How Dubai's Cercli is transforming payroll management for businesses

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

This proverb by the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu aptly encapsulates the entrepreneurial journey of David Reche and Akeed Azmi, co-founders of the Dubai-based tech start-up Cercli. Their initial foray into the business world was spurred by a common, vexing problem faced by businesses across the Middle East: the challenge of managing payroll, expenses, and compliance procedures using outdated and ineffective systems.

The genesis of the start-up can be traced back to the founders' experience in working with hypergrowth companies such as Careem and Kitopi, both of which achieved unicorn status but, according to them, struggled with fundamental operational challenges at some stage. Cercli was officially launched earlier this year and the founders say it quickly gained momentum by filling a crucial gap in the market.

The company specialises in assisting businesses in automating and optimising their workforce management and compliance processes. “If even the most prominent tech start-ups faced issues managing these processes, we knew there had to be a better solution,” Mr Azmi, 33, tells The National.

The company says it offers a unified platform for businesses in the Middle East and North Africa to streamline hiring, management, and payment processes for their global workforce. This platform aims to effectively minimise the potential for human errors, ensuring efficiency and accuracy in workforce operations.

From the beginning, the founders aimed to develop a solution that would not only address these fundamental challenges but also be cost-efficient, user-friendly, and specifically tailored to meet the distinct needs of businesses in the Mena.

“We saw a widening gap in the market and made our attempt to bridge it. The idea is to not only serve the needs of the small and medium-size customers but also to bring innovation and a new approach to solve the recurring problems the region faces,” Mr Reche, 41, says.

The founders say they gathered feedback from more than 30 companies ranging from industry giants like Saudi Aramco to family-run small businesses in Dubai, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges they face. Using this insight, Cercli intends to disrupt the payroll and compliance market, estimated by Mr Azmi to be worth $2 billion in the region.

Mr Azmi emphasises the company's broader goals and objectives and points out that Cercli's vision extends beyond just payroll services. “We are building a platform that solves various issues plaguing multiple back-office functions … for example, a small human error can lead to costly compliance issues,” he says, emphasising the company’s focus on innovation and customer-centric solutions.

“As we expand and add more product verticals, we are solving various issues across the back office that often go unnoticed … all centred around reducing human error and helping our customers stay fully compliant. Though we are very early in this journey, we are confident our platform and suite of services will be able to empower businesses of all sizes to thrive,” Mr Azmi says.

The payroll service in the Middle East and Africa region is experiencing rapid growth, fuelled by digital transformation and businesses’ shift towards cloud-based solutions. The sector is projected to expand greatly as an increasing number of local companies adopt outsourced payroll solutions to manage the complexities of compliance, tax regulations, and multinational employee management.

The Mena region’s cloud-based payroll software market is expected to reach more than $1.2 billion by 2028 from $680.69 million in 2022, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 10.1 per cent, according to a report by Business Market Insights. Since its inception, Cercli has experienced rapid growth, expanding 25 per cent on a month-on-month basis and processing over $23 million in employee salaries across 31 countries.

Backed by Y Combinator, Afore Capital, Cotu Ventures, Rebel Fund and various angel investors, the start-up has so far raised over $4 million in capital. The founders say they are focused on continuing product development and market expansion, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the Arab world’s biggest economies.

“At the moment we are doubling down on the UAE and Saudi Arabia ... these are markets with major opportunities. However, our product is available for businesses across the Mena region and we will continue to scale,” Mr Azmi says.

Despite achieving rapid success, Cercli has had its own share of obstacles, as Mr Reche explains. The primary challenge has been identifying and prioritising the most promising opportunities. “There have been great learnings so far. Iterating quickly and staying agile have been key to overcoming these challenges,” he says.

As Cercli moves forward, the founders are optimistic about the company’s long-term prospects. Mr Reche sees Cercli playing a critical role in supporting regional initiatives such as Saudi Vision 2030 and Dubai’s D33 agenda, by expediting local businesses’ digital transformation journey through adoption of the latest technologies, such as cloud computing, in their daily tasks.

Mr Azmi is confident the platform’s enduring value will ensure its longevity in the market. “We are building something that businesses not only need now but will continue to need as the region grows,” he says.

“Cercli serves not just existing businesses, but any new business launched by entrepreneurs will require the solutions we provide. We believe the market-maker upside potential for us is significant, especially on the back of strong economic growth, rapid digitalisation and the growing need for a single platform to unify fragmented legacy systems.”

The company does not offer a one-size-fits-all approach, instead tailoring its solutions to meet its clients’ needs, scope of work and budget. “Once a new client signs up with Cercli, our business model is based on a seat basis, meaning the pricing is adjusted based on the active number of your team members benefiting from the usage of the platform and services,” says Mr Reche.

Engineering, product development and sales are key priority areas for investment going forward. “It’s important that our platform can keep up with the regulations of every market we operate in, as well as bringing top talent to support our new products that we are going to launch soon. For markets like the UAE, we also need to consider free zone-specific regulations. We are also investing in hiring sales talent, to drive revenue growth,” he says.

The founders are also confident in their ability to navigate competition within the industry. “The space we operate in is very fragmented. There are few platforms that actually unify every workforce management requirement, while staying compliant in the markets they operate in,” Mr Azmi says.

“But we have an edge … our secret sauce is the ability to always be updated due to our strong engineering foundations, and a commitment to ensure our customers are always compliant.” Mr Reche believes that competition is beneficial for the start-up, as it serves as a driving force to continuously strive for excellence and become the "best version of ourselves".

Q&A with David Reche, co-founder of Cercli

Where do you see yourself 10 years down the line?

We see ourselves achieving our purpose of unlocking the true potential of organisations and their people while helping them pay a considerable percentage of their workforce through our platform in the region and beyond.

Are you a risk-taker or a cautious entrepreneur?

To leave your comfort zone and a productive career to start this entrepreneurial journey, one must be a risk-taker by default.

If you could change one thing in your entrepreneurial journey, what would it be?

We are increasingly excited about the future opportunities as we explore further. In hindsight, it would have been beneficial to begin sooner.

Are you on a hiring spree?

Yes, we are hiring at the moment, primarily in engineering roles, with a few other openings in strategically important areas like sales to expand our go-to market. We are very deliberate in how we hire and prioritise the quality of talent over headcount.

What is your vision for the company?

Our vision is to unlock the true potential of organisations and their people in the region, hence we want to be a fundamental part of the growth of the UAE with the D33 agenda, Saudi Vision 2030, and support overall Mena growth and potential.

What successful start-ups do you wish you could have started and why?

It will definitely be Cercli.

What new skills have you learnt in the process of launching your start-up?

In the early stages of every start-up, you must be able to pivot quickly, act like a Swiss Army knife, and tackle multiple different problems at any given time. I would say that this is a skill used daily.

What is your mantra for success?

Do what you think is right with persistence and keep iterating on it with constant learning, the results will come.

Who is your role model?

Any founder that had a true purpose and passion towards solving a problem and changed an industry or the course of a company. We have a few examples like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Mudassir Sheikha, Satya Nadella and Nikesh Arora.

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Cercli

Founded: 2024

Founders: David Reche and Akeed Azmi

Based: Dubai

Capital raised: $4 million

Investors: Y Combinator, Afore Capital, Cotu Ventures, Rebel Fund and various angel investors

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