South African startup SweepSouth, an online home services platform with presence across Africa, has raised US$11m million in funding as it plots continued expansion and growth.
Co-founded in 2014 by Aisha Pandor and Alen Ribic, SweepSouth is an online platform providing on-demand home cleaning services, operating across various South African cities as well as in Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt.
Already well-capitalised, the US$11 million round of funding will allow the company to further develop and grow its infrastructure and team in South Africa, roll out new services in existing markets, and pursue both greenfield expansions and acquisitions across the African continent and beyond.
“This new funding round is an important one for our team as we continue to scale in South Africa, and further grow our operations in Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt,” said Pandor. “We’re excited to continue SweepSouth’s work in connecting customers with home service providers across the continent, building a platform that empowers domestic workers and local tradespeople.”
The round led by Alitheia IDF, a gender-lens private equity fund, and also includes current investors Naspers Foundry, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, and Futuregrowth Asset Management. New investors Endeavor Catalyst, Endeavor’s Harvest Fund II, Caruso Ventures, and E4E Africa also joined the round.
“We are proud to support SweepSouth’s growth as it expands its platform that substantially improves the financial and social outcomes for domestic workers across Africa, most of which are women,” said Polo Leteka, principal partner at Alitheia IDF.
“In the domestic services industry, which is notoriously informal and exploitative, SweepSouth’s model solves autonomy, security, and increasing income for its service providers, and affordability and flexibility for its end users. AIF’s investment will enable the development of infrastructure and operations that will deliver growth for stakeholders – particularly domestic workers and local tradespeople at the base of the economic pyramid.”
