Sweepsouth, a Cape Town-based on-demand home service company, has launched in Nigeria to enable home workers connect with individuals in need of their services.
According to Sweepsouth, the company aims to combat the increasing rate of unemployment in the country, which hit an all time high as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“With the high level of unemployment in Nigeria, hitting an all-time high, there is a need to connect the country’s unemployed and underemployed with the right work opportunities.
Unemployment is not only on the rise in Nigeria, it’s rising at a rapid pace as a result of an uncertain economic environment, exacerbated by the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” SweetSouth said.
According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, 33.3 percent of the country’s population were unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2020, the second highest unemployment rate in the world.
The company explained that one of the biggest obstacles that often stands in the way of people finding employment is a lack of awareness while noting that the company aims to tackle this challenge by directly connecting job seekers with those who require their services.
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Aisha Pandor, CEO SweepSouth while speaking about the platform noted that one of the difficulties with unemployment is exposure and awareness, noting that SweetSouth Connect is on the move to solve the problem.
“The simple fact is that you can take advantage of 100% of the opportunities that you’re exposed to. But, when you’re dependent on finding new work opportunities through what the people around you have knowledge of, it becomes extremely difficult to have access to opportunities that could improve your employment situation,” Aisha said.
The CEO explained that SweepSouth has leverage technology to provide employment to home service providers.
“Technology is one of the most powerful enablers of connectivity and we wanted to leverage that potential to ensure that home service providers such as domestic workers are able to connect with as many employment opportunities in the most convenient way possible,” she said.
Aisha disclosed that she started the company in 2014, after facing difficulties and lengthy process when trying to find a domestic worker.
However, she stated that the platform will enable home cleaners, nannies and artisans like electricians, plumbers, carpenter, painters and air-conditioner repair service providers, to easily find dignified work, while noting that the platform grants access to higher earnings more than the rates and offer them power choose the type of work.
According to SweepSouth’s fourth annual Pay and Working Conditions for Domestic Workers Across Africa report, although 65 percent of Nigerian domestic workers are the main breadwinners of their households and are responsible for financially supporting an average of four dependents, only 29 percent earn more than 27,000 Naira per month. Meanwhile, more than half of domestic workers’ primary role includes cleaning, cooking and childcare.
SweetSouth noted that they operate in four African countries which includes South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt, with the mission to bring technology to the home services industry and take the hassle out of booking a home service professional.
