Saudi’s HR Tech Platform Palm.hr Raises $5 Million in Pre-Series A Rou

Saudi-based HR tech platform palm.hr has raised $5 million in a pre-series A round co-led by Speedinvest and RAED Ventures. The round also saw participation from Wamda, a VC firm in MENA.

Founded in 2019 by Richard Schrems, Christoph Czichna and Dragan Nikolic, palm.hr aims to facilitate the way businesses and employees interact with HR systems. Through its platform, HR can automate payrolls, track leaves and absences, and stay updated on staff performance amongst other features.

“The MENA region is transforming at an incredible pace and businesses recognise the need to be empowered by technology and create meaningful workplace experiences,” Richard Schrems, CEO & Co-Founder of palm.hr, tells StartupScene. “That is why we built palm.hr, to equip HR professionals with the tools they need to succeed. With the backing of our investors, we are excited to kick-off our next stage of growth and play a role in contributing to the future of the region’s economy.”

The platform is designed to meet local labor laws as well as employee regulations in different markets across the region. In addition, it has a multi-currency feature to support different payment requirements, which is suitable for businesses with global and regional operations.

To date, several companies across the region are using palm.hr including Hala, Thmanyah, Saudi Venture Capital Company, Mozn, Jeeny and Rabbit, amongst others.

In Saudi Arabia, palm.hr works with several government services such as Mudad for digital payroll and compliance, mandated by the country’s ministry of labor; the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI), and Muqeem, the foreign employees data platform.

The new investment will enable palm.hr to expand to Egypt and the UAE, while doubling down on its presence in Saudi Arabia. The startup will also invest in increasing its product offerings and hire new talent to support its regional expansion plans.