Cape Town startup SweepSouth raises over R50m in new funding round

UPDATE (20 December 2019: SweepSouth co-founder Aisha Pandor confirmed with Ventureburn today that the round was in fact valued at over R60-million and included a R30-million investment from Naspers’s R1.4-billion venture capital (VC) fund Naspers Foundry, which was announced in June. The story has been adjusted to reflect this.

Cape Town based on-demand domestic cleaning service SweepSouth today announced that it raised more than R50-million in its latest funding round.

Investors in the round include the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation which invested $1-million (R14.5-million) in the company.

The startup said in a statement earlier today that existing investors Naspers Foundry, Smollan, Vumela, CRE VC (previously Africa Angels Network) and musician and venture capitalist Black Coffee had also participated in the round.

SweepSouth also said early investors Newtown Partners had exited the startup in the round with more than 10x return on their investments.

SweepSouth was founded in 2014 by Aisha Pandor and Alen Ribic

The round is likely one of the highest raised in South Africa by a startup outside the fintech sector. It follows an announcement by Naspers in June that its venture capital (VC) fund Naspers Foundry had invested R30-million in the company (see this story). The R30-million is part of the same round.

SweepSouth was founded in 2014 by Aisha Pandor (pictured above) and Alen Ribic.

Pandor said the funding SweepSouth raised in its latest round will be instrumental in achieving the startup’s strategic goals going forward.

“In addition to expanding the markets we operate in, in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent, we are also looking forward to a formal announcement regarding our new platform, SweepSouth Connect, which offers services like handymen, plumbers, electricians, locksmiths, carpet cleaners and nannies, as well as the growth of our online SweepSouth Shop which sells a range of home products,” said Pandor.

‘26% growth since June’

SweepSouth said in its statement that it has recorded “exceptional growth” since its launch in 2014 with its customer base, booking and revenue having trippled since its last funding round.

It pointed out that it has expanded operations to seven South African cities including Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban.

SweepSouth said it has in partnership with Cape Town based insurtech Simply also been able to provide accidental death and disability cover at no cost to domestic cleaners who find work through its platform.

The startup also said it has grown revenue by 26% since the announcement in June of the investment by Naspers Foundry.

This growth, the company said, has enabled it to create about 15 000 employment opportunities for previously unemployed and underemployed domestic workers.

Read more: Naspers Foundry announces its first investment, with R30m in SweepSouth
Read more: Sweep South concludes Series-A round with Black Coffee for ‘seven-figure’ sum
Read more: Domestic cleaning startup SweepSouth sweeps in R10m
Read more: SweepSouth becomes first SA startup to join Silicon Valley’s 500 Startups programme

Featured image: SweepSouth founder Aisha Pandor (Supplied)