UAE based start-up, Workfam, the employee engagement SaaS platform that supports organizations with their mission to create a happy, healthy, and highly engaged workforce, has joined the portfolio of GELLIFY, a B2B innovation platform that selects, invests in, and grows innovative high-tech startups and connects them to traditional companies to help them innovate their processes, products, and business models.
GELLIFY underwrote the capital increase along with Azimut through the Azimut Digitech Fund, a closed-end alternative B2B venture capital fund that invests exclusively in B2B technology companies, launched in partnership with GELLIFY.
Workfam was founded in the UAE in 2018 by Cameron Collins, former Product Marketing Manager – Cloud & Enterprise at Microsoft, and is a player in the fast growing HR Tech – Employee Engagement market.
In 2019, the HR Tech market was valued at $47.5 billion while the global growth expectations for the sector are at $90 billion in market value in 2025 (an equivalent of a 13.7%).
As companies globally begin to adopt long-term work from home policies, they are turning to HR solutions and software to help them retain high levels of employee engagement.
The modern remote workforce is struggling to remain engaged, motivated, and productive. Furthermore, HR departments are recognizing the importance of both the mental and physical wellbeing of their employees. This topic has now become an integral part of every organization’s HR strategy moving forward.
Workfam helps organizations leverage their employee retention through several stimuli: it provides opportunities for employees to work on their mental and physical wellbeing, giving them access to customized benefits; it allows to create synergies and connections by driving cross-industry and cross-offering collaboration and breaking down workforce silos; it also encourages internal competitions for a healthy lifestyle, through badge collection and rankings; it allows to reward employees for their personal and professional achievements; it leverages data to let the corporate leadership make informed decisions about employee engagement.
GELLIFY’s co-investment transaction with Azimut – through the Azimut Digitech Fund – will help Workfam with its consolidation process and international scale up phase.
This first co-investment transaction by Azimut and GELLIFY lays the foundation for a series of new co-investments in B2B tech startups through a dedicated Fund that will be launched in the Middle East by the end of 2021.
Massimo Cannizzo, CEO and Co-Founder of GELLIFY Middle East, commented: "I am excited to announce the first GELLIFY and Azimut joint Middle East investment in Workfam, an auspicious employee engagement platform based in Dubai, UAE, with promising plans to expand internationally by leveraging GELLIFY global ecosystem. At GELLIFY, we have always believed that a strong ‘Human Centric’ focus is the key in Digital Era, where the global pandemic confirmed that Digital Adoption and Employees Engagement are the real challenges of the future markets. And our co-investment, validates the trust in potential of Workfam and confirms our ‘Human Centric’ focus."
Giorgio Medda, the Azimut Group Co-CEO and Global Head of Asset Management commented: "This transaction marks the acceleration of Azimut’s private markets investment in the GCC. We are pleased that this happening in the UAE, which is a key center of our global integrated asset management platform since 2016, with offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We have big plans to scale this effort up with a brand new fund, domiciled in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, focusing exclusively on B2B tech start-ups rooted and developed out of the UAE and the wider region, which is a testament to a vibrant ecosystem conducive for disruptive innovation with a global potential."
Cameron Collins, the CEO and Founder of Workfam, commented: "Our strategic partnership with GELLIFY and Azimut will support Workfam’s ‘Go Global’ mission. We will use the financing to strengthen our capabilities and maximize the value that we deliver to our current and future stakeholders. Our flexible approach to customization, integration and authentication enables us to successfully differentiate our solution from other HR platforms. Business leaders and HR professionals around the world are looking to reshape their current policies and practices to prioritize employee engagement, wellbeing, and happiness. There has never been a more exciting time to be in the HR Tech market. Attracting and retaining top talent can no longer be achieved by simply offering an appealing fixed salary. Instead, people are flocking to organizations that prioritize culture and work-life balance. We believe we are perfectly positioned to capitalize on the growing market opportunity, and are delighted to have GELLIFY and Azimut join our Workfam.