At just 24 years old, South African entrepreneur Tobius Mashaba is preparing to launch e-Rele, an on-demand services marketplace that aims to simplify how people find trusted professionals for everyday jobs. The platform is set to launch on 1 August 2026, entering South Africa’s rapidly growing home services market.
Mashaba’s entrepreneurship began long before adulthood. His first business venture came in Grade 8 when he sold hotdogs at school. The business initially thrived, but demand disappeared after fellow students discovered they could buy cheaper Russian sausages elsewhere. Rather than giving up, he pivoted to selling ice cream from home, only to see the venture end when his younger sister and her friends consumed an entire bucket of stock.
Determined to keep trying, he later started a service that helped students recover lost textbooks. Although it addressed a genuine need, the venture came to an abrupt end after he was wrongly accused of stealing the books himself. Over the years, Mashaba explored several other business ideas, including money lending, forex trading and even attempts to develop a winning lottery strategy. While none of these ventures achieved lasting success, each provided valuable lessons.
After completing matric, Mashaba studied BCom Law before pursuing an LLB part-time. Alongside his studies, he worked in industries including e-commerce, warehousing, business process outsourcing (BPO), e-hailing and transportation. Despite gaining experience across multiple sectors, he says he never remained in a job for longer than a year.
“I always hit burnout. I realized I could never work for someone else. I needed to build something myself,” he said. That realization prompted him to rethink his approach. Instead of chasing individual business ideas, he identified common problems faced by South Africans and searched for scalable solutions.
The result was e-Rele, a name derived from “e-commerce” and his middle name, Relebogile. The platform is designed to connect customers with vetted local service providers across more than 18 categories, including plumbing, electrical work, beauty services and personal care. Users can book professionals through a single mobile platform, with features such as real-time tracking and upfront pricing intended to improve transparency and convenience.
According to Mashaba, service providers will retain 80% of their earnings while benefiting from increased visibility and access to customers. Reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey, he believes failure has been one of his greatest teachers. “People say 24 is young. I say it’s the perfect age to build something that lasts young enough to take risks, old enough to know better.”
As e-Rele prepares for its official launch, Mashaba hopes the platform will create opportunities for local service providers while offering South Africans a more reliable and accessible way to book trusted professionals.