Workpay, has raised $5m in a Series A funding round led by Norrsken22. Other backers include Visa, Y Combinator, Saviu Ventures, Axian, Plug n Play, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures and Acadian Ventures, a venture firm which specialises in investment into the next generation of work technologies. This follows Workpay’s successful pre-series A round of $2.7m in early 2023.
Businesses across Africa grapple with a dynamic employment landscape, navigating diverse regulations, dispersed employees, and hybrid workplaces. Payroll is time-consuming for Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs). 80% of SMBs still handle payroll manually on Excel and Google sheets. This process is prone to errors and leads to lost money, weak compliance and potential penalties. Globally, SaaS solutions have been successful at simplifying the process for Western businesses.
Go deeper with GlobalData
But in Africa, such solutions struggle to serve local business due to the need for localisation across the 54 countries and price sensitivity on the continent.
Workpay platform: already serving 1,000+ businesses across 20 African markets
Workpay offers a comprehensive cloud-based payroll and HR SaaS platform. This manages the entire journey of employees and contractors, from onboarding to offboarding. Features include payroll processing, time tracking, leave management, expense tracking, performance management, employee benefits administration and Employer of record (EOR) services among others. It already serves 1,000+ businesses across 20+ countries on the African continent on the platform.
Africa is poised to have the largest working age population by 2050. The rise in remote work and talent shortages in other markets is driving demand for services outsourcing in Africa, which will lead to increased demand for African talent. Workpay says it is strategically positioned to help companies on and off the continent pay their employees compliantly while providing much-needed financial services to employees.
Capital rise to boost drive towards profitability
Paul Kimani, CEO of Workpay said: “Our goal is to become the go-to solution for employers and employees in managing HR, payroll, and work-related benefits. Our deep understanding of regulation across the African continent allows businesses working across multiple countries to manage payroll and tax using a single integrated platform. This raise will support Workpay to reach profitability, a huge milestone for our company.”
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataNgetha Waithaka, General Partner at Norrsken22 added: “Our investment in Workpay offers an exciting opportunity to revolutionise how Africa’s SMEs carry out their employee management. Africa boasts one of the largest working age populations in the world and they remain grossly underserved by existing HR and payroll tools. With the addition of integrated financial services, Workpay’s potential for growth is immense.”
Workpay will use the money raised to aid their expansion across the continent and build out its financial services provision.
