Socium doubles down on Francophone Africa after $5M seed round

Demand for HR-tech options in Africa is rising, and Senegal’s Socium is out to faucet the chance in French-speaking international locations on the continent.

Socium has since 2021 constructed HR options that concentrate on customers throughout the 21 international locations of Francophone Africa and plans to proceed narrowing its concentrate on the area, the place it’s having fun with first-mover benefit. 

Socium co-founder Samba Lo (CEO) revealed these plans to TechCrunch and informed us the startup has additionally raised $5 million seed funding to gas its progress plans within the area.

“So for us, deploying inside Francophone Africa could be very attention-grabbing…As a result of we have now the identical financial group, we have now very shut laws, we have now the identical foreign money, as well as, the marketplace for HR software program could be very large. So for these causes, we choose to remain in Francophone Africa, as a result of, I believe we have now a lot to do right here,” stated Lo, who co-founded the startup with Serigne Seye.

Socium’s answer allows its purchasers to recruit, pay, and handle expertise. Nevertheless, that was by no means what the duo got down to provide once they first got here collectively in 2021.

Initially, Lo stated, they began out as a recruitment web site to allow firms to seek out expertise and for individuals to seek out jobs. Then, they found that the HR world was large.

“Our clients began to ask us if we have now some answer for payroll, different answer for time administration, some answer for efficiency administration. And you realize, we determined to construct a worldwide HR platform to assist HR to handle all their processes,” stated Lo.

That’s how in 2023 they began constructing an answer that may “work in all places from Morocco to Cameroon to Congo”,  mentioning a few of the international locations the startup plans to develop into. 

As an example, the corporate has constructed a payroll engine that takes under consideration complexity of payroll calculations within the area. This, he says, allows the startup to launch in new international locations inside two weeks, which is a sooner than foreign-based options.  

Socium’s answer automates mundane duties, which lessens human useful resource and payroll workload, and makes use of AI to, as an illustration, simply rating and match CVs to job affords and to help in writing job descriptions. This permits HR managers to concentrate on extra vital roles reminiscent of managing and supporting groups to fulfill their objectives.

“Concentrate on individuals means concentrate on efficiency, their analysis and competence and profession path for every particular person. And because of this, our major focus is to proceed to assist them to work, to handle their each day duties extra simply and to have the ability to be centered on crucial a part of the HR. And I believe crucial half for HR is weighted to individuals inside the corporate,” stated Lo.

Because it scales, the startup can be trying to combine with tax businesses to automate tax and regulatory filings for firms, assuaging extra headachex for firms.

Lo first related with Seye at École Polytechnique. After graduating, Lo briefly labored as a knowledge scientist earlier than switching to funding banking and becoming a member of Skeat, a French startup. This woke up his entrepreneurial spirit.

“I joined them once they had solely six months of money left. And in order that was very sophisticated, however for me, that was one of the best swap of my life, as a result of it helped me to find entrepreneurship, it helped me to find startups, and it additionally helped me to find SaaS… Throughout Covid, I had deep reflection about how can I be helpful to my group and for me, it was apparent that I’ve to launch one thing associated to SaaS in Africa,” stated Lo.

Thus far, the Socium says it has over 100 energetic purchasers, reducing throughout 10 industries and 15 international locations, and turns into one of many few HR techs in Africa which have raised funding in current instances. WorkPay, a Kenyan startup that’s stated to be serving greater than 1,000 clients throughout 20 African international locations, just lately closed a $5 million Sequence A spherical led by Visa.

Socium’s seed spherical was led by Breega, whereas Partech, Orange Ventures, Chui ventures, Sonatel, Outlierz, Tremendous Capital, Evolem, Techmind and numerous angel buyers additionally participated, and Raisers Companions have been monetary advisers.