Bomba Safi Cleaners

Nairobi's short-let and Airbnb market depends on fast, reliable turnovers, and homes and offices need the same service on a recurring basis. The supply side is made up of independent cleaners working largely through informal referral.

Hosts cannot see who is trustworthy, what a job should cost, or whether a cleaner is free when they need them. Cleaners, in turn, have no way to publish their rates, show a track record or fill their week.

Marketplace operations, product strategy, partner acquisition and supply development. I set the two-sided marketplace model, the verification requirement, the commission model and the pricing logic, defined the booking, checklist and job-status workflows, and planned the service-area rollout.

The product is designed as two mirrored six-step journeys so that neither side is an afterthought. Hosts post a request, choose a cleaner, get a confirmed booking, have the work done, confirm completion and leave a review. Cleaners create a profile, set their rates, receive bookings, do the job, build a reputation and grow their business.

1. 01Host posts a request
2. 02Verified cleaner selected
3. 03Booking confirmed
4. 04Job completed
5. 05Completion confirmed
6. 06Rating and review

Profiles, ratings and transparent pricing for verified independent providers, matched to weekly availability and Nairobi service area. Pricing is set by each cleaner per property type and size rather than imposed by the platform.

Coverage is live in Westlands, Kilimani, Kileleshwa, Lavington, Riverside, Parklands, Upper Hill, CBD, Hurlingham and Spring Valley, with Karen, Langata, Runda and coastal and upcountry towns marked as coming soon.

Letting providers set their own rates keeps the marketplace honest and keeps earnings with the person doing the work; the platform's job is verification, matching and reputation, not price control.

The platform verifies and matches. The provider prices.

Demand-side marketing was deliberately held back until there were providers worth booking. Built the supply side of the marketplace through direct provider outreach and onboarding, communicating the platform proposition to independent cleaners and preparing the provider network ahead of broader demand-side launch.

That meant approaching cleaners directly, explaining how the platform works and what it changes for them, walking them through verification, and onboarding them into the pre-launch network.

Supply first. A marketplace with no providers has nothing to sell.