- PaidHR aims to provide HR tech innovation to Africa’s 44 million small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and their employees.
- Through earned wage access (EWA), PaidHR users can access a portion of their salary before payday, reducing reliance on predatory loans and alleviating financial stress.
- PaidHR platform leverages payroll data to connect employees to credit and savings plans.
- Integrated wallets enable employees to receive payments and save in local currency and USD, helping customers navigate financial instability.
Lagos, Nigeria, June 23, 2025 – PaidHR, the Nigerian HR tech startup transforming payroll and human resource management across Africa, has announced the close of a $1.8 million seed round. The investment was led by Accion Venture Lab, with strong participation from existing investors Zrosk, Chui Ventures, and Zedcrest Capital.
Founded in 2020 in Nigeria, PaidHR has rapidly expanded to reach Pan-African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and tech startups across Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. The majority of PaidHR’s users are logistics, retail, and manufacturing businesses with under 200 employees, whose reliance on manual, time-consuming processes has created inefficiencies and compliance challenges. PaidHR’s all-in-one platform enables businesses to scale efficiently and improve employee wellbeing by formalizing HR administration, automating both local and cross-border payroll, ensuring full regulatory compliance, and providing tailored financial services to employees.
By 2030, half of all new entrants into the global labor force will come from sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, 44 million SMEs provide an estimated 80% of jobs across the continent however, these businesses are often informal and unable to provide HR and financial services to their employees. In Nigeria, 83% of the workforce lacks access to credit and cannot meet emergency and basic needs.
PaidHR aims to improve financial inclusion and promote economic resilience for Africa’s growing workforce. Through earned wage access (EWA), employees on PaidHR’s platform can access a portion of their salary before payday, helping to reduce reliance on predatory loans and alleviate financial stress. PaidHR’s integrated multi-currency wallet allows employees to receive payments and save in both local currency and USD, helping them navigate financial instability. The platform also leverages payroll data to connect employees to other financial products, such as credit and savings plans, through partnerships with financial service providers.
“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,” said Seye Bandele, CEO of PaidHR. “With the support of Accion Venture Lab and our returning investors, we are well-positioned to help small businesses grow and scale more effectively across borders.”
Amee Parbhoo, Managing Partner at Accion Venture Lab, commented: “PaidHR’s integrated platform is tackling deep-rooted structural challenges faced by small businesses and their employees in underserved markets, starting in Nigeria. By combining human resources automation with embedded financial services like earned wage access and USD savings, the platform not only improves how businesses operate, but seeks to deliver meaningful financial inclusion for workers. We are proud to support the team as they deliver scalable, cost-effective solutions that help strengthen small businesses and enable employees to take control of their financial lives.”
Lekan Omotosho, Co-founder and CTO of PaidHR, added, “Our clients trust us with their most sensitive workforce data and payroll processes. That’s why we’ve built PaidHR on a foundation of robust and secure technology infrastructure, ensuring reliability, compliance, and peace of mind for SMEs and their employees who may not have had access to integrated HR and financial services tools.”
With this investment, the company plans to accelerate product development, expand its customer success teams, and increase its presence across Africa’s rapidly growing enterprise and SME sectors. The company also aims to continue innovating around employee financial wellness, compliance automation, and HR analytics to deliver greater value to businesses and their teams.
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Fact Sheet
- Paid HR was founded in Nigeria in 2020 by Seye Bandele (CEO) and Lekan Omotosho (CTO)
- PaidHR’s $1.8 million seed round was led by Accion Venture Lab, with participation from existing investors Zrosk, Chui Ventures, and Zedcrest Capital
- PaidHR now also serves Pan-African customers across Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa
- PaidHR processed more than $18 million (₦29 billion) in salaries in 2024 alone
- PaidHR specifically targets businesses with under 200 employees, and has now onboarded more than 20,000 total employees onto its platform
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About PaidHR
PaidHR is an HR tech startup based in Lagos, Nigeria, providing a comprehensive platform for payroll, HRIS, compliance, performance management, and earned wage access. Its cross-border payroll system supports 49 currencies, empowering businesses to pay employees in their local currencies and navigate the complexities of international HR management. This funding comes after PaidHR announced a pre-seed funding round of $500k in late 2022, the company also confirms that it raised an additional $600k in 2023 which it did not announce.
About Accion Venture Lab
Accion Venture Lab is a leading early-stage investor in inclusive fintech, providing seed-first capital and strategic support to innovative startups that are meeting the financial needs of underserved people globally. Our global portfolio and local approach enable us to spot and respond to global trends faster, sharing learnings across geographies. Accion Venture Lab is an investment strategy of Accion and is managed by Accion Impact Management.
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Media Contact:
press@paidhr.com
