Cercli, a startup addressing payroll and compliance challenges in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has raised $4 million in seed funding.
This investment, led by San Francisco’s Afore Capital, is the firm’s first entry into the MENA region.
Cercli, co-founded by Akeed Azmi and David Reche in January, aims to simplify payroll management for businesses operating in the region, which have traditionally faced high compliance costs and inefficiencies due to human error.
Afore Capital’s backing in this funding round was influenced by the pressing need for a strong solution to manage a global workforce while adhering to local compliance requirements.
The founders of Cercli are addressing this issue by developing a platform that integrates various HR and payroll systems, enabling companies to manage and pay their employees both locally and globally with greater accuracy and efficiency.
Azmi, who previously held senior positions at Kitopi and Careem, experienced these challenges firsthand. During his tenure, he managed employee payroll across multiple countries, often having to rely on manual processes and disparate systems.
Recognizing that this issue extended beyond tech startups to companies of all sizes in the region, Azmi, alongside Reche, launched Cercli to provide a unified platform that could replace outdated payroll practices.
Cercli’s platform offers an all-around solution that reduces human error, ensures compliance, and provides a single source of truth for all employee-related data.
This approach has made it an attractive alternative to other solutions like Deel and Remotepass, which, while useful for remote contractor payroll, do not meet the specific needs of local payroll management in the MENA region.
The startup’s platform has been well received, with clients shifting their payroll operations from other systems to Cercli due to its ability to handle both local and remote payroll needs.
Cercli’s technology also integrates with other workplace tools, creating a seamless experience for businesses managing HR, finance, accounting, and legal processes.
Cercli has experienced rapid growth since its launch, reporting a 25% month-on-month increase in business and managing over $23 million in employee salaries across 31 countries.
The startup is targeting mid-market enterprises, where the need for integrated HR and payroll solutions is most pronounced.
With the growing demand for payroll and HR solutions across emerging markets, Cercli is thriving to scale beyond its current reach across the MENA region. The startup plans to use the seed funding to expand its team, develop new products for SMEs and larger enterprises, and increase its presence in key markets.
With competitors like RemotePass and Workpay also eyeing the MENA region, Cercli is focused on solidifying its position by codifying local regulations into its platform, a task that has yet to be fully accomplished by any company in the region.
Cercli’s focus on localization and compliance is expected to set it apart from the competition.
