Nigerian HR tech startup SeamlessHR has raised US$9 million in its latest funding round to drive its expansion across Africa.
Launched in 2018, SeamlessHR is Africa’s leading payroll and HR technology company, focused on helping institutions across the continent improve their workforce productivity with cutting-edge technology solutions.
Serving over 2,000 medium to large enterprises across the world, the startup offers a robust platform that streamlines the entire employee lifecycle, from recruitment to retirement. It has physical offices in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya.
The new US$9 million funding round, which takes SeamlessHR’s total funding raised to US$20 million, comes from the Gates Foundation and Helios Digital Ventures, and will drive the startup’s plan to expand its reach across Africa, enhance workforce productivity, and accelerate business performance through innovative solutions including embedded finance offerings, and AI-driven workforce management technology.
The investment comes on the back of an impressive run of five years with SeamlessHR’s eponymous software being used by nearly 2,000 businesses to manage HR and Payroll processes for about 300,000 employees across 20 African countries.
“I am really excited about our journey. Over the last five years, we have expanded across the continent to become the dominant HR and payroll software for medium to large enterprises in Africa. While we continue to accelerate our work to optimise workforce productivity in both the public and private sectors across the continent, much of our attention will also be on empowering hardworking Africans with responsible credit products that will help them use their employment as collateral to enjoy a better life,” said SeamlessHR’s co-founder and CEO Emmanuel Okeleji.
“The impact of recent global disruptions like the pandemic and various conflicts around the world and its resultant effect on economic indices such as inflation, exchange rates, and food supply has unfortunately affected the most vulnerable working Africans, leading to worsening poverty. We are confident that our suite of embedded finance products will contribute to alleviating these problems at scale for our people so that working Africans like people in other parts of the world will be able to leverage responsible credit to gain better access to basic life needs like shelter, mobility, food, and education.”
Fope Adelowo, managing partner at Helios Digital Ventures, said his firm believed technology was the key to unlocking Africa’s immense potential as a global economic force.
“SeamlessHR is not only pioneering the digitisation of workforce management but also empowering businesses and employees with transformative solutions such as embedded finance. By providing salary assurance and enhanced wage access, they are breaking down barriers to financial inclusion across the continent. We are pleased to partner with SeamlessHR on this exciting journey and look forward to accelerating their impact across Africa in its next phase of growth,” he said.
