Startup success story: SweepSouth celebrates 10 years in business

South African startup success story SweepSouth celebrates its tenth year this June.

Africa Melane (in for Bruce Whitfield) interviews CEO Lourandi Kriel, who summarises the story of how the cleaning company was founded.

The idea for SweepSouth came to husband and wife team Alen Ribic and Aisha Pandor in December 2013, when they struggled to find a part-time domestic cleaner over the holidays.

The aim, they say on their website, was to make getting your home cleaned, at short notice, 'a hassle-free experience'.

"They saw the opportunity to make an impact in the domestic work industry in SA, so they just took a chance, jumped in, put up all their life savings, liquidated all their assets and started this company literally at their dining room table."

"At the time there was no platform like this, that could connect home-owners with reliable, vetted help the touch of a button."

 Lourandi Kriel, CEO - SweepSouth

At the same time that Ribic and Pandor spotted the opportunity to leverage technology to bring this convenience to households, they saw the chance to help solve the country's huge unemployment problem, Kriel says.

Ten years down the line, the company employs over 7 000 cleaners whom they call 'SweepStars'.

The range of services now offered include garden maintenance, car washing and office cleaning.

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