ZenHR, an HR Software Startup, Secures $10M to Scale its Operations across MENA
ZenHR, a MENA-focused human resource technology start-up has secured $10 million in Rua Growth Fund-led growth funding round with the participation of existing regional and global funds and investors, including Endeavor Catalyst to scale up its operations across the MENA region.
The Riyadh-based startup offers products covering automated payroll calculations, onboarding and offboarding of employees, attendance and time-tracking, performance management, employee self-service, and an applicant-tracking system.
Commenting on the round, Yousef Shamoun, ZenHR’s Co-founder and CEO, said “Over the past few years, we’ve worked hard to build a winning team and culture at ZenHR. As we rapidly approach 1,000 customers and 100,000 users in MENA, this team has firmly established itself as a category leader in the cloud HR software space, achieving this with little to no funding. We are thrilled to partner with the team at Rua and are confident that this partnership will allow us to expand our regional footprint in all 12 markets we serve and strengthen our presence even further in Saudi Arabia, our main market. We look forward to all the great things we can accomplish together.”
Automating HR processes has become a vital component in an era of digitization, which is helping companies to streamline their operations — from recruitment and hiring to other key functions.
According to a Boston Consulting Group report, more than $12 billion in venture capital funding was invested globally in the HR technology space in 2021, with the rate of activity more than tripling.
What ZenHR’s Lead Investors are saying
Turki Aljoaib, co-founder and managing partner of the Rua Growth Fund, who foresees an opportunity for HR technology companies, said “As the kingdom witnesses record economic growth and job creation, we believe ZenHR is well positioned to capitalize on the growing need for HR digitization.”
While Allen Taylor, managing partner of Endeavor Catalyst, which has been an active investor in MENA over the last decade said “We have followed this important trend in the digitization of HR platforms across more than 40 markets globally … this is a segment of the economy where the future is digital.”
ZenHR, which began operations in 2017, serves the following countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, and Yemen. It created a localized cloud-based HR platform comprised of several modules designed to streamline and automate the entire HR function from “Acquire” to “Retire.” Localization means that the platform complies with regional labor laws, tax laws, social insurance, and payroll policies and regulations.
The company, which employs 160 people, said it has achieved triple-digit growth while its subscription revenue was about three times higher on an annual basis.