What Workpay does

Workpay is a Nairobi-headquartered, cloud-based HR and payroll management platform purpose-built for businesses operating across Africa. Founded in 2019 (originally as TozzaPlus, rebranded in June 2019) by Wagner Awera, Paul Kimani, Charissa Cassels, and Jackson Kibigo, the company is a Y Combinator (S2022) alumnus that has raised approximately $10M in cumulative outside capital, including a $5M Series A in August 2024 backed by Visa alongside Norrsken22, Acadian Ventures, AXIAN, Plug and Play, Saviu Ventures, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, and Y Combinator. The platform delivers multi-country payroll processing, Employer of Record (EOR) services, outsourced payroll management, time and attendance, leave management, expense claims, perks and benefits, and an embedded financial services layer spanning earned wage access, salary advances, payroll financing, B2B wallets, and insurance products. Coverage spans 54 African countries with multi-currency disbursement capabilities (200+ currencies reported) and statutory compliance automation localized to each jurisdiction, supported by ISO/IEC 27001, GDPR, and Kenyan Data Protection Act 2019 certifications.

Workpay's revenue model blends recurring SaaS subscriptions with managed services and transaction-based financial services. Subscription revenue is generated from Payroll and Self-Service HR, EOR services, and Outsourced Payroll on a quote-based, annual billing cadence; managed-services revenue is captured through full-service payroll where Workpay's in-house compliance team operates the workflow; and transaction/usage-based revenue is earned on EWA, lending, and insurance products via fees, interest, and referral commissions. Distribution combines a sales-led enterprise motion (anchored by customers such as Flutterwave, Kleen Homes Security Services with 1,000+ employees, Komaza, MyDawa, Eden Reforestation Projects, and Kyosk), self-serve SaaS via web and mobile apps (iOS and Android), and a tiered partner program offering referral, affiliate, and reseller models with up to ~20% commission. The company's GTM targets nine primary vertical segments — startups/scaleups, healthcare, tech, NGOs, fintech, professional services, transport/logistics, construction/real estate, and financial institutions — across more than 11 African markets with primary operating presence in Kenya and Nigeria.

The platform architecture integrates natively with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, and Waveapps for accounting interoperability, and is layered with strategic partnerships including Visa (capital and payment-rail integration), Kwara (SACCO distribution in Kenya), African Management Institute (workforce learning), Giftpesa (employee gifting), and Pariti (talent acquisition). Workpay serves 1,000+ customers and operates with 101–250 employees across offices in Nairobi and Lagos, with no public revenue disclosure and no parent company. Performance Management is listed as a forthcoming module, indicating continued product surface expansion beyond core payroll and HR operations.

Name

Workpay

Legal name

WORKPAY

Website

https://myworkpay.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Workpay is a Nairobi-based, cloud-native HR, payroll, and Employer of Record platform serving 1,000+ companies across 54 African countries, combining localized statutory compliance, multi-currency disbursement, and embedded financial services for enterprise and SMB customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

HR and Payroll Software

NAICS

Payroll Services (541214), Professional Employer Organizations (561330)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Payroll & Multi-Country Payroll Management (BPACAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Payroll Software & Payroll-as-a-Service (SaaS) (BPACAIAB), Pay Card Programs & Earned Wage Access (EWA) Administration (BPACAIAK), HRIS/HCM Implementation & EOR Platform Services (BPACAHAJ)

Keywords

• HR and payroll software
• Employer of record services
• Multi-country payroll compliance
• Employee benefits administration
• Payroll management platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription - Payroll Management: Monthly or annual subscription-based access to Workpay's payroll management software with features including payroll processing, compliance automation, and reporting capabilities. Pricing is quote-based for enterprise customers.
2. Employer of Record (EOR) Services: Hire and manage employees in African countries without setting up local entities. Workpay becomes the legal employer handling compliance, payroll, benefits, and statutory remittances. Revenue generated through service fees bundled with software subscription.
3. Outsourced Payroll Services: Full-service payroll processing where Workpay's team of payroll and compliance experts manages all payroll operations, tax filings, and statutory remittances for clients.
4. Financial Services - Earned Wage Access: Early wage access products allowing employees to access earned salaries before payday, generating transaction fees or interest income.
5. Financial Services - Lending: Payroll financing, salary advances, and other loan products with low interest rates for employers and employees, generating interest income.
6. Insurance Products: Comprehensive insurance coverage including medical, motor, asset insurance, and workmen's compensation, earning commissions or fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Workpay is a cloud-based HR and payroll management SaaS platform serving businesses across 54 African countries. Its core offerings are Employer of Record (EOR) services that let companies hire African talent without setting up local subsidiaries, Outsourced Payroll managed by Workpay's compliance experts, and a self-service Payroll and HR software for direct in-house management. The platform bundles multi-country payroll processing, statutory compliance automation, time and attendance, leave management, expense claims, and embedded financial services such as earned wage access, payroll financing, and insurance.

Product overview

Workpay is a cloud-based HR and payroll management platform operating across 54 African countries, built as a unified platform with modular add-on capabilities. The core offering centers on three primary products: Employer of Record (EOR) for legal hiring without subsidiaries, Outsourced Payroll for expert-managed payroll processing, and Payroll and Self Service HR software for self-managed operations. These core products are supplemented by add-on modules including Time and Attendance, Financial Services, Expense Claims, Leave & Time Off, Performance Management, and Perks & Benefits. The platform enables businesses to manage the complete employee lifecycle from onboarding through payroll processing, statutory compliance, and financial wellness services, with support for multi-country operations and 100+ local currencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Giftpesa: Corporate gifting solution that allows employers to gift employees with vouchers redeemable across 500+ brands in Kenya. Partnership between Workpay and Giftpesa.
• AMI Partnership

Products and services

• Employer of Record (EOR) Service enabling companies to legally hire and employ talent in any of 54 African countries without establishing a local subsidiary. Workpay acts as the legal employer of record, handling employment contracts, payroll, benefits, tax filings, statutory deductions, and compliance while the client directs day-to-day work. Target buyers are international employers and African companies expanding into new countries.
• Outsourced Payroll Managed payroll service where Workpay's in-house team of payroll and compliance experts handles end-to-end payroll processing, tax filings, statutory remittances, and salary disbursements for clients operating in African countries. Designed for businesses that want to delegate payroll operations rather than run them on the self-service platform.
• Payroll and Self Service HR Cloud-based SaaS platform that lets businesses manage employee information, run payroll, make salary payments, and maintain statutory compliance in-house. Supports automated payroll calculations, multi-country tax compliance, employee self-service access via web and mobile, and is targeted at HR and operations teams that want direct control over their payroll workflows.
• Financial Services Suite of embedded financial products for employers and their employees including B2B wallets, Earned Wage Access (EWA) for early salary access, salary advances, payroll financing for employers, and insurance coverage (medical, motor, asset, workmen's compensation). Distributed via the Workpay platform to provide financial wellness alongside payroll.

Quantifiable outcome

• Time savings through automated payroll processing
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments11 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• GiftpesaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate gifting partnership enabling Workpay customers to offer gift vouchers redeemable across 500+ brands in Kenya as employee benefits. Integration provides seamless gifting within the Workpay platform.
• African Management Institute (AMI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkforce learning and training partnership combining Workpay's HR/payroll solutions with AMI's practical workplace learning programs. Targets entrepreneurs, business owners, and team leaders seeking to improve performance through training.
• ParitiminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTalent acquisition partnership connecting Workpay with Pariti's network of 5,000+ leaders, technologists, and recruiters to help find qualified candidates for businesses using Workpay's HR solutions.
• XerocoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration with Xero accounting software enabling seamless synchronization of payroll data, financial reporting, and accounting workflows for Workpay customers using Xero.
• QuickBookscoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration with QuickBooks accounting platform enabling automated payroll-to-accounting data flow for customers using QuickBooks for financial management.
• SagecoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration with Sage accounting software providing seamless payroll data synchronization and financial reporting capabilities.
• WaveappscoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration with Waveapps providing payroll and financial data synchronization for African businesses using Wave's accounting solutions.
• KwaraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to offer HR and payroll services to SACCOs (Savings and Credit Cooperatives) in Kenya, expanding Workpay's reach in the cooperative financial sector.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Deel: Deel is a leading global EOR and payroll platform with broad country coverage including Africa. It is the most direct competitor to Workpay's EOR + multi-country payroll offering, though with significantly more funding and a global rather than Africa-focused footprint.
• Remote: Remote is a global EOR and international payroll provider serving employers hiring across borders. It directly competes with Workpay for multinational customers seeking African EOR services and competes on country coverage breadth and platform depth.
• Papaya Global: Papaya Global offers global payroll, EOR, and workforce management solutions across 160+ countries. It is comparable to Workpay in product scope (payroll + EOR + workforce management) and competes for the same cross-border employer customer base.
• Rippling: Rippling provides a unified HR, payroll, IT, and finance platform with growing international coverage. While broader than Workpay's current scope, it competes head-to-head for full-suite HRIS RFPs and is expanding EOR capabilities into emerging markets.
• Multiplier: Multiplier is a global EOR and payroll platform serving employers hiring across borders. It directly competes with Workpay's EOR positioning and is increasingly active in African markets as an alternative for cross-border hiring.
• PaySpace: PaySpace is an Africa-headquartered (South Africa) cloud payroll and HR software provider serving multiple African countries. It is the closest geographic direct competitor to Workpay in the African payroll SaaS category, with similar country-level coverage ambitions.

Broad incumbents

• ADP: ADP is a global incumbent in payroll, HR, tax, and benefits administration serving enterprise customers worldwide. It is a broad incumbent peer that competes indirectly through multinational employer relationships and represents both a competitive threat and a potential partnership channel for Workpay in Africa.
• Sage: Sage provides HR, payroll, and accounting software with established presence in Africa (Sage HR, Sage People). It is comparable through its payroll software offering and through a native accounting integration that Workpay already supports, positioning Sage as both competitor and integration partner.

Emerging players

• Paymenow: Paymenow is an Africa-focused Earned Wage Access provider operating across multiple African markets. It is comparable to Workpay's EWA/salary-advance financial services offering and represents a category specialist in the same embedded-finance space Workpay is building into.
• BambooHR: BambooHR is an SMB-focused HRIS with employee self-service and HR workflows. While currently more SMB/US-centric, it represents the type of full-suite HRIS competitor Workpay may face as it expands its self-service HR and Performance Management modules.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Workpayhq
• Facebookfacebook.com/workpayhq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/workpayhq
• Instagraminstagram.com/workpayhq

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors21 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Workpay