South African on-demand home cleaning startup SweepSouth has secured ZAR10 million (US$608,000) in new funding from the Vumela Fund, as well as existing investors Vinny Lingham and Llew Claasen’s Newtown Partners.
Essentially an Uber for home cleaning services, SweepSouth raised seed funding early last year from Lingham and Newtown Partners, as well as the likes of Pule Taukobong’s Africa Angels Network (AAN) and Polo Leteka Radebe’s Identity Development Fund (IDF).
It went on to become the first South African startup to participate in the 500 Startups accelerator in Silicon Valley, between July and November of last year. The latest funding is set to assist the startup in quickening its expansion after an impressive 2015.
“The start of 2016 suggests a year that will be no less exciting for us. With this major new cash injection from the Vumela Fund, we can further expand our rapidly growing national footprint,” said says Aisha Pandor, chief executive officer (CEO) of SweepSouth.
The Vumela Fund is capitalised by the First Rand Group and the Jobs Fund and managed by FNB in an alliance relationship with Edge Growth.
“Edge Growth is an experienced and respected investor who shares our passion for job creation and social transformation. We’ve loved interacting with their team and are excited about utilising this investment to continue our rapid growth and create sustainable work for thousands of cleaners in the next year,” said Pandor.
Janice Johnston, lead investor at Edge Growth, said SweepSouth is one of the leading tech startups in South Africa.
“The on-demand economy is a huge growth area because a lot of consumers’ needs can be far better served with tech-enabled, on-demand services,” she said.
“Uber is a great example of such innovation and we think SweepSouth is the Uber of cleaning in South Africa. The exciting job creation opportunities which the SweepSouth platform provides professional cleaners, is an important attribute of the investment for the Vumela Fund. SweepSouth has one of the most dynamic and creative teams in the startup space and we think they’ll take on-demand service adoption to another level in South Africa.”
