Participated · Seed · Jun 2025

PaidHR provides a payroll and human resource management platform that automates the entire employee lifecycle from hiring and onboarding to payroll, benefits, and offboarding. The platform includes embedded financial services such as earned wage access and multi-currency wallets. PaidHR serves businesses in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa and aims to modernize how African companies manage their workforces. The company raised a $1.8M seed round to support its growth. PaidHR plans to use the funds to accelerate product development, enhance customer support, and expand its presence across African SME markets. The company positions itself to promote financial inclusion and stability for employees through its HR and fintech capabilities.

Participated · Seed · Nov 2024

Founded in 2021 by Samba Lo and Serigne Seye, Socium began as a recruitment website and has since expanded into a global HR platform serving Francophone Africa. The product enables clients to recruit, run payroll, manage time and performance, and automate mundane HR tasks. Socium built a payroll engine that handles the region’s complex calculations and claims it can launch in a new country within two weeks, faster than foreign-based solutions. The platform uses AI to score and match CVs to job offers and to aid in writing job descriptions. Socium says it has over 100 active clients across 10 industries and 15 countries and is leveraging a first-mover advantage in Francophone Africa. Future plans include continued expansion across the 21 Francophone African countries and integration with tax agencies to automate tax and regulatory filings.

Participated · Seed · Jul 2024

Uncover is a data-driven skincare brand for women, established in 2021 in Kenya, that develops scientifically backed products tested and approved by women of color. The company has built an educational tech platform that enables community engagement, relatable product discovery, and educational content, using thousands of data points to personalize recommendations. In the past 24 months Uncover has grown revenue tenfold and established a digital community of over 200,000 women across Kenya, Nigeria, and the diaspora. The startup recently expanded into Uganda and Ghana and is seeing global demand from African diaspora populations. It plans to use new funding to further develop its platform, introduce new products, enter additional markets, and continue leveraging data for personalization. Leadership frames Uncover as a movement to prioritize women of colour and aims to become the leading skincare brand for skin rich in melanin. Uncover is a Nairobi-headquartered, data-driven, digital-first women's brand focused on skincare and women’s health and wellbeing in Africa. The company blends Korean skincare technology with African ingredients to develop its products. It was launched out of the global VC accelerator Antler by founders Sneha Mehta, Jade Oyateru, and Catherine Lee. Since founding, Uncover reports a 20x increase in monthly revenue and a community of almost 60,000 women. The startup plans to use recent funding to launch more products, expand into additional African markets, and improve its technology and data capabilities. Management is preparing to enter the Nigerian market in January 2023 and is working on a third country entry.

Led · Seed · Dec 2023

Tappi offers an end-to-end digital commerce platform that simplifies creating and managing online business profiles for SMEs, helping them showcase products, engage customers, and accept payments. The platform includes partnerships with mobile network operators — currently MTN — enabling businesses to purchase ads using airtime. Tappi also provides an AI tool to generate ad descriptions, addressing a common pain point for small businesses. Founded in 2022 by Kenfield Griffith and Louis Majanja, the company is Africa-based and focused on helping local businesses scale. Tappi plans to use new funding to double down on existing markets, hire talent, and strengthen brand building. The company raised $1.5M in a pre-seed round in December 2023, which supports its near-term growth plans.

Participated · Seed · Nov 2023

Pricepally is an online grocery store in Nigeria offering fresh produce and packaged food through an app and a WhatsApp chatbot. Founded in 2019, it sources produce directly from contracted farmers and packaged goods from manufacturers, using short supply chains and negotiated prices to keep costs affordable. The startup operates fulfillment centers across three Nigerian cities and outsources delivery, providing same- or next-day delivery to customers. Pricepally plans to expand beyond the three cities it currently serves and to re-introduce online group buying to unlock wholesale prices for retail customers. It recently launched April, a WhatsApp chatbot aimed at the mass market to drive customer acquisition. Existing buyers account for more than 80% of the company’s revenues, and retail buyers make up about 70% of its customer base, reflecting high retention and its current operating dynamics.