South Africa’s Jem Raises USD 8.4 M Series A To Expand Workforce Platform

South African workforce management startup Jem has raised USD 8.4 M in Series A funding led by Quona Capital, with participation from University Technology Fund, E4E, Next176/FutureGrowth, and angel investors including former Old Mutual CEO Iain Williamson.

Founded in 2020 by Simon Ellis and Caroline van der Merwe as SmartWage and rebranded as Jem in 2022, the South Africa-based company provides workforce management and financial services to frontline workers through WhatsApp. Its platform covers earned wage access, payslips, onboarding, attendance, leave, communication, and employee benefits.

Jem now serves more than 250,000 workers across 200+ employers, while recurring revenue has grown over 100% year on year. The Series A follows a USD 3.3 M pre-Series A in 2025 and a USD 2 M seed round in 2022.