Addressing Payroll Management Challenges in the MENA Region: The Rise of Cercli
In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, managing a global workforce while meeting compliance requirements has been a significant challenge for businesses. Akeed Azmi and David Reche, former employees of Careem and Kitopi, recognized this opportunity and launched Cercli, a startup focused on payroll management. Cercli’s platform allows businesses in the MENA region to hire, manage, and pay their global workforce efficiently.
Recognizing the potential of Cercli’s platform, San Francisco-based Afore Capital led a $4 million seed funding round, marking the fund’s first investment in the region. Anamitra Banerji, the managing partner of Afore Capital, emphasized the importance of solving the region’s payroll challenges, stating that Cercli is building the “Rippling for MENA.”
Azmi, Cercli’s CEO, encountered the pain point of payroll management firsthand while leading global expansion at Kitopi. The company had to find an employee of record in each new market to manage payroll for the hired workforce. Azmi interviewed over 30 companies, ranging from large corporations like Saudi Aramco to small local businesses, to validate that this challenge extended beyond tech startups. He found that smaller businesses relied on error-prone spreadsheets, while larger companies spent millions on ERP solutions like Microsoft Dynamics or SAP.
Cercli aims to replace these outdated methods with its unified payroll management platform, which reduces human error and ensures compliance. While global platforms like Deel or RemotePass were useful for managing remote contractor payroll or employee records, they were unreliable for handling local payroll needs. Cercli’s platform provides a more efficient solution, leading several customers to shift from these remote platforms to Cercli.
The platform’s focus on localization adds value to businesses, addressing compliance with specific labor laws and processing salaries for employees without bank accounts. Cercli’s target market is mid-market enterprises, where the need for integrated and compliant solutions across various departments is most pronounced. By adhering to the specific rules and laws of the MENA region, Cercli enables businesses to manage payroll, compliance, employee-of-record, expense reimbursements, onboarding, and leave approvals.
Cercli has positioned itself as a horizontal platform, building across the entire HR and payroll stack for businesses in the MENA region. The startup acts as a payroll subprocessor for global payroll platforms like Rippling, Workday, and Deel, streamlining manual back-office work across businesses.
Since its launch earlier this year, Cercli has experienced significant growth, with a 25% month-on-month increase since January. It has already paid out over $23 million in employee salaries across 31 countries. The demand for payroll and HR solutions is surging in emerging markets, as seen by recent acquisitions in the industry. Cercli’s focus on the MENA region positions it as one of the first to tackle the specific challenges and regulations of the region.
While Cercli currently has a strong foothold in the market, it may face competition from other payroll companies, such as RemotePass and Workpay, should their products and markets intersect. However, Cercli’s early success, strong team, and funding from investors like Y Combinator position it well for future growth. The startup plans to use the funding to expand its team, develop adjacent products for SMEs and enterprises, and further establish its presence in core markets.