Factorial raises $150 million in Series D as East Africa's HR tech market expands

The funding round also attracted participation from existing investors Atomico and Four Rivers. In addition to the equity investment, General Catalyst will provide $540 million in non-dilutive financing through its Customer Value Fund, giving the company access to more than $700 million in growth capital.

The investment comes amid rising demand for digital HR solutions across East Africa, where businesses are increasingly replacing manual human resource processes with cloud-based platforms to improve efficiency and meet evolving regulatory requirements.

According to Deloitte's 2025 Africa Human Capital Trends report, more than 60 per cent of medium-sized enterprises in Africa's major cities have adopted at least one digital HR solution. However, the region's HR technology market continues to offer significant room for growth.

The Africa payroll software market, valued at $487.3 million in 2026, is projected to grow to $1.66 billion by 2035, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.6 per cent. The growth is being driven by increased cloud adoption, stricter compliance requirements and expanding mobile-first enterprise infrastructure.

In Kenya, companies are increasingly investing in digital HR systems as tax regulations become more complex and businesses seek to improve payroll accuracy, workforce management and compliance. Industry trends over the past two years have also seen growing adoption of cloud-based HR platforms, automated recruitment and onboarding tools, workforce analytics and employee engagement solutions.

Factorial says it now serves more than 16,000 businesses across over 90 countries, offering software that integrates human resources, finance and IT operations.

The company has also expanded its platform to incorporate artificial intelligence. Its latest offering, Factorial One, combines AI-powered tools for HR, finance and IT management with employee-facing assistants designed to automate routine administrative tasks.

Speaking after the funding announcement, Factorial Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Jordi Romero said the company has shifted its focus from traditional software services to AI-powered workforce management.

"Ten years ago, we started Factorial as a SaaS company. Today, Factorial is an AI-first company focused on building AI agents for our clients. We have redesigned our product and platform around AI to help organisations manage their operations more efficiently."

The company said East Africa remains one of its strategic growth markets as businesses across the region continue investing in digital workplace technologies.

Factorial Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships Francesc Rul·lan said the company intends to expand its presence in the region by supporting organisations seeking to modernise workforce management and scale their operations.