Jahazii raises $400K to build Africa’s workforce operating system

Kenyan startup Jahazii has raised $400,000 in pre-seed funding to formalise and finance Africa’s informal workforce. The round, a mix of equity, debt, and grants, drew participation from Antler East Africa, DEG Impulse, Jozi Angels, Innovest Afrika, and angel investors.

At its core, Jahazii is building what it calls the “Workforce Operating System for Africa”—a digital platform that combines HR, payroll, and embedded financial services for operations-heavy employers in manufacturing and agriculture. By digitising how workers are managed and paid, Jahazii aims to address one of Africa’s most profound economic challenges: the prevalence of informal work.

Across Sub-Saharan Africa, about 87% of jobs remain informal, according to the International Labour Organisation. This means millions of workers earn their wages without contracts, payslips, or access to affordable financial products. The lack of structured employment data also prevents lenders from assessing credit risk, excluding workers from savings, insurance, and fair financing options.

“Informality is the biggest structural barrier holding back Africa’s economic transformation,” said Sven Grospitsch, Jahazii’s CEO. “Without systems that provide structure and credibility, workers remain excluded from financial opportunities, and organisations can’t scale efficiently. Jahazii exists to change that.”

“For about the first year, we were helping financial institutions onboard customers and manage credit scoring,” Grospitsch said in an interview with Condia. “But we realised most of these institutions didn’t really care about lending responsibly—they just wanted more borrowers and adjusted prices when defaults rose. We basically became a glorified call centre.”

That discovery led to a major pivot. The team shifted its focus away from banks and toward employers, who were receiving requests from workers for early wage access and other financial support. Jahazii began offering financial services directly through employers, enabling workers to access a portion of their earned salary during the month for a small transaction fee, while employers used Jahazii’s software to manage attendance, shifts, and payroll.

This two-sided business model is free for employers but revenue-generating through employee transaction fees and paid software subscriptions, allowing Jahazii to blend fintech and workforce management in a way that scales sustainably.

“We have the software part and the finance part,” Grospitsch said. “Originally, it was just the software part, but now we’re handling money, collections, and partnerships with financial institutions. Still, we are going back to our roots, focusing on building and selling great software while layering financial services on top.”

The startup, which now has a team of eight—five in tech and three in sales—plans to launch additional financial products such as savings and insurance, built on the employment and payroll data it already collects.

“At scale, this is a 75% margin business,” Grospitsch added. “We’re focused on healthy growth, not just chasing profitability. The goal is to build infrastructure that changes the trajectory of workers and employers alike.”

Founded in 2023 by Grospitsch, Vaidehi Tembhekar, and Martin Gitehi, the company partners directly with employers to embed financial products into payroll cycles. Through this model, employees can access earned wage advances, savings tools, and insurance at fair rates, while employers streamline HR operations and ensure compliance.

Grospitsch describes Jahazii’s approach as an alternative to Africa’s problematic digital credit scene, where many lenders have been criticised for predatory rates and aggressive recovery practices. “By embedding financial services into the paycheck, we’re building the financial infrastructure for Africa’s middle class,” he said. “This investment allows us to scale responsibly, deepen employer partnerships, and give workers fair financial access without the traps of high-interest loan apps.”

Jahazii’s Workforce OS unifies employee attendance, shift management, and payroll into one secure platform, creating verified employment data that can unlock wider financial inclusion. The company has gained early traction among employers in Kenya’s manufacturing and agricultural sectors and plans to expand across East Africa in the coming year.

The startup joins a growing ecosystem of African HR and fintech innovators such as PaidHR, Workpay, SeamlessHR, and Sage. Still, it differentiates itself by focusing on blue-collar and industrial workers rather than office or gig economy staff.