Cercli raises $4m to rev up unified payroll and employee data platform

• Silicon Valley-basedDubai-based startup empowers businesses in MENA to manage their local payroll, remote contractors, employer of record, HR, onboarding and more.
• Cercli unites all back-office functions through a single platform, replacing disconnected individual systems, so companies maintain data integrity and a source of truth across their greatest asset – their people.

Dubai based payroll and employee data platform- Cercli – has raised $4 million in a seed round led by Silicon Valley-headquartered Afore Capital. This milestone deal marks Afore’s MENA debut, with the investment being allocated from its $150 million fund III.

Cercli’s seed round also had participation from COTU Ventures, Y Combinator and Rebel Fund, alongside the likes of Karim Atiyeh (Ramp), Sebastian Mejia (Rappi), Tony Dong (Rippling), Tony Jamous (Oyster), Allison Pickens, the founders and executives from unicorns Kitopi, Careem and other notable MENA-based startups.

Cercli founders Akeed Azmi and David Reche previously scaled and managed teams at Kitopi and Careem, two of the region’s largest unicorns, where they recognised the need for a comprehensive solution to manage an international workforce experiencing hypergrowth.

“The cost of workforce-related compliance is one of the biggest challenges for C-suite executives across our region. We built Cercli to replace multiple isolated systems as the singular modern payroll and employee data platform, empowering businesses to manage their local payroll, remote contractors, employer of record, HR, onboarding and more” Akeed Azmi, co-founder, Cercli, said.

With a $2 billion market opportunity in MENA for payroll alone, and businesses facing burdensome compliance costs due to human error, Cercli is on a mission to transform how businesses manage their workforce through one single platform.

Meeting compliance requirements

Enterprises in the region have been challenged with the use of spreadsheets and fragmented legacy software for individual tasks, leading to fraud, data privacy, payroll errors, delays and other issues.

Cercli unites all back-office functions through a single platform, replacing disconnected individual systems, so companies maintain data integrity and a source of truth across their greatest asset – their people.

Since launching earlier in 2024, Cercli has grown by 25 per cent month on month and has paid out over $23 million in clients’ employee salaries across 31 countries.

 “Akeed and David are building to solve for one of the region’s largest challenges – managing a global workforce while meeting compliance requirements. This investment is reflective of our recognition of the massive untapped potential of the MENA region, and the possibilities that game changing founders are enabling here,” Anamitra Banerji, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Afore Capital, said.