South Africa ’s ‘Uber of Cleaning Services’ Gets $2 Million Investment From Naspers

Startups across Africa are having a field day raising funds for their businesses. The latest to join is sweepSouth, South Africa ’s ‘Uber of cleaning services.’

The Deal At A Glance:

The investment is from internet giant Naspers’s Foundry investment fund for South African startups. This is the first investment Naspers Foundry would be making. With a $2 million (R30 million) investment in the gig economy startup SweepSouth, Naspers’ Foundry is making a big bet.

“The investment kicks off Naspers’ commitment to supporting talented and ambitious entrepreneurs in South Africa who are using technology to improve people’s daily lives,” said Naspers chief executive Bob van Dijk.

“We are inspired by entrepreneurs like Aisha and Alen who use innovative technology to improve people’s lives. We know what it takes to scale tech businesses, and the team is looking forward to working together with SweepSouth to help them do that.”

Naspers Foundry is a $98 million (R1.4 billion) fund that was announced last year as part of the South Africa Investment Conference last October, held by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to spur investment into the country

The Business Is To Simply ‘Clean’

Founded in 2013, the Cape Town-based startup is an online cleaning service for domestic cleaners in South Africa’s major urban centers, founded by couple Aisha Pandor and Alen Ribic, who invested their savings for their children’s university studies in the startup after they struggled to find a cleaner.

The startup is often referred to as the “Uber of cleaning.” 

About SweepSouth

SweepSouth has reached $7 million (R100 million) in revenues in the past year.

“We went from the two of us working around our dining-room table — both of us sitting all day and working on this business plan — to going from a few domestic workers we were interviewing ourselves,” Pandor has said, and “even went from cleaning houses ourselves to having 11,000 domestic workers on the platform”.

Pandor said SweepSouth was “ecstatic” about the investment and aims to use it to expand into other home services and growing beyond the South African market.

“We are proud to have provided employment opportunities for thousands of people, many of whom are single mothers. To be able to bring these opportunities to a new region in South Africa is both rewarding and exciting,” said Pandor, who is the daughter of South African cabinet minister Naledi Pandor, who is minister of international relations and cooperation.

“We see ourselves as an emerging market-focused platform that aims to serve the many professionals who don’t have the time to source the services we provide, whilst also creating meaningful employment opportunities.”

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

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