Is Cercli the Solution to MENA’s US$2 Billion Payroll Problem?

10x Industry

Mokshita P.
10x Industry
Published:

Is Cercli the Solution to MENA’s US$2 Billion Payroll Problem?

Backed by Afore Capital and key investors, Cercli aims to streamline payroll, HR, and compliance across 31 countries, targeting the US$2 billion MENA payroll market.

Cercli, a unified platform for MENA businesses to hire, manage, and pay their global workforce, just raised US$4 million in a seed round led by Afore Capital, which marks Afore’s first investment in the MENA region. They’re investing from their US$150 million fund, and this round also saw participation from COTU Ventures, Y Combinator, and Rebel Fund, as well as key individuals like Karim Atiyeh from Ramp, Sebastian Mejia from Rappi, and others from major MENA unicorns like Kitopi and Careem.

The idea behind Cercli came from its founders, Akeed Azmi and David Reche, who previously worked at Kitopi and Careem. They realised that managing a global workforce, especially one growing rapidly, was extremely challenging with all the different systems for payroll, HR, onboarding, and compliance. They created Cercli as a single platform that ties all of this together. It simplifies workforce management by integrating local payroll, contractors, HR, and legal compliance all in one place.

What’s interesting is that the payroll market alone in MENA is worth around US$2 billion, but many companies are still relying on outdated, disconnected systems. These lead to errors, delays, and even fraud. Cercli aims to fix all that by providing a comprehensive, modern solution. Since launching earlier in 2024, they’ve seen impressive growth—25 percent month on month—and they’ve already processed over US$23 million in salaries across 31 countries.

Investors are really excited because they see the potential for Cercli to solve a huge problem in the region. Afore Capital’s co-founder, Anamitra Banerji, pointed out that managing a global workforce while staying compliant is one of the biggest challenges companies in MENA face, and Cercli has already made a strong start in tackling this.

On top of that, Cercli has built an impressive team, pulling talent from companies like Microsoft, ADP, Accenture, and MENA unicorns. Their platform is designed to be flexible and compliant with local labor laws, making it easy for businesses to integrate all their workforce management functions.

The backing from high-profile investors like COTU Ventures' Amir Farha and the focus on product development—80 percent of their team is in product and engineering—shows that Cercli is committed to growth and innovation. Their goal is to expand across multiple product verticals and markets, and with this new funding, they’re set to scale even faster.