SA HR startup Jem raises $8.4 M Series A funding to support product expansion
In order to support its growth into a workforce management platform, South African startup Jem HR, a WhatsApp-based HR and employee benefits platform utilized by more than 200 businesses and 250,000 frontline employees, has acquired a US $8.4 million Series A funding round.
Jem HR, which was founded in 2019 under the name SmartWage and changed its name in 2022, began by enabling businesses to provide their workers immediate access to a portion of their pay and compensation for completed labor.
It then went beyond that, providing businesses with an easy-to-use yet efficient method of digitizing their most time-consuming HR procedures, allowing them to save money and time so they could concentrate on people. Through WhatsApp, employees without email can request leave, view their paystubs, get company-wide communications, and access financial wellness solutions.
Jem raised $43.3 million before the Series After obtaining a US$8.4 million Series A investment led by Quona Capital last year, which would support its growth into a workforce management platform with additional features like time-and-attendance, credit scores, and EAP already in place, the company now wants to expand its product line. Products under beta include LMS, rostering, and more.
“Jem is the workforce management platform for deskless employees,” said Jem co-founder and CEO Simon Ellis. “Employers have spent years stitching together a dozen disparate systems to run their teams. Jem is now the one place they can do all of it.”
The University Technology Fund, E4E, Next176/FutureGrowth, and a number of well-known angel investors, including former Old Mutual CEO Iain Williamson, are additional investors.
“We backed Jem because it sits at a powerful intersection – essential workforce software that lets companies build a deeper relationship with their people, trusted employer distribution, and embedded financial services that save everyday South Africans meaningful amounts,” said Johan Bosini, venture partner at Quona Capital.
“It’s WhatsApp-based platform is becoming an important infrastructure through which employers communicate with, manage and support their workforces.”
