• UAE-based HRtech RemotePass has raised $5.5 million in a Series A funding round, led by 212 VC. Other participating investors include Endeavor Catalyst, Khwarizmi Ventures, Oraseya Capital, Flyer One Ventures, Access Bridge Ventures, A15, and the Swiss Founders Fund. 
• Founded in 2020 by Kamal Reggad and Karim Nadi, RemotePass allows businesses to onboard, manage, and pay their talent, whereas they lack local legal presence.
• In 2021, RemotePass raised its pre-Series A round for an undisclosed amount, led by BECO Capital, with participation from Wamda, Khawarizmi VC, Flat6Labs, Wealth Well, and a syndicate of Saudi investors. It plans to use the new capital to enhance its expansion plans in the Saudi market.

Source: TechCrunch

As remote work becomes increasingly prevalent, organisations globally are adapting, especially regarding onboarding procedures for new employees and navigating cross-border payment complexities. This new age of work has led to a surge in demand for startups that provide human resources (HR), payroll, and compliance tools to help businesses hire remotely.

RemotePass, one such business out of the UAE, has raised $5.5 million in Series A funding led by Istanbul-based 212 VC. Other participating investors include Endeavor Catalyst, Khwarizmi Ventures, Oraseya Capital, Flyer One Ventures, Access Bridge Ventures, A15, and the Swiss Founders Fund. 

CEO Kamal Reggad and Karim Nadi founded RemotePass in late 2020 to allow businesses to onboard, manage, and pay their talent base in countries where they lack local legal presence. The platform, which serves a range of clients, from startups to large enterprises, including Spotify and Logitech, facilitates hiring contractors and full-time employees in more than 150 countries.

But RemotePass didn’t start with this premise. A year before launch, it was SafarPass, offering a SaaS platform for streamlining business travel and expense management through a dedicated app. The idea was to address the prevalent disarray in corporate travel, which happened to garner significant interest until the onset of the global pandemic.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Reggad revealed that as SafarPass encountered challenges, it became increasingly apparent that the pandemic would prolong business travel recovery. A shift in the market meant a pivot became inevitable. At the time, SafarPass, even before the pandemic, operated as a remote-first team comprising 18 employees across the UAE, Africa, and Europe. As such, Reggad gained firsthand insight into the intricacies of managing a remote workforce and navigating associated payment hurdles, thus laying the groundwork for RemotePass.

With this growth capital, RemotePass’ focus is twofold. First, it’s intensifying efforts to enhance its product’s enterprise readiness. Second, it intends to onboard more businesses in Saudi Arabia, where it’s seen the most growth and double down on product localisation. 

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