Surgeon-turned-entrepreneur Okeleji’s big dream for Africa employee welfare

Emmanuel Okeleji, CEO and co-founder of SeamlessHR, is a man who has truly discovered his life’s purpose. His passion for human resources (HR) shines through as he speaks, showing how much joy and fulfillment he gets from helping Africa improve its human capital for better productivity.

But less than a decade ago, Okeleji’s career path was very different. Many might be surprised to learn that he didn’t start out in the HR or tech world. Instead, he studied medicine and surgery at Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria and began his professional life as a doctor, working alongside senior doctors to refine his surgical skills.

Had he stayed in medicine, Okeleji might have reached his goal of performing kidney transplants.

However, he explains that even performing 12 transplants a month wouldn’t have made as large an impact as his work with SeamlessHR.

Today, his company is Africa’s leading cloud HR and payroll technology provider, with the potential to improve the lives of millions of workers and their families across the continent.

SeamlessHR has set an ambitious target of managing payroll for 20 million employees. Okeleji points out that if each worker supports five dependents, the company could impact 100 million people.

The goal is to enhance the well-being and productivity of workers through SeamlessHR’s innovative tech-driven payroll and HR solutions.

Before becoming a tech entrepreneur, Okeleji practiced medicine at St.

Nicholas Hospital in Lagos. He also played a key role in the founding of Lifeplan Healthcare Limited, which eventually led to the establishment of Evercare Hospital, Lagos. His career even took him to Goldman Sachs’ Investment Banking Division in London, where he got a taste of the finance world.

Okeleji’s professional journey spans multiple industries, including technology, healthcare, education, and agriculture.

His broad experience has fueled his ability to innovate, such as developing SeamlessHR’s earned wage access technology.

This solution, implemented in partnership with PesaLink and DTB, helps close the financial inclusion gap for blue-collar workers and boosts their productivity.

The timing of this solution is particularly important for Kenya, where high lending rates have made financial relief for workers a pressing need.

For his innovation and leadership, Okeleji was recently recognized by BusinessDay as one of Africa’s leading CEOs at the 2023 Top 25 CEOs Award event.

As SeamlessHR continues to grow, the company recently appointed Bryan Kariuki as its vice president for Eastern Africa. Kariuki, a former McKinsey executive, brings over 15 years of experience in driving growth for tech companies across the continent. He will lead SeamlessHR’s operations in East Africa from their office in Nairobi, Kenya.

Kariuki’s impressive background includes leadership roles at Cellulant, Copia Global, Jumia, and Travelstart. He has launched and scaled successful startups and business units across Africa and is highly regarded for his deep understanding of the African tech landscape. Kariuki was honored as one of Kenya’s Top 25 Men in Digital in 2022 and was recognized in Business Daily’s Top 40 Men under 40 list in 2016.

SeamlessHR, now present in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and Botswana, serves nearly 1,000 medium to large enterprises in over 20 countries. The company recently raised $10 million in Series A funding to support its Pan-African expansion and develop new embedded finance products. It also partners with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on a project focused on improving the lives of blue-collar workers in Africa.

Through its cutting-edge technology, SeamlessHR is reshaping how businesses manage their HR and payroll processes, from hiring to retirement, and is playing a crucial role in Africa’s future.