Nigerian HR tech startup PaidHR announced on Monday that it has closed a $1.8 million seed funding round led by Accion Venture Lab, with participation from returning investors Zrosk, Chui Ventures, and Zedcrest Capital. This investment marks a major step for PaidHR as it expands its payroll and HR management platform across Africa, aiming to improve financial access and operational efficiency for businesses and employees.
Empowering African businesses with cross-border payroll and HR solutions
Founded in 2020 by Seye Bandele and Lekan Omotosho, PaidHR provides a comprehensive platform integrating payroll automation, human resources information systems (HRIS), compliance management, performance tracking, and earned wage access (EWA). The platform supports payroll in 49 currencies, enabling businesses to pay employees locally while managing complex cross-border HR operations. This capability is especially vital for startups and SMEs across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and beyond.
PaidHR currently serves over 250 businesses in sectors such as logistics, retail, manufacturing, and banking. Many of these businesses have relied on manual and inefficient payroll processes. By automating these functions, PaidHR helps companies scale more efficiently while ensuring regulatory compliance and improving employee well-being.
Driving financial inclusion and employee well-being
A standout feature of PaidHR’s platform is its focus on financial inclusion for Africa’s workforce. Through earned wage access, employees can access a portion of their salaries before payday, reducing dependence on predatory loans and easing financial stress. Additionally, PaidHR offers a multi-currency wallet that allows employees to receive payments and save in local currency and U.S. dollars, helping them navigate economic instability.
CEO Seye Bandele emphasized the company’s mission: “We are building HR management for the African context, and this funding allows us to scale our vision, expand our reach, and deliver even more value to our clients.” He added that the investment would support product development, customer expansion, and regional growth across Africa’s enterprise and SME markets.
Accion Venture Lab’s managing partner, Amee Parbhoo, highlighted its impact: “PaidHR’s integrated platform is tackling deep-rooted structural challenges faced by small businesses and their employees in underserved markets. By combining HR automation with embedded financial services, the platform improves business operations and delivers meaningful financial inclusion for workers.
Since its founding, PaidHR has raised over $2.9 million, including a $500,000 pre-seed round in 2022 and an unannounced $600,000 raise in 2023. In 2024 alone, the company processed over $18 million in salaries and onboarded over 20,000 employees onto its platform. With the new funding, PaidHR plans to accelerate product innovation, expand its team, and increase its footprint across Africa’s growing SME sector.
This fresh capital injection positions PaidHR to continue transforming how African businesses manage payroll and HR, while enhancing financial access and resilience for millions of workers across the continent.