Cape Town-based HR tech startup company Jem has raised $8.4m (R136m) in a Series A funding round led by Quona Capital, as it expands its workforce management platform for employees who do not work from traditional desks.
Founders of Jem | image supplied
The funding will support Jem's development from an HR and benefits provider into a broader AI-native workforce management platform. The company currently serves more than 250,000 frontline workers across more than 200 companies, including Servest, Bidvest, McDonald's, KFC, Seattle Coffee Company and Bootleggers.
University Tech Fund, E4E and a group of angel investors, including former Old Mutual CEO Iain Williamson, also participated in the round.
Jem says its revenue has grown by more than 120% over the past year, while recurring revenue has more than doubled year on year. The company reports net revenue retention of 124% and almost zero customer churn.
Founded in 2020 as SmartWage and rebranded as Jem in 2022, the company initially focused on earned wage access, allowing employees to access wages they had already earned through WhatsApp.
It has since expanded into workforce management, with tools covering document management, onboarding, time and attendance, leave and workforce communication.
The company's WhatsApp-based platform is designed for deskless workforces, with the new funding set to support the addition of products and features including rostering, Employee Assistance Programmes, credit scores and further workforce management capabilities.
“Our vision has always been to join the dots into one workforce management platform, and this raise, together with AI, lets us do that far faster,” said co-founder and COO Caroline van der Merwe.
Jem's latest development is the Jem Hub, an AI-native version of its employer platform that brings workforce management, communication and employee services together.
Quona Capital Venture Partner Johan Bosini said the investment was based on Jem's position at the intersection of workforce software and services for employees who are traditionally difficult to reach through conventional financial services.
Jem says it aims to reach more than one million users within three years, while also expanding internationally.
