South African on-demand home cleaning startup SweepSouth has expanded to Durban, offering customers in the city the opportunity to book, manage and pay for cleaning services via their mobile phones.
Launched in June 2014, SweepSouth was already active in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town and launched a mobile app last month.
“Expanding to Durban has been on the books from the get-go, and we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to interview and register a top quality team of local cleaners – or, as we call them, SweepStars,” said SweepSouth chief executive officer (CEO) Aisha Pandor.
The startup raised US$600,000 in funding early this year, on the back of being the first South African startup to participate in the 500 Startups accelerator in Silicon Valley.
SweepSouth’s app and online platform allows users to book tailored cleans in just three easy steps. Users are alerted when cleaners arrive and clock out, and charged a set rate.
“By tapping into new markets and empowering cleaners to take on multiple or supplementary jobs, we are facilitating the employment of more people, in far less time, at a higher wage,” said Pandor.
Over the past year, SweepSouth says it has created work opportunities for over 1,000 experienced cleaners, 71 per cent of which were previously unemployed.