SweepSouth, an online marketplace for home services, has closed an $11 million investment round led by Alitheia IDF (AIF), which is described as Africa’s first gender-lens private equity fund.
According to a press release, SweepSouth will scale up its current efforts to better the economic and legal rights of domestic workers in addition to its expansion plans. These efforts include the SweepSouth Report on Pay and Working Conditions for Domestic Workers across Africa, which highlights the challenges faced by domestic workers in Africa and calls on governments and other stakeholders to take more decisive action.
“We’re excited about bringing new shareholders on board in our mission to build technology that aids in providing meaningful connections – giving customers access to safe, convenient services, and home service providers access to decent work opportunities under dignified conditions.” Alen Ribic, co-founder of SweepSouth said.
Aisha Pandor, co-founder of SweepSouth said the new funding round is an important one for the team as it continues to scale in South Africa, and further grow our operations in Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt.
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“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. We are particularly proud to have raised funding from Alitheia IDF, a female-led fund, and to have included more women investors on the cap table via a female-focused SPV during this round. We are excited about what this means for us going forward and thrilled to have Polo Leteka from Alitheia IDF join the board.” Pandor noted.
The size of the round—which is SweepSouth’s largest to date—is due to the company’s valuation and social impact having grown significantly since the previous round of funding. New investors Endeavor Catalyst, Endeavor’s Harvest Fund II, Caruso Ventures, and E4E Africa also committed to taking part in this new round, joining existing investors Naspers Foundry, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, and Futuregrowth Asset Management.
“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,” says Polo Leteka, principal partner, Alitheia IDF Fund. “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.”
