Cleaning, sweeping, polishing… covid-19 requires more regular disinfection in the office and increases the demand for cleaning. Entrepreneurs have taken note. Between end-May through August 2020, 29 people have applied to the Chamber of Trades to start a business activity in this sector. By comparison, there were 11 over the same period last year.

"This is a sector that is benefiting from covid-19," Tom Wirion, director general of the Chamber of Trades, confirms. Although many businesses are utilising telecommuting, he notes a high demand in other buildings, such as nursing homes.

47 creations in one year

Cleaning has actually been successful for a few years. It represented 323 companies at the end of 2019, after an increase of 13% over one year and 66% over five. Between July 2019 and June 2020, 47 were created.

Hygia Plus has been one those as of June. At the heart of the project are Rachida Sebbahi, who worked in cleaning for 15 years, and her former colleague turned manager, Sandra Budzynski. They decided to launch in the midst of the crisis, which took them "15 days".

Thanks to the first customer who recommended them to others, they now have around 20 clients and employ eight people. "By the end of the year, I hope to have more or less 50 clients," Sebbahi adds.

She isn’t worried about the post-crisis period and the potential drop in demand. “We do covid disinfection procedures,” she states. "But not just that." Individuals represent 60% of their customer base. "People who work and want to keep their homes clean." She places utmost importance on expertise, a "demand for quality, listening and flexibility".

Launching with security

For Maria Almeida, a project long in the making is soon coming to fruition. She just received authorisation to set up her cleaning company, Dep, which stands for “discretion, experience and cleanliness [editor’s note: “propreté” in French]. The goal is to be operational before end-October. 

And the health crisis didn’t influence this decision. “There may be more requests right now, but I hope the situation doesn’t last.” She, too, relies on her experience, know-how and love of the profession to achieve this. 

“I am 56 years old, I’ve always worked in the household,” she says. Starting out on her own has been “a dream”. Head in the clouds, but feet on the ground: she has decided to keep her current position in parallel: housekeeper in the morning, then housekeeper in the afternoon, albeit for private clients. 

She is seeking a second person to work with her on the project, even a third by the end of the year. Two clients are already waiting, both individuals and a fitness space. 

A popular market

But after the health crisis, will there be room for all these new businesses? Wirion says the future is uncertain. “The people I have spoken with believe in their project and realise that this is a special time. If they have the skills, a good network, they can be optimistic.” He prefers to stay positive on the trend. “It’s refreshing in this anxiety-provoking atmosphere. It shows that entrepreneurship is alive and well,” Wirion adds.

“I think there is room for new businesses. We have a lot of requests,” adds one cleaning company, which prefers to remain anonymous. Established in the grand duchy for 20 years, it employs more than 50 people. It has had difficulty recruiting even if demand has exploded in recent months. “We have new companies contacting us with increasingly specific requests in terms of covid-19 disinfection.”

Another company, also with a history and also preferring to remain anonymous, is much more skeptical. At home, the slight increase in demand barely compensates for the empty offices due to teleworking. “There are more than 100 companies in Luxembourg; you don’t have to be an expert to know that there isn’t room for everyone. But it’s not for us to judge, if someone thinks they have a chance, let them start.” 

This article was originally published in French on Paperjam.lu and has been translated and edited for Delano.