Kenyan HR-payroll provider Workpay secures $2.6m in pre-Series A funding round

Workpay, a Kenyan HR payroll start-up co-founded by chief executive Paul Kimani and COO Jackson Kungu, has secured Ksh 342 million (about $2.6 million) funding in a pre-Series A round. The funding round saw the participation of Launch Africa Ventures, Saviu Ventures, Acadian Ventures, PROPARCO, Fondation Botnar, Kara Ventures, and Axian Group Norrsken.

The company provides employers with a platform to process employee salaries, benefits, file taxes, and keep track of their attendance and leave days. Workpay, which was launched in 2019, also enables employees to have their own app where they receive and view their pay slips, make expense requests, and apply for leave days.

The Kenyan HR payroll startup will soon roll out its services in 40 countries in Africa, nearly double its current reach, following $2.7 million pre-Series A funding raised from Launch Africa, Saviu Ventures, Acadian Ventures, Proparco, Fondation Botnar, Kara Ventures, Axian, P1 Ventures and Norrsken. The YC-backed startup (W20) previously raised $2.1 million seed funding in 2020.

Workpay’s co-founder and CEO, Paul Kimani, said:

On the tech side, we have integrated with nearly everyone who is processing payments to allow us to send money to as many countries in Africa as possible. Non-tech means we have established a presence in these countries, and have partners that allow us to be compliant, which is very important

He further added:

We are a full-stack HR Payroll company, and we help employees to manage their people and pay them. And ours is a very neat platform that processes payrolls, and helps employers to be compliant. As an employer you are able to pay employees wherever they are, and in their preferred accounts — they don’t have to be forced to open accounts with specific banks just because the employer banks there — and file taxes too.

Thomas Otter, general partner at Acadian Ventures, said in a statement:

Workpay is building a top-notch product, meeting the specific needs for HR and payroll in Sub-Saharan Africa. The addressable market in the region is growing rapidly and HR and payroll systems provide the foundation for fair and accurate pay. When combined with advances in mobile payments, solutions like Workpay can have a positive impact on businesses and society.

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