Dakar, November 19th, 2024
Raisers Partners advises Socium on its $5m Seed round to become the leading one-stop shop HR solution in French-speaking Africa
Raisers Partners is proud to announce that Samba Lo and his team have successfully raised $5 million in one of the largest Seed rounds in Senegal and across Francophone Africa. The round was led by Breega, with participation from major investors Partech, Orange Ventures and Sonatel, and participation from Chui Ventures, Super Capital, Outlierz, Evolem, Techmind and business angels.
Launched in 2021 by Samba Lo and Serigne Seye, alumni of École Polytechnique, Socium is the first HR complete SaaS solution for Francophone Africa, managing the full HR cycle from hiring, to talent management, performance tracking and payroll. Socium focuses on mid-market companies, a market worth $9 billion in Africa, where 90% of SMEs don't use software to manage HR and are burdened in manual processes and spreadsheets. Socium managed to convince clients like Lagardère, MTN, Heetch, EY and Yassir with a product adapted to the African markets and compliant with local labour codes and collective agreements. 80% of African companies equipped with a global HR solution are disatisfied, primarily because these solutions are not adapted to local needs and not compliant with local law.
Prior to this fundraise, Socium had raised a $1.1 million funding round in August 2022, also advised by Raisers Partners, showing our commitment to advise entrepreneurs "from Seed to Exit".
With this new funding, Socium plans to:
- Strengthen its presence in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire and accelerate deployment in Cameroon and DRC
- Enrich its value proposition (AI powered error detection, integration with public administrations for automatic tax filings)
Samba Lo, CEO, Socium
Raisers Partners provided invaluable support in managing the fundraising process, enabling me and my team to stay focused on driving our business forward and addressing customer needs. Their expertise was key in bringing the right partners to the table and ensuring the success of the round.
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Valentin Méaux, Managing Partner, Raisers Partners
Socium is the perfect example of the modern financial bridges between Europe and Africa. Thanks to Raisers Partners' support (based between Paris, Dakar and Nairobi), this round attracted top tier investors not only from all over Africa, but also from France - knowing that Socium represents the first African footprint for some of these French VCs.
Deal Factsheet
Amount: $5m
Type: Equity fundraising
Investors: Breega, Partech, Orange Ventures, Sonatel, Chui Ventures, Super Capital, Outlierz, Evolem, Techmind and business angels.
Exclusive financial advisor: Raisers Partners (Nicolas Bailly, Valentin Méaux, Henri Huet)
Company Lawyer: Orrick (Olivier Vuillod, Sullivan Berthier)
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