Grace Ashiru
Workpay, a Kenyan cloud-based HR, payroll, and benefits platform for organizations, has secured $5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Norrsken22, which has also backed companies like NALA and Orca, with participation from Visa, Y Combinator, Saviu Ventures, Axian, Plug n Play, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, and Acadian Ventures. This follows the $2.7 million pre-Series A funding round raised last year.
The new funds will be used to accelerate Workpay’s expansion across Africa and to enhance its financial services offerings.
Challenges Addressed
Across Africa, businesses face complex employment landscapes, grappling with diverse regulations, dispersed teams, and hybrid work environments. Payroll management, in particular, poses a challenge for Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs), with 80% of them still relying on manual methods like Excel and Google Sheets. While third-party solutions exist, they often offer limited features, and software designed for large enterprises tends to be expensive and overly complex.
Workpay addresses this gap by providing end-to-end HR and payroll solutions tailored for African businesses.
What Workpay Does
Founded by Paul Kimani and Jackson Kibigo, Workpay offers a comprehensive cloud-based HR and payroll SaaS platform that manages the entire employee journey, from onboarding to offboarding. The platform includes features such as payroll processing, time tracking, leave management, expense tracking, performance management, benefits administration, and Employer of Record (EOR) services. It also ensures compliance for employees across various markets.
With over 1,000 businesses across 20+ African countries already on the platform, Workpay is now focusing on advancing employee financial services and benefits.
“Our aim is to become the go-to solution for employers and employees managing HR, payroll, and benefits. Our deep knowledge of regulations across Africa allows businesses operating in multiple countries to manage payroll and tax on a single integrated platform. This funding will help us achieve profitability, which is a major milestone for our company,” said Paul Kimani, CEO of Workpay.
Investors’ Perspectives
Ngetha Waithaka, General Partner at Norrsken22, expressed enthusiasm for the potential of Workpay to transform employee management for Africa’s SMEs. “Africa has one of the largest working-age populations globally, yet remains underserved by existing HR and payroll tools. With the integration of financial services, Workpay’s growth potential is tremendous.”
Thomas Otter of Acadian Ventures highlighted Workpay’s comprehensive platform, stating, “We are excited to increase our investment in Workpay, which has developed the most advanced HR and payroll platform in Africa, positioning it to lead the market over the next decade.”
Ryosuke Yamawaki, Partner at Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, praised Workpay’s leadership and its evolution into a platform that addresses all HR needs for African businesses. “We’re thrilled to continue supporting Workpay’s journey in revolutionizing human resource management across the continent.”
