Despite this, the Foundry will still be active with its investments in companies such as Naked Insurance, SweepSouth, and the recently announced $100 million megaround for Planet42.

Naspers Foundry was established to support South African startups in their Series A and B stages, which are in line with Naspers’ internet businesses such as food, payments, and classifieds, as well as other digital ventures addressing societal needs. Since its launch in 2019, Naspers Foundry has provided funding to more than nine startups, with a total of over R740 million (~$40 million).

A Naspers spokesperson revealed to BusinessDay that the move is in response to the metamorphosis of the worldwide and South African investment scene, and it has become apparent that the company makes adjustments. Therefore, there has been a revision of its early-stage investment plan in SA to make it fit with the company’s global approach. 

Naspers will keep on encouraging the progress of the early-stage tech industry in SA, evaluating the marketplace and new prospects in a way that accords with its other international markets.

Prosus Ventures, the international arm of Naspers, is now responsible for maintaining the company’s investments in South Africa, and Naspers will no longer have a separate team dedicated to local startups.

The size of the round, which is SweepSouth’s largest to date, is a result of strong growth in the company’s valuation and social impact since the previous funding round. Current investors Naspers Foundry, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, and Futuregrowth Asset Management all committed to participate in this new round, as did new investors Endeavor Catalyst, Endeavor’s Harvest Fund II, Caruso Ventures, and E4E Africa. 

Co-founded in 2014 by Aisha Pandor and Alen Ribic, SweepSouth has a presence in Africa’s four key tech markets: South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt.

This latest round of funding will allow the company to further develop and grow its infrastructure and team in South Africa, rollout new services in existing markets, and pursue both greenfield expansions and acquisitions across the African continent and beyond.

“This new funding round is an important one for our team as we continue to scale in South Africa, and further grow our operations in Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt,” says Aisha Pandor, co-founder of SweepSouth.

“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.”  

Alitheia IDF (AIF), Africa’s first women-focused and women-led private equity fund, is a US$100 million gender-lens fund co-founded and managed by two women-led firms – Alitheia Capital (Lagos, Nigeria) and IDF Capital (Johannesburg, South Africa).

The fund, which announced its final close in 2021 to become the largest gender-lens private equity fund in Africa, identifies, invests in, and grows SMEs led by gender-diverse teams in six African countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.  

“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. 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,” says Polo Leteka, Principal Partner, Alitheia IDF Fund.   

In addition to its expansion efforts, SweepSouth will scale its current efforts to improve the economic and legal rights of domestic workers through efforts such as the SweepSouth Report on Pay and Working Conditions for Domestic Workers Across Africa – a report that highlights the struggles of domestic workers in Africa and encourages more action from governments and stakeholders.   

Alen Ribic, co-founder of SweepSouth, adds: “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.”