Lagos-based HR and payroll tech start-up SeamlessHR has closed a VC-led round of funding to unlock its next phase of growth.
Founded in 2018 by Dr. Emmanuel Okeleji and Deji Lana, SeamlessHR is building Africa’s first enterprise-grade, cloud-based HR platform. SeamlessHR helps medium to large-sized companies automate and optimise their entire HR process from recruitment to retirement on one inter-connected platform at a price point that is affordable for African businesses.
The product suite includes a Recruitment Management System, Core HR Management, Performance and Competency Management, Payroll Management and several other modules.
The company already boasts of an impressive list of customers; Sterling Bank, Wema Bank, Providus Bank, Lagos Business School, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), Coronation Bank, PwC the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) and over a hundred more medium to large-sized corporates across multiple industries in Nigeria and Ghana.
According to the CEO of SeamlessHR, Dr. Emmanuel Okeleji, the company will use its new round of funding to optimise its product suite and aggressively drive its pan-African expansion.
“We have what we can call a first mover advantage in the enterprise HR cloud SaaS space in Africa. This round of funding will help us consolidate on this advantage and scale operations quickly across the continent,”
Speaking further, he said:
“Building a robust enterprise SaaS platform that big corporates; banks and the likes of PwC and KPMG can power their business with takes some heavy lifting. We are motivated by the faith our customers have invested in our technology and are obsessed about what we call “customer enjoyment”. We like to go beyond satisfaction to having our customers enjoy using the tools we are building for their work. This round of funding will help us double down on that most important work.”
The round was led by New York-based Lateral Capital and Lagos-based Consonance Investment Managers, with participation from Enza Capital and Ingressive Capital. Ventures Platform and Tofino Capital had previously invested in SeamlessHR along with local Nigerian Angels.
Speaking about the investment, Rob Eloff Managing Partner at Lateral Capital said:
“Africa’s greatest asset is undoubtedly her human capital. Managing and growing this resource is perhaps the most important work that our generation can undertake. In Emmanuel and Deji we see two highly talented and experienced founders that have surrounded themselves with talent and have thoughtfully created a product suite and culture that will enable success in building Africa’s own WorkDay and more. Lateral Capital is thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of this journey. ”
Mike Mompi, Managing Partner of Enza Capital said:
“We are pleased to be supporting Emmanuel, a brilliant entrepreneur, and his exceptional team at SeamlessHR as they scale the top-class HR tech platform the African Continent has been waiting for.”
Emmanuel is convinced that SeamlessHR has the potential to become a unicorn;
“We certainly think this is possible. If you ask any staff of SeamlessHR what the 5 to 10 year goal of the company is, you will get a short 4 word answer – ‘to be a unicorn’. We believe that the opportunity to help businesses in emerging markets to optimize their resources; people, finances, materials etc with innovative cloud SaaS technology, is big enough to support this goal and we have found in our investors the right companions for the long haul”.
Mobolaji Adeoye, Managing Partner at Consonance Investment Managers, who co-led the round agrees that the company has a chance to achieve significant scale. “SeamlessHR has the team composition and chemistry required for success. Their early commitment to gaining real product and technology advantages sealed the deal for us. We are proud to be a part of their journey”.
