South African workforce technology startup Jem has raised $8.4 million in Series A funding to accelerate the growth of its WhatsApp-based platform for managing deskless and frontline employees across Africa.
The funding round was led by Quona Capital, with participation from University Technology Fund, E4E, Next176/FutureGrowth and a number of angel investors.
Jem has built its workforce management platform around WhatsApp, allowing employers to communicate with and manage employees without requiring workers to download a separate application. The approach is designed particularly for employees in sectors such as retail, hospitality, security, manufacturing and other industries where large portions of the workforce do not operate from traditional office environments.
Through the platform, companies can manage services including employee communication, payslip distribution, attendance, leave requests, rostering and HR queries. Jem also offers financial and employee-benefit products, including earned wage access.
The company says its platform now reaches more than 250,000 frontline employees across over 200 employers in Africa, reflecting growing demand for digital workforce tools designed around technology workers already use every day.
Jem originally launched in 2020 as SmartWage before rebranding in 2022. Its initial focus was earned wage access through WhatsApp, but the business has since expanded into a broader workforce management and employee benefits platform.
The new Series A capital will support further product development and expansion as Jem looks to deepen its presence across African markets.
The investment also highlights growing investor interest in technology serving Africa’s large deskless workforce, a segment that has historically had limited access to conventional enterprise HR software.
By using WhatsApp as its primary employee interface, Jem is betting that workforce technology in Africa can achieve broader adoption by working through familiar communication channels rather than requiring employees to adopt entirely new digital tools.
