South African on-demand home cleaning startup SweepSouth has banked more funding after becoming the latest investment made by the Futuregrowth Development Equity Fund.
Launched in 2014, SweepSouth is an online platform providing on-demand home cleaning services, operating across seven South African cities.
The startup, which took in almost US$4 million in investment last year, has expanded its offering to also include gardening and pool cleaning, heavy lifting, fixing and maintenance, and commercial sanitation, and also plans expansion into other African countries.
It has now become the second investment made this year by Futuregrowth through its Development Equity Fund, after it backed fintech startup LifeCheq in June. It is also an investor in Yoco, having taken part in the startup’s 2018 round. Amrish Narrandes, head of unlisted equity transactions at Futuregrowth, said SweepSouth had stood out because of the impact its solution had on the country’s informal sector.
“SweepSouth is an early-stage business disruptor that, instead of solving a Silicon Valley problem, is solving South African-specific problems. The company has taken a large segment of the informal sector, which is one of the biggest employers in South Africa, and formalised it, giving people protection and security in their working environments,” he said.
“SweepSouth has played a material role in empowering previously vulnerable informal workers by giving them a voice and the ability to control their destiny because they have flexibility and control over their own time.”
