To extend its HR solutions across Africa, Kenya’s Workpay raised $2.7 M Pre-Series A funding
Pre-Series A financing of US $2.7 million has been secured by Kenyan HR and payroll company Workpay in order to scale its HR, payroll, compliance, and benefits capabilities across Africa.
Workpay is a cloud-based human resources management and payroll system for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs) in Africa. It was formerly known as TozzaPlus until it underwent a rebranding in 2019. By removing phantom workers from their payroll and the inefficiencies associated with cash payments, the startup’s time monitoring and salary disbursement technologies assist African businesses in saving money and time.
The startup, a Y Combinator alum, raised US $2.1 million in seed funding in late 2021. It has since raised US $2.7 million in pre-Series A funding from international and African-focused investors, including Launch Africa Ventures, Saviu Ventures, Acadian Ventures, Proparco, Fondation Botnar, Kara Ventures, Norrsken, and Axian, with the participation of existing investor P1 Ventures.
About 600 firms in over 20 countries in Africa use HR solutions from Workpay, which already expanded into Nigeria in 2021. Workpay has been developing new product lines in pace with the remote work trend. The company’s goal of enabling businesses to effectively manage and compensate their staff wherever they are in Africa will be supported by this financing.
“Our solution meets the specific needs of HR and payroll across Africa, and with this new investment, we will continue scaling across the continent. Payroll is a strategic part of the payments value chain that allows us to build other products on top of it,” said the CEO and co-founder of Workpay, Paul Kimani.
According to Thomas Otter, general partner at Acadian Ventures, Workpay is developing a top-notch solution that will specifically address the payroll and human resources needs of Sub-Saharan Africa.
“The addressable market in the region is fast-growing, and HR and payroll systems provide the foundation for fair and accurate pay. When combined with advances in mobile payments, solutions like Workpay can positively impact businesses and society,” he said.
