Just a year ago, Mush Rahaman, an established business owner in Berwick, was running for councillor during the 2024 Casey council election, and while his political endeavours were unsuccessful, the entrepreneur now has his eyes set on something else.
Over the last year, the owner of La Baguette Café, has been working hard on an online business platform titled, ‘LinkedHive’.
As its slogan denotes, the platform aims to form ‘one hive for every community’ by connecting and integrating local businesses in Casey, Cardinia and Dandenong through a digital community hub.
But it doesn’t just stop there, businesses are also able to connect with residents, councils visitors and community members – and vice versa.
According to Mush, the website and eventual app, considers different aspects of owning a business.
“What I have done with this online platform, rather than having all these other platforms that you have to use or go through, one platform will serve all your purposes,” explained Mush.
Through this digital hub, local businesses in a selected region will be able to perform various tasks, from updating their customers and relaying promotions to advertising local events.
They can even list jobs available and equally, job seekers can apply directly through the site.
The platform also includes safety or emergency alerts that are cautioned by local residents, after a certain amount of verification, it will also notify others in the same region of that alert.
Sport venues and facilities can rent out venues; visitors can book local accommodation.
It also includes multilingual support – extending to 12 languages.
It’s essentially a digital one stop shop for all your needs.
According to Mush, this platform has been 15 years in the making, starting from a simple framework to a now established digital headquarters that considers not only local traders, but also local consumers and residents.
“I came up with an idea or the concept, of how people, businesses and tourists can be together,” explained Mush.
After all, as a local business owner himself, Mush says that he’s seen first hand the mountains of obstacles that small businesses face.
According to Mush, among those are cost of living pressures, outreach issues, lack of digital visibility, language barriers and councils lacking a unified communication channel for businesses.
Along with Cardinia and Dandenong Council, Mush has liaised with the Casey Council and Casey’s Mayor, Stefan Koomen who received a live demonstration of the platform.
“We really appreciate initiatives that support local businesses,” Mayor Koomen told Star News about LinkedHive.
“We’re excited to see how the launch unfolds and are always looking for ways to strengthen connections between residents and businesses in Casey.”
And while Mush continues to communicate with the three councils on how they can contribute to his new digital initiatives, he also says that no matter how extensive their support is, this project will persist.
“I will go ahead either way, I have been working for a long time, and I believe this will help our community, and especially local businesses,” said Mush.
“I know because I am one of them and when it comes to our local people, I am one of them.
“And when it comes to small businesses, I am one of them”.
LinkedHive is planned to launch in the early months of 2026 and will be free for local businesses in the first year but plans to introduce a subscription fee in its eventual future.
