PaidHR, a Lagos-based HR and payroll platform, has raised US$1.8 million in a seed funding round led by Accion Venture Lab.

Returning investors Zrosk, Chui Ventures, and Zedcrest Capital also participated in this round.

The new funding will be allocated to product development, team expansion, and increasing its presence in Africa’s enterprise and SME markets.

CEO Seye Bandele said that the funding will enable the company to scale its services and provide additional value to its clients.

Founded in 2020, PaidHR operates in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. The company serves over 250 businesses across various sectors, including logistics, retail, and banking.

PaidHR plans to focus on employee financial wellness, compliance automation, and HR analytics.

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🔗 Source: PaidHR

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Africa’s HR tech landscape reflects the continent’s unique workforce challenges

PaidHR’s growth across Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa illustrates how HR tech in Africa is developing solutions specifically designed for local market complexities rather than importing global models.

Their focus on cross-border payroll in 49 currencies directly addresses the pan-African expansion challenges that businesses face when operating across multiple countries with different regulatory environments.

This localization trend extends beyond PaidHR, with platforms like Workpay similarly focusing on cloud-based solutions that facilitate cross-border operations for SMEs and startups in the region 1.

The emphasis on compliance automation highlighted in PaidHR’s offering addresses a critical pain point for African businesses, where navigating complex and often changing labor regulations across different jurisdictions creates significant administrative burdens.

African HR platforms are increasingly positioning themselves at the intersection of workforce management and financial services, creating integrated solutions tailored to markets where traditional banking penetration remains limited.

2️⃣ HR tech becomes a vehicle for financial inclusion in emerging markets

PaidHR’s integration of Earned Wage Access into their platform represents a growing trend where HR technology serves as an entry point for financial inclusion initiatives across Africa.

This approach addresses the reality that formal employment often serves as the first connection to financial services for many workers, making payroll systems natural distribution channels for financial products.

The focus on employee financial wellness aligns with broader economic development goals, as research consistently shows that access to appropriate financial services can improve household stability and economic resilience.

Similar financial inclusion features are becoming standard across the competitive HR tech landscape in Africa, with platforms like Bento also highlighting flexible payroll solutions that extend beyond basic compensation management 1.

This evolution from pure HR administration to financial services delivery demonstrates how sector-specific software can become the foundation for broader financial infrastructure in emerging markets.

3️⃣ Africa’s tech investment landscape shows resilience despite global funding slowdown

PaidHR’s US$1.8 million seed round, following their $500,000 pre-seed in 2022, demonstrates continued investor confidence in African HR tech despite the broader global venture capital contraction.

This funding success parallels other recent African tech investments, including LemFi’s funding success, indicating that strong unit economics and clear market fit can still attract capital even in challenging environments.

The participation of both new lead investor Accion Venture Lab and returning investors like Zrosk, Chui Ventures, and Zedcrest Capital suggests a maturing investment ecosystem where early backers continue supporting promising companies through multiple rounds.

Africa’s tech funding is increasingly sector-diversified beyond the traditional fintech focus, with HR tech joining other enterprise software categories as attracting significant investment interest.

The continued flow of capital into infrastructure technologies like payroll and HR management reflects investor recognition that these foundational business systems represent enduring value regardless of broader market fluctuations.

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