SweepSouth, South Africa based home cleaning start-up, has received an undisclosed investment from Futuregrowth, a South African asset management firm.
This marks Furturegrowth’s second investment made in this year through its Development Equity Fund. The fund aspires to make investments into ventures that can deliver a CPI + 10% benchmark return. In June, it invested in fintech start-up LifeCheq. Previously, it has also invested in Yoco.
SweepSouth raised US$ 3.95M in its previous round of funding last year. The start-up was Naspers Foundry’s first investment who invested US$ 2.1M (ZAR 30M). An additional US$ 1M was invested from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and cash from existing investors Smollan, Vumela, and CRE Venture Capital.
About SweepSouth
SweepSouth is a digital platform that enables users to book, pay and manage on-demand home cleaning services from their home. Launched in South Africa in 2014, the company has expanded its offering to include solutions on heavy lifting, pool cleaning, gardening, fixing and maintenance, and commercial sanitation.
SweepSouth has since expanded its operations into Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, and Pretoria. The company has recently announced the expansion of its services to Kenya, which is their second country. This strategic move makes SweepSouth the first company in Kenya to offer these kind of services.
Statements from Futuregrowth
Amrish Narrandes, the head of unlisted equity transactions at Futuregrowth, said that SweepSouth 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”, added Narrandes.