SweepSouth buys Egyptian startup Filkhedma

Aisha Pandor, CEO and co-founder of SweepSouth | image supplied

“We are thrilled to have Filkhedma as part of the SweepSouth family,” says Aisha Pandor, CEO and co-founder of SweepSouth.

Co-founder Alen Ribic adds: “It’s not only their services that align with ours, but also their values and culture. Just like us, Filkhedma is passionate about providing quality and trusted home services, while creating work opportunities for those who need it most.

“We’ve proven out our technology and operational expertise in numerous markets in sub-Saharan Africa, and this acquisition gives us the opportunity to extend that reach into Egypt, a huge market with millions of households. Coming together with the Filkhedma team represents the next phase of building SweepSouth into a global platform that will continue to expand our services not only on the continent but further abroad as well.”

Omar Ramadan, CEO and founder of Filkhedma, says: “We are happy with this incredible milestone and excited about joining forces with the SweepSouth team to fulfil our vision of empowering providers and delivering quality services in Africa and beyond. We already have well over 2,000 service providers on our platform and we’re confident that with the backing of SweepSouth, we will be able to sign up many more and expand into neighbouring countries, too.”

Pandor notes that Ramadan will play a key role in the executive team of the combined entity and that all employees of Filkhedma will stay on.

The acquisition means that SweepSouth will be one of a few African startups operating in the continent’s four key tech ecosystems of South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria. It also means that all markets will have access to new services almost immediately, while the company as a whole will be primed for further expansion into other parts of Africa and the Middle East.

For South Africa, the biggest change will be the imminent rollout of beauty services. This will include manicures and pedicures, hair care and makeup services that can be done at home. This not only gives SweepSouth customers access to more services, but it also gives entrepreneurs in the field the opportunity to list on the platform. This, in turn, allows access to a larger pool of potential customers.