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Jahazii
Wages When You Need Them
Alan Mwangi
November 13, 2024
Bridging the gap between Investors and Ventures
Setting the Scene
Across Africa, millions of employees face financial strain, often turning to predatory lending options to make ends meet before payday. For the 260 million formal workers across the continent, this reality is compounded by limited access to fair, accessible financial services. Here are a few examples:
Living Paycheck to Paycheck: Many workers run out of cash well before payday, forcing them to seek alternatives that can be financially detrimental.
High Fees and Hidden Costs: Traditional lending solutions often come with high interest rates, leaving employees trapped in cycles of debt.
Reliance on Informal Credit: Without access to earned wage advances, workers depend on informal loans, paying a high price for quick cash.
Why does this happen?
Lack of Accessible Credit Data: Most traditional lenders can’t accurately assess credit risk without a solid credit history.
Fragmented Solutions: Existing financial services don’t offer seamless, on-demand access to earned wages, leaving workers with limited options.
Financial Burden: High-interest micro-finance and digital lenders are often the last-resort option for employees, yet these come with risks and high fees.
This week’s featured company addresses these issues by providing employees with access to the wages they’ve already earned, supporting financial stability without the debt trap.
In a Sentence
Jahazii is a fintech company enabling employers to offer on-demand salary advances, providing employees across East Africa with fair access to earned wages through a seamless, integrated platform.
Earned Wage Access: Employees can access up to 50% of their earned salaries before payday, minimizing their reliance on high-interest loans.
Employer-Integrated Platform: Jahazii’s system ties directly into payroll, automating the advance and repayment processes with minimal friction.
Scalable Impact: Jahazii is focused on boosting the financial well-being of millions, creating a model that benefits both employees and employers.
A “bridge” version:
Jahazii connects East African employees to their earned wages, empowering them with timely financial access and reducing dependency on predatory loans.
The Basics
Industry: HR Tech, Fintech
Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya
Year Founded: 2023
Employee count: 4
Fundraising to date: Antler East Africa
Early Traction: Post revenue, 3 employers and 1,000+ employees on the platform, 20,000 USD salary advances disbursed, and 10,000 employees on the waitlist (15 employers)
Business Model: B2B SaaS and Transaction fee per salary advance
Jahazii Platform
Due Diligence
WHAT WE LIKE
🔄 Transformative Impact: Jahazii’s model directly impacts employees’ financial stability, offering fair access to funds they’ve already earned.
📈 Market Potential: With 260 million formal employees across Africa, the market for earned wage access solutions is vast, with opportunities for significant growth.
🧲 Retention and Engagement: The platform boasts an impressive 80% retention rate, showing strong user loyalty and value.
⚙️ Operational Efficiency: By integrating with employer payroll systems, Jahazii minimizes the risk of default and maintains a 0% employer default rate.
POTENTIAL RISKS
🚧 Adoption Barriers: Convincing more employers to adopt and integrate the platform could be a hurdle.
🏋️ Scalability Challenges: Scaling operations while maintaining a high retention rate may be challenging as the platform expands.
Founder Profile
Sven Grospitsch, CEO: With a background in fintech and experience launching multiple ventures across Africa and Europe, Sven brings deep operational insight to Jahazii, helping shape its growth trajectory in East Africa.
Vaidehi Tembhekar, COO: An experienced operator, Vaidehi has overseen expansions and managed operations for startups, building scalable structures that support Jahazii’s mission.
Martin Gitehi, CTO: With over a decade of experience in software engineering, Martin’s technical expertise anchors Jahazii’s platform, ensuring reliability and user-friendly integration.
To request an introduction to the founders, respond to this email.
Comps
Jem HR provides earned wage access solutions integrated into employer payroll systems. They partner with employers to allow employees to access a portion of their earned wages before payday. Jem HR is focused on improving employee retention and financial wellness by reducing reliance on high-interest loans and improving financial stability for employees.
DailyPay is a leading earned wage access platform in the US that partners with employers to provide employees with on-demand access to earned wages. DailyPay integrates with payroll systems, offering a seamless experience with fees based on transaction frequency.
Wagestream partners with employers to allow employees to access a portion of their wages at any time. They emphasize financial wellness by providing budgeting and savings tools alongside earned wage access, supporting financial literacy and resilience.
Why Jahazii?
Bridging the Paycheck Gap 🏦
Jahazii is more than just an advance platform; it’s a lifeline for employees navigating financial stress. By enabling on-demand access to earned income, Jahazii provides a reliable, fair alternative to predatory loans and high-interest credit solutions.
As we look at the future of financial inclusion in Africa, Jahazii is building the infrastructure to make timely financial support available to everyone. They are a critical piece in reshaping financial access for underserved workers and supporting their journey toward financial independence.
📢 EVENTS BOARD
Latitude59 Kenya Edition 2024 🇪🇪 🇰🇪
🎉🎉 Big News: We are excited to announce that the second edition of Latitude59 Kenya will take place on November 28, 2024, bringing together innovators, investors, and ecosystem builders from across Africa and Europe to discuss key topics such as startup growth, funding, and market entry strategies.
This November, Latitude59 joins forces with Tech Safari to open doors to East Africa and connect the international tech community. The event will offer an unparalleled opportunity to engage with leading founders, VCs, and policymakers from both continents, focusing on how European-African partnerships can drive tech innovation and investment.
“Latitude59 Kenya Edition 2023 was even bigger and more successful than we dared to hope. And this is just the beginning of our bigger vision of building a Global Village, bringing diverse communities together to make the tech world more human. Working on another continent was a new challenge for our team, but it was an amazing experience, well worth it, and we are so proud of what we put together,”.
- Liisi Org, the CEO of Latitude59.