In a year marked by global macroeconomic headwinds and tighter venture funding, Lagos-based HR and payroll startup PaidHR has secured a $1.8 million seed round to expand its footprint across Africa. The round was led by Accion Venture Lab, with participation from returning investors Zrosk Investment Management, Chui Ventures, and Zedcrest Capital.
The raise comes at a pivotal moment for African businesses seeking scalable, localized solutions to manage their workforce. Since its founding in 2020, PaidHR has positioned itself as a full-service platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), enabling them to handle everything from HR administration and payroll to compliance and employee financial wellness.
“We are building HR management for the African context,” said Seye Bandele, PaidHR’s co-founder and CEO. “This funding allows us to scale our vision, expand our reach, and deliver even more value to our clients.”
PaidHR was founded by Bandele and co-founder/CTO Lekan Omotosho to solve a fundamental challenge: the lack of intuitive, affordable HR and payroll systems tailored to African businesses. While global platforms such as Workday and Gusto dominate larger markets, they often fall short when it comes to regional needs like currency volatility, compliance complexities, and employee access to financial services.
By contrast, PaidHR supports payroll automation in 49 currencies and is already used by over 250 businesses across Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. Clients span sectors including logistics, retail, manufacturing, and financial services — industries that collectively employ millions and make up the backbone of Africa’s working economy.
“We’re not just formalising HR systems,” Bandele said. “We’re giving African businesses tools that allow them to grow sustainably while ensuring their employees are supported.”
In 2024, PaidHR processed over $18 million (₦29 billion) in salaries through its platform, and has onboarded more than 20,000 employees to date. The startup also offers Earned Wage Access — an increasingly popular financial wellness tool that allows employees to access wages they’ve already earned, helping them avoid predatory lending.
The new funding builds on a $500,000 pre-seed round closed in late 2022. With the latest capital, the company plans to accelerate product development, grow its technical and customer success teams, and deepen its presence in new African markets.
According to PaidHR, part of its next phase will include enhanced features for compliance automation and workforce analytics, giving African businesses data-driven tools to stay ahead of shifting labor regulations and improve decision-making.
Why Now?
Africa’s formal employment base is growing steadily, fueled by both expanding SMEs and a fast-evolving tech ecosystem. Yet HR software adoption across the continent remains low, often hindered by high costs, lack of local customization, or limited integrations with other business tools.
PaidHR’s approach, backed by a mix of venture capital and early traction in multiple regions, suggests a growing appetite for platforms that understand African payroll intricacies — from FX conversions to statutory remittances.
“PaidHR is solving real pain points for businesses in frontier markets,” said an Accion Venture Lab spokesperson. “As more African companies go digital and scale across borders, tools like this will become foundational.”
PaidHR’s success adds to a growing list of African startups tackling the infrastructure of work — whether in payroll, recruitment, benefits, or compliance. As economic resilience and employee well-being take center stage, investors and entrepreneurs alike are betting that locally built systems can unlock productivity and financial stability at scale.
For PaidHR, the road ahead is ambitious but well-defined: bring African HR into the modern age, and make sure no employee is left behind in the process.
“We’re just getting started,” Bandele said.