Three months after raising $2 million from Africa’s largest company Naspers, South African ‘Uber of Cleaning Services’ SweepSouth has raised more than R50-million ($3.3mn) in its latest funding round.
“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, ” Aisha Pandor, SweepSouth’s co-founder was quoted as saying.
Here Is The Deal
- This investment round was led by Michael & Susan Dell Foundation which invested $1-million (R14.5-million) in the company.
- The startup has also disclosed in a statement that existing investors Naspers Foundry, Smollan, Vumela, CRE VC (previously Africa Angels Network) and musician and venture capitalist Black Coffee had also participated in the round.
- SweepSouth also said early investors Newtown Partners had exited the startup in the round with more than 10x return on their investments.
- The round is likely one of the highest raised in South Africa by a startup outside the fintech sector. It follows an announcement by Naspers in June that its venture capital (VC) fund Naspers Foundry had invested R30-million in the company (see this story).
Aisha Pandor, SweepSouth’s co-founder said the latest round of investment will be instrumental in achieving the startup’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,” said Pandor.
A Look At SweepSouth
Founded in 2014 by Aisha Pandor and Alen Ribic, SweepSouth reportedly reached $7 million (R100 million) in revenues in 2018.
“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 said, and “even went from cleaning houses ourselves to having 11,000 domestic workers on the platform”.
SweepSouth Says It Has Grown By 26% Since Its Last Funding Three Months Ago
In its statement, SweepSouth noted it has recorded “exceptional growth” since its launch in 2014 with its customer base, booking and revenue having trippled since its last funding round.
It pointed out that it has expanded operations to seven South African cities including Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban.
SweepSouth said it has in partnership with Cape Town based insurtech Simply also been able to provide accidental death and disability cover at no cost to domestic cleaners who find work through its platform.
The startup also said it has grown revenue by 26% since the announcement in June of the investment by Naspers Foundry.
This growth, the company said, has enabled it to create about 15 000 employment opportunities for previously unemployed and underemployed domestic workers.
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