Cercli, a unified platform designed to help MENA businesses hire, manage, and pay their global workforce, has raised $4 million in a seed funding round. Afore Capital, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, led the investment, marking its first venture in the MENA region. The funding comes from Afore’s $150 million Fund III.
The round also saw participation from COTU Ventures, Y Combinator, Rebel Fund, and notable angel investors, including Karim Atiyeh (Ramp), Sebastian Mejia (Rappi), Tony Dong (Rippling), Tony Jamous (Oyster), Allison Pickens, and the founders and executives from unicorns such as Kitopi and Careem, along with other prominent startups based in MENA.
With a $2 billion market opportunity for payroll management in the MENA region, Cercli aims to revolutionise how businesses manage their workforce by providing a single, streamlined platform. The platform offers a more integrated solution and addresses issues such as high compliance costs and errors due to fragmented and outdated systems.
Founded by Akeed Azmi and David Reche, who previously scaled teams at Kitopi and Careem, Cercli was born out of a need to manage a rapidly growing international workforce more efficiently. “The cost of workforce-related compliance is one of the biggest challenges for C-suite executives in our region,” said Akeed Azmi, Cofounder of Cercli.
“Cercli consolidates multiple isolated systems into one modern payroll and employee data platform, allowing businesses to manage local payroll, remote contractors, HR, onboarding, and more.”
Since its launch in 2024, Cercli has experienced 25% month-on-month growth and has processed over $23 million in employee salaries across 31 countries. The platform replaces spreadsheets and outdated software, uniting all back-office functions to reduce the risks of fraud, data privacy issues, payroll errors, and delays.
The investment from Afore Capital is seen as a recognition of the significant potential in the MENA region. “Cercli is addressing one of the region’s largest challenges—managing a global workforce while ensuring compliance,” said Anamitra Banerji, Cofounder and Managing Partner of Afore Capital. “This investment reflects our belief in the untapped opportunities in MENA and the impact that innovative founders like Akeed and David can have.”
Cercli’s platform is designed to comply with market-specific regulations and labour laws, with integrations across HR, Finance, Accounting, Legal, and IT software. This comprehensive approach ensures that Cercli is the primary source of truth for businesses’ workforce management needs.
Commenting on the investment, Amir Farha, Founder of COTU Ventures, said, “With technology-powered startups driving economic transformation across the Middle East, the need for solutions like Cercli is imperative. We are confident in Cercli’s future and are thrilled to support their journey as they expand their regional influence.”
Looking ahead, Cercli is focused on growth and expanding its team, which already includes top talent from regional unicorns and global companies such as Microsoft, ADP, and Accenture. “With the backing of our new investors, we will accelerate our growth and continue to attract world-class talent to expand Cercli’s footprint across the regional economy,” said David Reche, co-founder of Cercli.
