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In the world of African entrepreneurship, few stories are as inspiring as that of Paul Kimani, CEO and co-founder of Workpay.
Kimani’s startup, a cloud-based HR and payroll solution for SMBs in Africa, has been making waves in recent years, thanks in no small part to his vision and tenacity.
A serial entrepreneur and graduate of the University of Nairobi in Kenya, Kimani, who today ranks as one of Kenya’s top-performing entrepreneurs, has spent his career building businesses and chasing the African dream.
Prior to founding Workpay, Kimani worked with Equity Bank, East Africa’s largest bank by assets and capital, and founded two successful tech companies.
However, it is with Workpay that Kimani has truly hit his stride. Under his leadership, the company has doubled its revenue every year since 2021 and now serves nearly 700 companies, processing more than $200 million in payroll annually. And with the $2.7 million that it recently secured from its pre-Series-A funding round, Kimani and his team are poised for even greater growth.
Workpay prepares to roll out its services to 40 countries on the continent
The $2.7 million in funding that Workpay recently secured from investors in its pre-Series-A funding round will be used to expand its HR, payroll, compliance, and benefits tools across Africa, with the goal of rolling out its services to 40 countries on the continent. This comes on the heels of a successful seed funding round in 2021 that raised $2.1 million.
But for Kimani, it’s not just about the numbers. The startup is his passion project, and he sees it as a way to make a real difference in the lives of African business owners and their employees. As he puts it, “My goal is to make small businesses run in an efficient and effective way.”
And he’s not just paying lip service to that goal. Workpay’s cloud-based platform has already helped over 600 businesses in more than 20 countries streamline their HR and payroll operations. And as remote work becomes increasingly common, the company has added new product lines to meet the changing needs of its customers.
Success for Paul Kimani means paving the way for the next generation of African entrepreneurs.
Kimani’s journey with Workpay is a testament to what African entrepreneurs can achieve with the right combination of vision, grit, and support. He has participated in prestigious fellowship programs like Y Combinator and the eFounders Fellowship, building valuable connections and insights along the way.
However, for Kimani, it’s not just about his own success. It’s about paving the way for the next generation of African entrepreneurs. As he told Forbes: “Africa is not the continent of the future but the continent of now.” And with leaders like Kimani at the helm, the future looks brighter than ever.
