As remote work becomes more prevalent, organizations around the world are adapting, especially when it comes to onboarding new employees and navigating the complexities of cross-border payments. This new era of work has led to a surge in demand for startups that provide human resources (HR), payroll, and compliance tools to help companies hire remotely.
One such company from the UAE, RemotePass, has raised $5.5 million in Series A funding led by New York-based 212 VC. Other participating investors include Endeavor Catalyst, Khwarizmi Ventures, Oraseya Capital, Flyer One Ventures, Access Bridge Ventures, A15, and Swiss Founders Fund.
CEOs Kamal Reggad and Karim Nadi founded RemotePass in late 2020 to enable companies to onboard, manage and pay their talent base even in countries where they don't have a local legal presence. The platform serves a wide range of customers, from startups to large corporations including his Spotify and Logitech, and facilitates the hiring of contractors and permanent employees in over 150 countries.
But RemotePass didn't start with this premise. A year before the launch, he launched SafarPass, his SaaS platform for streamlining travel and expense management through a dedicated app. The idea was to address the disruption prevalent in corporate travel, which happened to be of great interest until the start of the global pandemic.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Reggad revealed that as SafarPass faces challenges, it has become increasingly clear that the pandemic will prolong the recovery in business travel. Changes in the market meant a change in direction was inevitable. At the time, SafarPass was operating as a remote-first team of 18 employees across the UAE, Africa and Europe, even before the pandemic. That gave Reggad first-hand insight into the complexities of managing remote employees and circumventing the accompanying payment hurdles, and laid the foundation for RemotePass.
“At the end of every month, we had to deal with payment issues. With contract work, we weren't very sure about overall compliance. As a six-month-old company, we had to deal with payment issues. We knew that if we were having problems, our clients might be having problems as well,” Reggad commented. “If you look at the Middle East, for example, there are different countries with complexities around currencies, laws, financial services and benefits. We decided to build something that would allow us to manage it.”
Image credit: RemotePass
Seizing the opportunity presented by the pandemic as the world began to embrace remote work at scale, RemotePass grew 35% month over month in its first two years, primarily driven by customer referrals. The CEO said the platform, which offers multiple payment options to users, has doubled its revenue between 2022 and 2023. Customer and revenue growth was supported by $5.4 million in venture capital that RemotePass has secured to date, which was used to expand the platform to serve more than 600 people. An emerging market company and his 8,000 remote workers.
Some companies are actively promoting remote work and helping employees receive payments from their employers. While industry giants such as Deel (today acquired African HR and payroll platform PaySpace) and Remote control a significant portion of the market share, RemotePass leverages its expertise in emerging markets, particularly the Middle East and Africa. He says that he is trying to differentiate himself by doing this.
Reggad highlights RemotePass' localized approach through super apps. Its features (such as a Dollar His debit card that allows users to hold funds in USD, reduced risks associated with exchange rate fluctuations, and monthly health insurance benefits that extend to dependents) are tailored to the unique needs of the population. adjusted accordingly. End users of these markets. The Dubai-based startup works with third-party providers on insurance products, and apart from an end-to-end contractor management platform, it also offers businesses his EoR services and relocation support.
“Our customers care about remote workers when they hire them. This is why they love what we offer in terms of financial services and benefits, and that we give remote workers this flexibility. It’s why,” said the CEO, who worked as a systems engineer in the US before returning to Morocco in 2011 to launch travel service Hmizate. and ultimately a shopping e-commerce site that was sold. “At the end of the day, it all comes down to retention. If your contractors and permanent employees are happy and you have this ecosystem of services, they will be happier and stay with you longer.”
RemotePass generates revenue through a subscription model. Contractor engagement fees are $40 per active contractor per month. For businesses with full-time employees, subscription fees range from $350 to $699 per employee per month, depending on the country and the specific requirements of the immigration and relocation service. Currently, contractors and permanent employees require his RemotePass from their employer, but the platform is working on creating access for end users on its own, which could become a new revenue stream for the platform in the future. This situation may not last long as it will lead to a connection.
With this growth capital, RemotePass will have two focuses. First, we are ramping up our efforts to make our products more enterprise-ready. Second, we intend to double down on product localization by bringing in more companies in Saudi Arabia, where we are seeing the most growth.
“We have witnessed RemotePass’ impressive product growth and outstanding customer service since early 2023, and we are proud of the company’s forward-thinking team and business model,” Ali Hikmet Karabay, managing director of 212 VC, said in a statement. Our belief has become firm.” “To address today’s workforce challenges, such as talent mobility and remote work, RemotePass stands out as a key enabler. We are able to connect talent from emerging markets who have not had access to the process. This disruption makes them a game changer in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, a hub poised for world domination.”