Dubai-based HR SaaS startup Cercli has raised $4 million in a seed round led by US-based Afore Capital, it announced in a statement today, adding that it is the first investment by the Silicon Valley firm in the region.
The round was also joined by Amir Farha’s COTU Ventures, Y Combinator, Rebel Fund, and a few angel investors, including Ramp’s co-founder Karim Atiyeh, Rappi’s co-founder Sebastian Mejia, Rippling’s former VP of Engineering Tony Dong (Rippling), Oyester’s co-founder Tony Jamous, Allison Pickens, and founders and executives from Kitopi, Careem and some other startups from MENA.
Founded last year by Akeed Azmi and David Reche, Cercli streamlines payroll, workforce management, and compliance for businesses operating in the MENA region. The platform integrates various back-office functions, including local payroll, remote contractor management, employer of record services, HR, and onboarding.
Most businesses rely on several tools, often three or more, to manage tasks that Cercli consolidates into a single solution. Its product also comes with integrations for different HR, finance, accounting, legal, and IT softwares.
The startup that helps businesses hire, manage, and pay their (distributed) teams, is essentially building a Rippling for MENA. Launched earlier this year, Cercli claims to have grown 25 percent month over month, and has paid out over $23 million in salaries to employees of its clients across 31 countries.
Akeed Azmi, co-founder of Cercli, who previously worked at Kitopi and Careem, said, “The cost of workforce-related compliance is one of the biggest challenges for C-suite executives across our region. We built Cercli to replace multiple isolated systems as the singular modern payroll and employee data platform, empowering businesses to manage their local payroll, remote contractors, employer of record, HR, onboarding and more.”
“Today, we are excited to welcome globally renowned investors whose experience in supporting early-stage companies will propel our growth across our core markets and adjacent product SKUs,” he added.
Anamitra Banerji, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Afore Capital, said, “At Cercli, Akeed and David are building to solve for one of the region’s largest challenges – managing a global workforce while meeting compliance requirements. This investment is reflective of our recognition of the massive untapped potential of the MENA region, and the possibilities that game changing founders are enabling here. In just a few months, Cercli has not only assembled a solid team of builders and operators, but has attracted marquee customers as well.”
The startup plans to use the fund to further enhance its product and accelerate its expansion to Saudi.
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