2024 HR Techs fundings and acquisitions in Middle East
HR technologies have a transformative impact on modern workplaces, saving manual efforts for HR and talent professionals while streamlining talent management. In recent years, HR tech companies have introduced comprehensive platforms for recruitment, talent assessment/screening, employee engagement, compensation and benefits, as well as well-being. These advancements define the future of workplaces in 2024 and beyond. People Matters presents a curated list of key HR tech funding and acquisitions from the past year, that aim to assist organisations in the Middle East in transforming their workplaces.
Latest HR Tech funding and acquisitions - 2024
Cercli raises $4M in seed funding for MENA expansion
A Dubai-based HR Tech platform, offering businesses in the MENA region a single solution to hire, manage, and pay their global workforce, has secured $4 million in seed funding. The round was led by Afore Capital, Y Combinator, COTU Ventures, and others. The platform aims to replace multiple systems with a unified payroll and employee data platform, allowing businesses to manage local payroll, remote contractors, Employer of Record (EOR), and HR processes efficiently.
WorkJam raised $20M funding for EMEA expansion
The global digital platform for frontline workers received a $20 million investment from Export Development Canada (EDC), and plans grow its presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
The HRTech platform launched in 2014, aims to improve the lives of frontline workers by combining communication, task management, scheduling, and learning tools in one app. Its goal is to boost efficiency and productivity, and it supports 50 languages to overcome language barriers. WorkJam also introduces Total Workforce Orchestration (TWO) to transform collaboration between headquarters and frontline teams.
Intelmatix raised $20M funding
Although not an HRTech platform, this deep-tech AI company aligns with Saudi Arabia's increasing focus on the AI sector. With $20 million in funding, the company aims to address the region's AI technology and talent gaps. Its flagship product, the Enterprise Decision Intelligence Platform (EDIX), is designed to bridge these gaps in both technology and human capital. The platform is user-friendly for everyone, from executives to frontline staff, without requiring advanced AI expertise.
deel acquires Hofy
Although Hofy is a London-based IT solutions and device management platform, it has been serving over 700 clients across 170 nations, helping them hire remote workers seamlessly. With deel recently acquiring PaySpace to lead the Middle East & APAC markets, Hofy will help the HR Tech platform resolve remote hiring challenges faced by global HR and IT teams. The co-founder & CEO Sami said, "We've been working (with deel) as partners for several years, and I could not think of a better home for Hofy than this. Alex and the team at deel share our grand vision of having the best out-of-the-box HR and IT offerings in a single platform, and this is what we will continue to build. I am incredibly proud of what the Hofy team has accomplished in such a short time and grateful to our investors, friends, and family who supported us in building the best and only truly global IT offering for distributed businesses. Michael and I will stay at Deel to help accelerate and expand our mission of equipping anyone anywhere for work.”
Dopay raises $13.5M from Argentem Creek Partners
The payroll tech platform, Dopay raised $13.5 million in seed funding, during a funding extension round led by Argentem Creek Partners and its existing investors. The new investment is aimed at fintech's expansion across leading markets including Egypt. Additionally, it will enable the launch of new financial services, to digitise payments and provide financial inclusion for unbanked and underbanked workers in emerging markets through its innovative virtual banking platform, which supports real-time payments. The founder and CEO of Dopay said, “This funding comes at a pivotal moment, with our growth exhibiting a true hockey stick trajectory... will help us elevate our platform and, in collaboration with our partner banks, leverage deposited funds to create a self-financing lending model."
Elevate raises $5M funding for MEA expansion
The Dubai-based fintech recently secured USD $5 million in funding, to expand its global payment business across the Middle East and Africa, taking advantage of the rise in remote and freelance workers. Additionally, the platform has partnered with leading freelance/ remote work platforms including, Upwork, Maqsam, PayPal, Deel, and Toptal, serving over 150K workers from Asia and North Africa with seamless payment processes. The startup also aims to help workers from countries like Egypt earn in USD globally and to launch in new markets, including Indonesia, South Africa, Vietnam, and Turkey. The founder and CEO commented, "Freelance platforms have enabled the surge of remote work in emerging markets, empowering talent from Manila, Lahore, Cairo, or Dhaka to compete on a global scale. However, the outdated system for remote workers to receive USD payments has posed challenges....We’re excited to continue growing in emerging markets while ensuring we prioritise compliance and manage risk in everything we do.”
Merit secures $12 mn in funding led by iCap
The Saudi Arabia-based rewards and employee engagement SaaS platform, Merit secured $12 million in pre-Series B round led by Saudi Investment Bank’s Alistithmar Capital i-Cap. The first-ever women-led SaaS platform aims strengthen itself acros KSA's HR technology market, setting a new benchmark for innovation, and doubling its expansion efforts across diverse sectors, including the already captured e-commerce, IT, BFSI, and airlines. Founder and CEO, Julie Barbeito Leblanc shared, "With AstroLabs by our side, we have been able to tap into new opportunities, forge strategic partnerships, and elevate the standard of engagement solutions in the region... Being one of the first female foreign investors in the country and one of the first companies part of the RELOCATE program under NTDP, I can confirm that being a woman leader nowadays in Saudi Arabia is supported by the ambition of the country to transform and leverage women leaders’ skills and capabilities in the future.”
Bluworks secures $1MN in pre-seed funding
The Egypt-based HR tech firm has raised $1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Khawarizmi Ventures. The platform aims to enhance its mobile-first SaaS platform for blue-collar employees, and expand its team to bolster market presence across the Middle East region. The platform offers solutions such as scheduling, communication, payroll, and recognition for both employers and employees. The co-founder and CEO commented, “With so many HR software in the market, not one is built to manage blue-collar workers... Since the process of managing this type of workforce is so manual, errors frequently occur, leading to penalties and deducted salaries with no oversight from the workers, causing them to leave and ultimately contributing to high turnover rates. Currently, companies can spend about 7-10 days just closing their payroll accounts, but with Bluworks, this time can be cut down to one day – all while leveraging data and insights on their workforce.”
Here are the key HR Tech fundings in the Middle East during 2023-2024:
Jisr: Raised $30 mn funding by Merak Capital
Saudi Arabia based leading HR tech firm, Jisr secured $30M funding in a Series A round led by Merak Capital. The Series A funding, aimed at HR Tech’s growth and expansion across KSA, was listed as the largest-ever funding for a SaaS company in the Middle East.
Jisr supports over 3,000 organisations across the Middle East and North Africa region, offering modern HR technology and HR management solutions to maximise human capital. “Through Merak's investment in Jisr, our goal is to advance modern HR technology systems. We aim to achieve this by developing products that enhance every aspect of HR operations, from recruitment and management to payroll processing, all seamlessly integrated with various platforms. This partnership with Merak will enable us to build this advanced HR technology system. Our main goal is to make it simpler for organisations to recruit, develop their workforce, ensure wage protection, and more,” commented Mohammed Akkari Al-Johi, Founder and CEO of Jisr.
Kore.ai: Raised $150 MN funding by FTV Capital
A US-based AI platform, Kore.ai, has secured $150 million in funding from FTV Capital, NVIDIA, and its existing investors - Vistara Growth, Sweetwater PE, NextEquity, Nicola, and Beedie. With this investment, the AI startup aims to bring innovative solutions that provide practical benefits to businesses and individuals on a large scale. It helps organisations in banking, healthcare, retail, and other sectors effectively embrace AI into their workflows and processes by assisting IT, HR, and other teams in creating customised solutions or using pre-built virtual assistants.
Sharing his vision for the new funding, Raj Koneru, founder and CEO of Kore.ai, commented, “Sitting above the infrastructure layer and addressing LLM chaos, our open approach grants businesses the freedom of choice with built-in guardrails for effective AI implementation. As we seek to enhance our Gen AI-powered innovations and drive wider adoption across various market segments.
DXwand: Raised $4 million funding by Shorooq Partners and Algebra Ventures
A Dubai-based AI startup, DXwand, has secured $4 million in seed funding in a Series A round led by Shorooq Partners and Algebra Ventures. The startup aims to bolster its position across the Middle East and North Africa region by accelerating research and development in gen AI, data mining, and omnichannel conversational AI.
Founded by Ahmed Mahmoud, who previously served as a Solutions Specialist for data and AI enterprise sales at Microsoft, the startup is focusing on building an AI solution tailored for Arabic dialects, which are known for their complexity and sophistication. Commenting on the funding, Mahmoud added, 'Our primary focus was building an AI solution that works for Arabic dialects, which are very complex and sophisticated.' The startup, offering natural language understanding solutions across the region, also secured $150,000 in funding from investors in Qatar and Egypt.
alfii: Raised $2.5 million pre-seed funding by Aditum Ventures and Wayfinders and others
Dubai-based tech startup alfii secured pre-seed funding of $2.5 million in a round led by UAE-based Aditum Ventures, Wayfinders, Kayan Ventures, and US-based Preface Ventures, and other regional investors. The startup helps organisations in the Middle East region, manage their HR workload and break free from time-consuming administrative work, and foster a work culture with better employee experience. With the investment, the startup aims to expand its team and its fintech-powered HR and payroll automation platform in the region. Sharing the vision, Yousef Albarqawi, CEO and Co-founder of alfii’s said, “We’re looking to build the next generation of this product class, and we’re building it entirely in-house—which means we need to bring on world-class talent to grow our business and better serve our customers,”
Remotepass: Secured $5.5 million seed funding by Khwarizmi Ventures, Oraseya Capital
HR and fintech startup, RemotePass recently secured $5.5 million funding in series A round led by Khwarizmi Ventures, Oraseya Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, Flyer One Ventures, Access Bridge Ventures, A15, and Swiss Founders Fund. The startup offers HR tools like multi-currency expense management, time-off tracking with multi-level approval flows, along with mass payroll processing. With the investment, the startup aims to bring new tools to address more core HR processes including talent onboarding, time tracking, time off and leave management, and more to cover the full employee lifecycle. “Addressing today’s workforce challenges like talent mobility and remote work RemotePass stands out as a key enabler. It connects companies seeking a broader talent pool with emerging market talents who previously lacked access to global financial solutions and processes. This disruption positions them as game-changers in the UAE & KSA, hubs poised for global dominance,” said Ali Hikmet Karabey, Managing Director of 212 VC.
Scalers: Raised $1.8 million by Sadu Capital and Access Bridge Ventures
KSA-based HR Tech startup Scalers secured $1.8 million funding from Sadu Capital and Access Bridge Ventures. The HR tech startup offering talent assessment and recruitment solutions to organisations in the region, aims to bolster its market expansion as well as boost its product development operations with the investment. Commenting on the new funding plans, Mohammed Al-Saeed, co-founder of Scalers said, “Imagine having a super recruiter at your fingertips, one that shortlists candidates before you start looking and is equipped with deep insights and an unparalleled understanding of your talent preferences.”
“Our investment in Scalers aims to leverage its cutting-edge matching algorithm to seamlessly connect employers with skilled job seekers, addressing the region’s growing talent shortage,” added Qusai Al-Saif, CEO and MD of Sadu Capital.
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Listed below are the key HR Tech acquisitions in the Middle East during 2023-2024:
Mercer acquires The Talent Enterprise in Middle East
A leading consultant in HR and finance services, Mercer, has recently completed the acquisition of The Talent Enterprise (TTE) to strengthen its presence in the Middle East region. With this acquisition, Mercer aims to enhance its presence in the region's market by assisting organisations in making crucial decisions about their workforce, including talent transformations and solutions to attract, retain, and nurture top talent to meet evolving demands. Tarek Lotfy, President of Mercer India, Middle East, and Africa, commented, “As organisations navigate the challenges of managing a modern workforce in a dynamic landscape, Mercer Talent Enterprise is perfectly positioned to meet these growing client demands.” The acquired organisation is now known as Mercer Talent Enterprise, and Partner and CEO David Jones will be leading operations in the Middle East region.
Deel acquires PaySpace to bolster presence across EMEA
US-based HR Tech company, Deel, has acquired the South Africa-based payroll and HR solutions platform, PaySpace, with the aim of bolstering its presence across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific regions. Without disclosing the details of the acquisition, Alex Bouaziz, co-founder, and CEO of Deel, said, “Global payroll is hard to do and critical to get right. As a company, you want assurances that you can pay your teams on time, compliantly, anywhere in the world. PaySpace’s single-platform payroll expertise and breadth of coverage, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, combined with PayGroup's presence in APAC (recently acquired payroll solutions platform), will give Deel customers the reach they need to grow their businesses globally.”
hrtech partners with iAccel GBI to transform Middle East’s HR technology sector
The Singapore-based HR Tech solutions platform, hrtech, has announced a partnership with iAccel Gulf Business Incubator (iAccel GBI) with the aim of reshaping the HR tech startup sector in the Middle East. The HR Tech platform offers workplace and workforce transformation solutions that drive robust business and HR outcomes for enterprises across Asia and the Middle East. Sharing the news, Sriram Iyer, Founder & CEO of hrtech, commented, “Joining forces with iAccel GBI aligns perfectly with our vision of facilitating workplace and workforce transformations globally. Our combined expertise will empower startups to not only penetrate the Middle East market but also thrive in it.”
With the aim to launch end-to-end support for startups in the UAE, Deepak Ahuja, CEO, and Co-Founder of iAccel GBI, said, 'We believe this partnership will allow us to empower all HR tech companies, guiding them through the dynamic landscape of the Middle East, in line with government initiatives to create a robust ecosystem.
Amid big changes in how people work, HR technologies are more important than ever, especially for growing teams with limited HR professionals. At the same time, the Middle East is going through a key shift to digital and automated business processes. These HR tech platforms provide tailored solutions as needed to tackle the tricky new issues of managing a bigger workforce.