, they will then be placed within the company.

“This is how we make a difference in every area which we work,” says Mesolo.

LESSON SEVEN: KEEP BUILDING

A business that stands still will not be around for the long haul. The next step for uMashesha is to offer a car rental business using the app.

“Many people working in Sandton and Johannesburg commute on the Gautrain.

“We will be able to offer them a car which will be parked near the station and they can just access it with the app.”

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