Introduction

Kenyan HR and payroll startup, Workpay, has successfully raised $5 million in a Series A funding round, marking a significant milestone in its journey to revolutionize human resource management across Africa. The funding round was led by Norrsken22, a pan-African venture capital firm, with participation from global payment giant Visa and existing investors, including Y Combinator and Saviu Ventures. This latest injection of capital brings Workpay’s total funding to nearly $10 million since its inception in 2019.

Workpay’s Evolution and Vision

Founded by Paul Kimani and Jackson Kungu, Workpay began its journey focusing primarily on payroll services. However, the company has since evolved into a comprehensive HR platform designed to address the unique challenges faced by businesses across the African continent. The platform offers a simplified, cloud-based solution for managing HR and payroll functions, which remains a significant hurdle for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa.

Workpay’s platform is particularly valuable to businesses with 20 to 100 employees operating within a single country, as well as larger companies with up to 1,000 employees spread across multiple African nations. By providing an affordable and user-friendly alternative to more complex systems, Workpay enables even those businesses that traditionally rely on Excel and Google Sheets to streamline their HR and payroll management.

Enhancing Services and Expanding Reach

The $5 million raised in the Series A round will be strategically deployed to expand Workpay’s financial services offerings and enhance its performance management tools through the integration of artificial intelligence. Additionally, the company plans to grow its workforce and solidify its presence across Africa, particularly in regions where it has already gained traction.

Over the past 16 months, Workpay has onboarded nearly 500 new businesses to its platform, serving over 1,000 customers across 20 African countries. Despite facing delays in its expansion into Francophone Africa, the company has seen its revenue grow by 1.5 times in the first half of 2024 and is on track to double by the end of the year.

Workpay’s co-founder, Paul Kimani, remains confident in the company’s ability to thrive despite the increasing global competition in the HR tech space. He emphasized that the diverse regulatory environment across African countries presents unique challenges for international players. However, Workpay’s deep understanding of the local market gives it a competitive edge, enabling the company to scale rapidly while addressing the growing and varied needs of African businesses.