SweepSouth
SweepSouth is a Cape Town-based digital marketplace connecting homeowners across South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria with vetted domestic service professionals (SweepStars) for cleaning, childcare, elder care, and home maintenance bookings, supplemented by subscription management and placement services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersCape Town, South Africa
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What SweepSouth does
SweepSouth (legally Shift South (Pty) Ltd) is a South African digital home services marketplace founded in 2013 and headquartered in Cape Town. The platform connects homeowners and renters with vetted, independent domestic service professionals branded as SweepStars, offering bookings for indoor cleaning, outdoor and garden services, office cleaning, moving cleaning, laundry and ironing, Airbnb turnover cleaning, express cleaning, childcare (Mom's Helper), elder care, extra care, and dog walking. Services are accessible through a self-serve website and native iOS and Android apps, with matching and booking management handled by SweepSouth's proprietary platform. Trust mechanisms include a SweepStar vetting system (background checks, references, minimum two years' experience) and a Booking Cover insurance policy underwritten by Chubb Insurance South Africa, providing up to R5,000 per booking in household-contents coverage.
The company operates across four African countries — South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria — following its December 2021 acquisition of Egyptian startup FilKhedma, which doubled its addressable market. Beyond transactional bookings, SweepSouth generates recurring and fee-based revenue through three adjacent products: MyHome Hub, a R99/month subscription management tool for employers of private domestic workers (payroll, insurance, record-keeping); Placements, a full-time domestic-worker matching service with screening, interviews, and a 90-day replacement guarantee, priced at R999-R1,999; and Booking Cover insurance at R13-R21 per booking, plus digital gift vouchers (R250-R5,000). Marketing relies on a product-led growth model augmented by social media, a referral program, employer-benefit partnerships, and brand integrations with Airbnb, Momentum Multiply, and Standard Bank's UCount Rewards. SweepSouth is venture-backed, having raised approximately $11 million in a 2022 Series A led by Alitheia IDF with participation from Naspers Foundry, Endeavor, Futuregrowth, and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and operates with 101-250 employees.
SweepSouth firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SweepSouth
- Legal name
- Shift South (Pty) Ltd
- Website
- https://sweepsouth.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- SweepSouth is a Cape Town-based digital marketplace connecting homeowners across South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria with vetted domestic service professionals (SweepStars) for cleaning, childcare, elder care, and home maintenance bookings, supplemented by subscription management and placement services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SweepSouth industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Home Services Marketplace
- NAICS
- Janitorial Services (561720), Services to Buildings and Dwellings (5617)
- SIC
- Services-Personal Services (7200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Same-Day/On-Demand Recurring Cleaning (Subscription-Based) (HSAEAAAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Occupied Move-In/Move-Out Cleaning (With Belongings) (HSAEACAB), Add-On Services for Move Cleaning (Inside Cabinets/Fridge/Oven/Windows/Walls/Baseboards) (HSAEACAI), Turnover Cleaning for Unique Stays (Cabins/Tiny Homes/Glamping/Boats) (HSAEAEAL)
Keywords
Where SweepSouth is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cape Town
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices5 records
Markets served
SweepSouth business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others
Revenue model
- Service Booking Transactions: Platform takes transaction fees from cleaning, gardening, childcare, elder care, and other domestic service bookings made through the website and mobile app. Customers pay per booking with pricing based on service type, duration, and home size.
- MyHome Hub Subscription: Monthly subscription at R99 per month providing management tools for private domestic workers including automated payment processing, insurance access, and record-keeping.
- Placement Services: One-time placement fees for connecting clients with permanent domestic workers, nannies, or carers: R999 for cleaners, R1999 for carers and nannies.
- Booking Cover Insurance: Optional insurance add-on at R13 per booking (or R21 for additional once-off bookings) providing household contents coverage.
- Gift Vouchers: Digital gift vouchers sold at R250, R500, R1000, R1250, and R5000 denominations with no expiry date.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | MyHome Hub monthly subscription |
| Subscription | Monthly | Booking Cover insurance add-on |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Placement fees for permanent workers |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Gift Vouchers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels10 records
SweepSouth product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SweepSouth operates an online home services marketplace platform that connects residential and commercial customers in South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria with vetted, background-checked independent domestic service providers branded as SweepStars. The platform enables customers to book a range of services including indoor cleaning, outdoor/garden services, office cleaning, laundry, moving cleaning, childcare, elder care, dog walking, and full-time domestic worker placement. Revenue is earned primarily via transaction fees on bookings, supplemented by a subscription management product (MyHome Hub) and one-time placement fees.
Product overview
SweepSouth is a home services marketplace platform connecting customers with vetted, independent cleaning and care professionals (called SweepStars) for on-demand or scheduled services. The core platform (SweepSouth Platform) operates via web and mobile app and supports booking across South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt. The service portfolio spans core cleaning and care offerings — Indoor Cleaning, Outdoor Services, Office Cleaning, Moving Cleaning, Laundry & Ironing, Mom's Helper, Airbnb Cleaning, Elder Care, Express Cleaning, Extra Care, and Dog Walking — supplemented by add-on modules: Placements (full-time worker placement with screening and 90-day guarantee), MyHome Hub (R99/month subscription for employer management of private domestic workers), Booking Cover (Chubb-underwritten household contents insurance up to R5,000 per booking), Gift Vouchers (R250–R5,000), SweepCred (platform credit system), and a Satisfaction Guarantee. The company also acquired the Egyptian platform FilKhedma in 2021.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SweepStars: The term used for SweepSouth's service providers (cleaners, gardeners, and other home service professionals) who are vetted and rated on the platform.
- MyHome Hub
Products and services
- SweepSouth Platform
- Indoor Cleaning
- Outdoor Services
- Office Cleaning
- Moving Cleaning (Move In / Move Out)
- Laundry & Ironing
- Mom's Helper
- Airbnb Cleaning
- Elder Care
- Express Cleaning
- Extra Care
- Dog Walking
- Placements
- MyHome Hub
- Booking Cover
- Gift Vouchers
Quantifiable outcome
- Vetted service providers with 2+ years work experience requirement
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use SweepSouth
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
SweepSouth technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
SweepSouth partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- FilKhedmacoreEgyptian home services startup acquired by SweepSouth in December 2021. The acquisition doubled SweepSouth's addressable market in Africa and enabled expansion into Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria.
- Momentum MultiplyminorBrand partnership displayed on Sweepsouth website as a partner brand, indicating co-marketing or loyalty program integration.
- AirbnbminorBrand partnership displayed on Sweepsouth website, with Sweepsouth offering Airbnb cleaning services for hosts.
- UCount RewardsminorStandard Bank loyalty program partnership allowing UCount members to earn or redeem rewards on Sweepsouth services.
- Chubb Insurance South AfricacoreUnderwriter of Sweepsouth's Booking Cover household contents insurance policy, providing coverage up to R5000 per booking for damage or theft attributable to SweepStars.
- Surestart Online Financial ServicesminorInsurance broker handling claims and customer service for Sweepsouth Booking Cover policy underwritten by Chubb Insurance.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
SweepSouth competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- TaskRabbit: General task marketplace for home services, cleaning, moving help, and handyman work. Comparable marketplace platform structure, although TaskRabbit is broader in scope and operates primarily in North America and Europe.
- Helpling: Global online platform for booking vetted home cleaners, operating across Europe, Middle East, and other regions. Closely comparable to SweepSouth in transactional cleaning marketplace model and insured-booking trust layer.
- Handy: US-based online marketplace connecting customers with pre-vetted cleaning and home improvement professionals. Directly comparable to SweepSouth in marketplace model, vetting of service providers, and per-booking transaction revenue.
- Urban Company (formerly UrbanClap): India- and UAE-based home services marketplace offering cleaning, beauty, plumbing, and care services through vetted professionals. Directly comparable multi-vertical marketplace model with similar target customers and transaction-fee economics.
Broad incumbents
- Thumbtack: US-based home services marketplace connecting customers with local professionals across hundreds of categories. Broader and more established than SweepSouth, but operates on a similar lead-generation and professional-matching model.
- Angi (Angie's List): Large US home services marketplace (formerly Angie's List) connecting homeowners with service professionals. Operates at much greater scale and breadth than SweepSouth, but with overlapping cleaning and home services categories.
- Care.com: Global online marketplace for child care, senior care, pet care, and housekeeping. Comparable to SweepSouth's elder care, Mom's Helper, and Placements offerings, with a similar trust-and-vetting value proposition.
Emerging players
- Blys: Australia-based platform for booking vetted wellness and home services professionals. Comparable marketplace model with vetted provider network, though narrower category focus than SweepSouth's broad domestic services catalog.
- BookMyBai: India-based domestic help and maid placement platform. Comparable to SweepSouth's Placements product and domestic worker marketplace concept in an emerging market context.
Regional players
- Mamahealth / Domestika (Africa home services): Jiji is one of Africa's largest general classifieds and services platforms with significant home services listings across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and other African markets. Comparable in regional reach but operates an open classifieds model rather than SweepSouth's curated-vetting approach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
SweepSouth social profiles
Digital presenceSweepSouth compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
SweepSouth financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SweepSouth leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
SweepSouth subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
SweepSouth funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds7 records
Investors21 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SweepSouth M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SweepSouth
What does SweepSouth do?
SweepSouth operates an online home services marketplace platform that connects residential and commercial customers in South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria with vetted, background-checked independent domestic service providers branded as SweepStars. The platform enables customers to book a range of services including indoor cleaning, outdoor/garden services, office cleaning, laundry, moving cleaning, childcare, elder care, dog walking, and full-time domestic worker placement. Revenue is earned primarily via transaction fees on bookings, supplemented by a subscription management product (MyHome Hub) and one-time placement fees.
Is SweepSouth a public or private company?
SweepSouth is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was SweepSouth founded?
SweepSouth was founded in 2013. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is SweepSouth based?
SweepSouth is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does SweepSouth make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Service Booking Transactions are the primary driver. The others are myHome Hub Subscription, placement Services, booking Cover Insurance and gift Vouchers.
Who are SweepSouth's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are TaskRabbit, Helpling, Handy and Urban Company (formerly UrbanClap). Broad incumbents are Thumbtack, Angi (Angie's List) and Care.com. Emerging players are Blys and BookMyBai. Mamahealth / Domestika (Africa home services) is listed as a regional player.
Does SweepSouth have an API?
No public API is recorded for SweepSouth.
What industry is SweepSouth in?
SweepSouth's product category is Home Services Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSAEAAAM, Same-Day/On-Demand Recurring Cleaning (Subscription-Based), with a secondary code of HSAEACAB, Occupied Move-In/Move-Out Cleaning (With Belongings). Its NAICS code is 561720 and its SIC code is 7200.