DURBAN – SweepSouth, a South African startup, plans to grow its market share in the country and launch additional services following a successful funding round where the company raised more than R50 million in new investment.
SweepSouth is an online platform providing on-demand and regular home cleaning services.
SweepSouth connects clients to pre-vetted cleaners across major cities in South Africa. SweepSouth cleaners, known as “SweepStars”, have full flexibility over their hours and availability, and benefit from pay rates significantly higher than the national minimum wage.
The final deal signed in the funding round was with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, which has invested $1 million (R14,5 million) into the company. This investment follows the June announcement of a R30 million investment by Naspers Foundry, a start-up fund aimed at boosting the South African technology sector.
In addition to Naspers Foundry and the Dell Foundation, who both came on board as new investors, existing investors Smollan, Vumela, CRE VC (previously Africa Angels Network), and musician and venture capitalist Black Coffee have also reinvested into SweepSouth bringing the total investment raised by SweepSouth in this round to more than R50 million.
Since its launch in 2014, SweepSouth recorded exceptional growth. Since the closure of the previous funding round in 2017, SweepSouth has expanded its operations and now operates in seven South African cities. The company has also grown 26 percent since the announcement in June 2019 of the investment by Naspers Foundry. Since their last funding round, SweepSouth has also seen its customer base, bookings and revenue triple.
SweepSouth plans to grow its market share in the country and launch additional services following a successful funding round where the company raised more than R50 million.
Photo: File
The businesses growth has afforded SweepSouth the opportunity to create almost 15 000 employment opportunities for previously unemployed and underemployed domestic workers. The startup has operations in Cape Town, Durban, Joburg and Pretoria.
Aisha Pandor is chief executive and cofounder along with her husband Alen Ribic of SweepSouth. Pandor said, "The funding received during this round will be instrumental in achieving SweepSouth’s strategic goals going forward. In addition to expanding the markets we operate in, in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent, we are also looking forward to a formal announcement regarding our new platform, SweepSouth Connect, which offers services like handymen, plumbers, electricians, locksmiths, carpet cleaners, and nannies, as well as the growth of our online SweepSouth Shop which sells a range of home products".
Pandor also extends her thanks to Vinny Lingham and Llew Claasen's Newtown Partners, which has exited SweepSouth in this round of funding with a more than 10x return on their original investment since coming on board.
"Newtown Partners was our very first investor and as a fund founded by entrepreneurs themselves, lent a lot of insight that helped us to achieve the growth we have and avoid a lot of mistakes common to first time founders," concluded Pandor.