PaidHR
Founded 2021 · 60 employees on LinkedIn · 5 known investors
PaidHR offers a payroll product as part of an HR platform for managing employee compensation and payments. The page presents a payroll module within a broader HR and payroll system.
Also known as Paid HR
Investors · 5
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026PaidHR is a Lagos, Nigeria-based HR technology company offering an integrated people operations platform that spans human resource information management, payroll, statutory compliance, performance management and employee financial services. Core payroll capabilities include multi-currency and cross-border payroll runs, a payroll API for embedding the payroll engine in third-party platforms, split payroll disbursement across multiple accounts, custom pay schedules, automated payslips and amendments. The company also markets a white-label payroll offering aimed at consultants and agencies that want to launch their own payroll products.
On the compliance side, the platform automates filing of payroll tax and remittance of employee pension, NHF and NSITF contributions to the relevant government agencies, and the company states it supports Nigerian tax law changes taking effect 1 January 2026. HR workflow modules cover employee data and document management, digital document signing and offer letters, asset tracking, onboarding, an applicant tracking system, leave/loan/exit request management with approval workflows, custom notifications, a report builder, time tracking, surveys, and a performance module with goal setting and recurring review cycles.
Embedded financial services are a distinguishing element: earned wage access lets employees draw up to 50% of earned salary before payday at 0% interest and no employer cost, and integrated multi-currency wallets allow employees to receive payments and save in local currency and USD. PaidHR also uses payroll data to connect employees to third-party credit and savings products, and operates a loan marketplace and salary advance features. Cross-border payroll is stated to support 49 currencies.
Founding story
PaidHR was founded in Nigeria in 2020 by Seye Bandele (CEO) and Lekan Omotosho (co-founder and CTO), with the aim of formalising HR administration and payroll for African SMEs and extending financial services to their employees. The company's about page describes the business as founded in 2021.
Business model
PaidHR sells a subscription-style HR and payroll software platform to employers, complemented by embedded financial services (earned wage access, wallets, loan marketplace) delivered to employees at no stated employer cost and in partnership with financial service providers. It additionally offers a payroll API and a customisable white-label payroll product for consultants and agencies that want to resell payroll under their own brand.
Employer-paid software for HR and payroll, with additional monetisation avenues via the payroll API, white-label payroll for resellers, and embedded financial products distributed to employees through partnerships with financial service providers.
Traction
Company materials cite 100+ businesses, 12,000+ employees paid and over ₦30 billion in payroll fulfilled. Its lead investor reported more than $18 million (₦29 billion) in salaries processed in 2024 alone and more than 20,000 total employees onboarded to the platform.
Latest developments
The company has launched a new performance management module and states its platform supports tax law changes taking effect 1 January 2026. It is also taking early-access requests for a white-label payroll product for consultants and agencies. Proceeds from the June 2025 seed round are earmarked for product development, customer success expansion and wider African market coverage, with continued work on employee financial wellness, compliance automation and HR analytics.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positions itself as an HR management platform built for the African context, targeting the continent's roughly 44 million SMEs, which the company and its lead investor cite as providing around 80% of jobs in Africa. Its investor frames the offering as combining HR automation with embedded financial services for underserved markets, starting in Nigeria.
Combines HR administration and multi-currency, cross-border payroll with statutory remittance automation for Nigerian schemes (payroll tax, pension, NHF, NSITF) and embedded worker financial services, including 0%-interest earned wage access of up to 50% of earned salary and USD/local-currency savings wallets. The white-label and API offerings let third parties operate payroll without building their own engine.
Technology
A cloud platform organised into modules (People, Payroll, Settings, Requests, Documents, Assets, Performance, Reports, Benefits, Wallet, Time Tracking, PaidHiring) with role-based permissions and approval workflows. A payroll engine is exposed via API for embedding in customer platforms, and the multi-currency payroll system handles cross-border disbursement. Management emphasises secure infrastructure given the sensitivity of workforce data and payroll processing.
Go-to-market
Direct sales motion driven from the website through demo bookings, product-specialist consultations and contact-sales requests, supported by an HR and payroll content blog and a self-service help centre. Channel expansion runs through the white-label payroll programme for consultants and agencies and the payroll API for platform partners. Following its 2025 seed round, the company said it would expand customer success teams and its presence across African SME markets.
Small and medium-sized businesses and tech startups in Africa, with an explicit focus on employers with under 200 employees. The majority of users are logistics, retail and manufacturing businesses that previously relied on manual HR and payroll processes.
Geography
Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, with customers across Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. Cross-border payroll supports payments in 49 currencies; the public contact number is a Nigerian line.
History
After founding in 2020, PaidHR announced a $500,000 pre-seed round in late 2022 and subsequently raised an additional, unannounced $600,000 in 2023. In June 2025 it closed a $1.8 million seed round led by Accion Venture Lab with participation from existing investors Zrosk, Chui Ventures and Zedcrest Capital, by which point it had expanded from Nigeria to serve customers in Kenya and South Africa. More recent product additions include a performance management module and support for Nigerian tax law changes effective 1 January 2026.
Risks & controversies
The company handles sensitive workforce data and payroll processing, which its CTO identifies as requiring robust security and reliability. Its markets involve regulatory compliance obligations across multiple jurisdictions and frequent statutory change, such as the Nigerian tax law changes effective 1 January 2026. Publicly stated traction figures differ between the company's own site (12,000+ employees paid) and its investor's release (more than 20,000 employees onboarded), and stated founding years differ between 2020 and 2021 across sources.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 6
launches, deals, and filingsThe company announced a new performance management module offering goal setting and recurring review cycles.
PaidHR states its platform supports the new tax law changes effective 1 January 2026.
PaidHR, founded in Nigeria, expanded to serve Pan-African SMEs and tech startups across Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
PaidHR announced a $1.8 million seed round led by Accion Venture Lab with participation from existing investors Zrosk, Chui Ventures and Zedcrest Capital, to accelerate product development, expand customer success teams and grow its presence across African SME markets.
$1.8M source ↗
The company confirmed it raised an additional $600,000 in 2023, which it had not previously announced.
$600K source ↗
PaidHR announced a pre-seed funding round of $500,000 in late 2022.
$500K source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- PaidHRpaidhr.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does PaidHR do?
- Nigerian HR and payroll platform combining HRIS, cross-border payroll and compliance with embedded employee financial services.
- Who are PaidHR's investors?
- PaidHR's investors include Accion, Expert DOJO, Microtraction.