Calling all CleaningPreneurs
Most cleaning and car wash businesses don't fail because they can't clean. They struggle with late invoices, no contracts, no training budget and no way into big clients.
No joining fee. No royalties. No stock targets. You keep your business, your name and your clients. We add the engine.
Why a catalyst
In chemistry, a catalyst speeds up a reaction without being used up. We speed up your business and we don't take it over.
Molecules Catalyst is the growth programme for CleaningPreneurs: owners of cleaning companies, car washes and fleet valeting businesses, and the resellers who supply their communities. You bring the skill and the team. We add what holds small businesses back: a route into bigger clients, a back office, skills funding support, a trust standard, professional supply and a tender desk.
What Catalyst partners get
Route to market
Work from our group's corporate, municipal and franchise clients, and from homes and offices that book on molecules.co.za, routed to vetted partners by zone, tier, rating and capacity.
Routed work is an opportunity, never a guarantee.
Back office in a box
Quotes, jobs and invoices under your own business name in SmartStock (Molecules OS), with statements and debtor follow-up being added.
Quotes, jobs and invoices live; statements and debtor follow-up rolling out.
Skills funding support
We help you register with the Services SETA, prepare your WSP and ATR submissions, and apply for learnerships and discretionary grants.
Grant decisions are made by the SETA, not by Molecules.
Trust Cover
The Molecules vetting standard: company documents, tax and COIDA checks, references, a site visit and trained staff, shown on your verified profile. Group insurance options for partners are being finalised.
Trust Cover is a vetting standard, not an insurance policy.
Professional-grade supply
Partner prices from 30% off recommended retail, bulk 10 L to 200 L at service-partner prices, and SmartDose™ portion packs for a fixed cost per bucket.
Tender desk
Compliance files, instant priced tender quotes with delivery, and joint bids where Molecules and partners bid together.
The Catalyst brand
Uniforms, signage and the Certified Clean standard: our own quality standard, checked by our team, so clients know what to expect.
Certified Clean is a Molecules standard, not a third-party certification.
The partner app
SmartStock
One app for routed jobs, before and after photos, quotes, invoices and SmartDose™ usage, inside Molecules OS. Jobs, quotes, invoices and stock are live today; job photos and SmartDose usage tracking are rolling out to partners.
Three streams
Cleaning companies
Catalyst Clean
Office, commercial, home, deep and specialist cleaning teams. Routed site work, Certified Clean checklists, SmartDose™ cost control and tender support.
More about Catalyst Clean →
Car washes and fleet valeters
Catalyst Drive
Wash bays, valet bays and mobile fleet valeters. Fleet and dealership work routed by zone, fixed chemical cost per car, retail shelf to sell from.
More about Catalyst Drive →
Resellers and Local Hubs
Catalyst Supply
Sell Molecules in your community or host a Local Hub. You earn only from products you sell to customers, never from recruiting.
More about Catalyst Supply →Three tiers, earned not bought
Every tier is free. Your tier follows your team size or your Molecules purchases, and is reviewed every quarter: you move up as you grow.
Tier 1 · 1-5 cleaners
Atom
Start strong.
Owner-run teams of 1 to 5 cleaners, startup resellers and independent affiliates.
Partner prices from (incl VAT)
R21.69
30% off recommended retail · joining fee R0 · monthly fee R0
Free: no joining fee, no monthly fee. Selected by application.
Tier 2 · 6-50 cleaners
Molecule
Certified and growing.
Established teams of 6 to 50 cleaners, regional distributors and active mid-tier resellers.
Partner prices from (incl VAT)
R20.14
35% off recommended retail · joining fee R0 · monthly fee R0
Free. Earned with 6+ cleaners or Molecules purchases averaging R6,000+ a month.
Tier 3 · 50+ cleaners
Compound
Built to scale.
Large enterprises with 50+ cleaners (51 and more), multi-site commercial contracts and high-volume national distributors.
Partner prices from (incl VAT)
R18.59
40% off recommended retail · joining fee R0 · monthly fee R0
Free. Earned with more than 50 cleaners or Molecules purchases averaging R25,000+ a month.
How routed work flows
Like a ride-hailing app for professional cleaning: Molecules wins and books the work, holds the client relationship and the quality standard, and routes each job to a vetted Catalyst partner company near the site. Molecules invoices and collects; you are paid for the job less the platform fee.
Client books Molecules
Homes, offices, franchises, municipalities and corporates book or contract Molecules online, by quote or by tender.
We route it to you
The job goes to the vetted Catalyst partner nearest the site with the right stream, tier, rating and capacity.
You do the work
Accept the job in SmartStock, clean to the Certified Clean checklist with Molecules products, and add before and after photos.
We invoice and collect
Molecules invoices the client and collects payment. You don't chase the debtor on routed work.
You get paid
Molecules pays your company the agreed job rate less the platform fee, on the payout cycle in your partner agreement.
Quality builds your share
Client ratings, photos and checklist scores feed routing: consistent quality earns more routed work.
Routed work goes only to registered partner companies with their own staff on payroll (PAYE, UIF, COIDA). Routed work is an opportunity, not a guarantee. The platform fee and payout cycle are set out in the partner agreement before you accept any job.
Selection criteria
Clients trust the Molecules name, so every Catalyst partner meets the same standard. Applications are reviewed once a quarter. Q1 2027 intake: applications close 31 December 2026; shortlisted businesses hear from us by 15 January 2027.
Empowerment first
Cleaning on your own today? You are welcome.
Individuals who already run a cleaning business can apply. We help you register a company with CIPC, register for PAYE and UIF, and get your COIDA letter, so that your business can receive routed work.
Your cleaning business, with a corporate engine behind it.
We don’t just supply you. We accelerate you. A route to contracts, Trust Cover vetting and support to apply for skills grants, while you keep your name.
For corporates
Develop cleaning SMMEs who then serve your own sites: enterprise and supplier development in one programme, with quarterly evidence for your verification agency.
See the corporate ESD programmeQuestions
No. You keep your own business, your own name and your own clients, and you run it your way. There is no joining fee, no monthly fee, no royalty and no compulsory business system. SmartStock, SOPs and branded kit are optional tools.
Nothing. Molecules earns from the products partners buy and from a platform fee on work that Molecules wins and routes to you. The fee is set out in your partner agreement before you accept any job.
No. Routed work is an opportunity, not a guarantee. It goes to approved partners in each zone by stream, tier, rating and capacity. Your results depend on your quality, prices and costs.
Clients need to know who is responsible for the people on site. Routed work goes to partner companies that employ their own staff, registered for PAYE, UIF and COIDA, so every cleaner is properly employed and covered. If you clean on your own today, we help you register a company first.
We help you register with the Services SETA, prepare your WSP and ATR, and apply for learnerships and discretionary grants. Whether a grant is approved is decided by the SETA.
Trust Cover is the Molecules vetting standard: documents, tax and COIDA checks, references, a site visit and trained staff, shown on your verified profile. Group insurance options for partners are being finalised. Until then, your own public liability cover stays your responsibility.
Your existing clients stay yours. Clients who book Molecules stay Molecules clients: you serve them under the Certified Clean standard, and your partner agreement explains how routed clients are handled.
No. There is no payment of any kind for recruiting people. Partners earn from their own services and from Molecules products they sell to customers (Consumer Protection Act s43).
The three Catalyst tiers, by team size or purchase volume: Atom (1 to 5 cleaners), Molecule (6 to 50) and Compound (more than 50). Tiers are free and reviewed every quarter; you move up as you grow.
Applications are reviewed each quarter. We check your documents and references, visit your site and confirm your stream and tier. Selected partners are onboarded with training before any routed work.
Straight talk: how Catalyst partners earn
Sell products rather than deliver services? See Catalyst Supply: reseller packs and Local Hubs.
Q1 2027 intake · closes 31 December 2026
Tell us about your business. We review applications quarterly, check documents and references, and contact shortlisted businesses to book a site visit. Selected partners are onboarded with training before any routed work.
Selected partners only. Applications reviewed quarterly. Free to apply.
