American investment firm backs South African tech company that scored R135 million
United States-based Quona Capital has backed Jem, a workforce management platform used by over 250,000 workers in South Africa.
Jem, a WhatsApp-based platform for deskless teams, has secured an $8.4 million (about R135 million) Series A funding round, which Quona Capital led.
The US venture capital firm focuses on companies that expand financial access globally, including in Latin America, India, Southeast Asia, and the EMEA region.
Other investors in the funding round included the University Tech Fund, E4E, and a group of angel investors, including former Old Mutual CEO Iain Williamson.
The investment aims to support Jem’s ongoing growth as an HR and benefits provider into a comprehensive AI-native workforce management platform for frontline workers.
The company currently serves over 250,000 employees across 200+ companies, which include Servest, Bidvest, McDonald’s, KFC, Seattle Coffee Company and Bootleggers.
The company was founded in 2020 as SmartWage by Simon Ellis and Caroline van der Merwe, who serve as CEO and COO, respectively. The company initially only offered Earned Wage Access
The company initially started as an Earned Wage Access provider, which allows workers to withdraw the wages they have already earned, protecting many from payday lenders.
The company rebranded to Jem in 2022 and added paid HR communications and payslips.
In 2025, they decided to make a risky call, in which they would give the core product away for free and bet the business on the financial services that were layered on top.
With a quarter of a million users on the platform, recurring revenue has grown 120% year-on-year, with net revenue retention at 124% and negligible customer churn.
The latest round of funding will support the addition of more products and features, including time and attendance, rostering, onboarding, Employee Assistance Programmes, and credit scores.
“Many employers still run their workforces on a patchwork of legacy systems, from earned-wage-access point solutions to workforce communication tools,” said Ellis.
“Jem replaces that patchwork with one platform, built on WhatsApp. We designed it to be engaging and to work for the realities of deskless workforces.”
Quona Capital backs Jem
Johan Bosini, Venture Partner at Quona Capital, said that Jem’s WhatsApp-native platform has become the main way that employers communicate with and support their workforces.
“We backed Jem because it sits at a powerful intersection: essential workforce software that helps companies build deeper relationships with their people,” said Bosini.
“That creates the foundation for Jem to deliver a wider range of relevant services, including future payroll integration tools, mobile connectivity, insurance and other employee benefits.”
These products and benefits have traditionally been inaccessible to the workforce through traditional financial services.
Quona also believes that the market is shaped in Jem’s favour, as the deskless workforce in South Africa is concentrated in a handful of giant employers across retail, security, mining, and logistics.
These companies have tens of thousands of staff. Given that Jem onboards users over WhatsApp, there is zero friction, unlike the deployment slog that so often stalls workforce tools.
“The company has grown rapidly while maintaining exceptional retention, demonstrating that the platform is solving a meaningful and recurring problem,” said Bosini.
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