Kenyan Startup FaidiHR Bags First Round Of VC Investment

Kenyan startup Crew HR & Payroll has rebranded to FaidiHR after it received an undisclosed amount of funding from SprintX, a US-based Venture Capitalist (VC) for early-stage startups.

The startup, which offers digital human resource solutions to African companies, said they would use the investment to expand their business in East Africa, eyeing entry into Uganda, Tanzania and DRC.

The firm offers an all-in-one cloud platform that allows Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Africa to automate their HR processes. The platform is accessible over the internet and helps to automate payroll, off days, employee data, tasks, inventory, training, and appraisal expenses among others.

FaidiHR CEO Peter Muchemi said the move is the first round of venture capital investment and comes at a time the firm has already achieved strong market validation and is ready to scale up.

“As FaidiHR, we are excited about this round of investment. We intend to use these funds to grow the business even as we continue to focus on our main clientele – small and medium enterprises (SMEs). So far we have had the chance to validate our business with millions in annual turnover with thousands of employees’ salaries being processed by our platform. Our platform has served different clients in diverse industries like aviation (Air France and KLM), Hospitality and Tours (Densey Tours and Trianum Group), NGOs like Fida Kenya among other industries,” he said.

Muchemi said the company’s mission is to help businesses in Africa focus more on people by increasing employee onboarding experience, retention, engagement, and general employee welfare.

“In the course of the next few months, we will be launching features that will focus more on the employee to add more value so that they can be more productive. An example is a payroll lending feature we are working on together with one of our clients that will allow employees have access to instant mobile loans based on their repayment capabilities. This will be possible because we have real-time data that can score employees,” he revealed.

The CEO said the name change is the culmination of a need to let the brand speak for itself.  “In the spirit of rebranding, we will continue to commit to our customers and provide the same, or better, level of professionalism you have experienced, and we’d like to take the opportunity to thank our loyal customers and business partners for your trust and friendship in business,” he added.

Muchemi said the company which was founded in 2018 has been on a growth trajectory as CEOs across the board have experienced and can bet on the efficiency they bring to their businesses.

“This change in name marks the start of a new era. It is part of our growth plan to ensure we stay true to our mission, ‘People First Then Processes’,” the CEO said.

Pavan Kumar, Managing Partner, SprintX said “FaidiHR is a unique platform that is specialized in addressing the needs of enterprises in Kenya. The founders, Peter & Mike, have deeper understanding and a strong product road map to serve the growing needs of small, medium and large companies in Kenya. Combining their sales & technology skills, with our expertise in platforms and business strategy, would be the right recipe to attain market leadership in the near term. With our investments in FaidiHR and Jumuisha, SprintX is poised to play a major role in Kenya startup ecosystem through strategic investments in an early-stage startup.”

The move comes days after the software company launched a multi-company single log-in innovative HR cloud solution.

The multi-company log-in module allows an individual consultant or company to manage centralized data, which facilitates payroll processing, pay slip, and report generating for different clients, under one account.