Sprout Solutions, a Philippine-based HR tech startup, announced today that it raised about $10.7 million in a Series B funding round anchored by US venture capital firm Cercano Management.
The funding round, which brings Sprout’s total funds raised to date to $18.3 million, was also participated by SoftBank Ventures Asia, AFG Partners, GSR Ventures, Integra Partners, ACA Investments, and Mynavi Corporation.
The Series B round followed the $6-million Series A funding that Sprout Solutions raised in 2019, anchored by Point72 Ventures, the venture capital firm of American billionaire Steve Cohen.
Sprout is a payroll and human resources platform founded in 2015 by husband and wife duo Patrick and Alex Gentry.
Its platform automates HR processes such as payroll management, employee benefits administration, time and attendance tracking, and performance management. The startup also offers an employee self-service portal where employees can access their payroll, benefits, and personal information online.
Sprout claims to have over 1,000 corporate clients and 180,000 active users in the Philippines across various industries. It offers a tailor-made, end-to-end HR platform that caters to industries such as logistics, BPO, retail, entertainment, information technology, financial services, real estate, and healthcare.
The fresh funding will be used to accelerate the startup’s growth and further expand its product offerings, said Patrick Gentry, CEO and co-founder of Sprout.
“Securing this funding is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and our commitment to providing best-in-class HR and business solutions to companies in the Philippines,” Gentry said.
The investment also marks the first investment by Cercano, SoftBank Ventures Asia, GSR Ventures, ACA Investments, and Mynavi Corporation in a Philippines-based company, according to the announcement.
“We see immense potential in the solutions they are building and are excited to join them on this journey,” said Tommy Teo, Managing Director and Head of Southeast Asia at Cercano Management.
The Philippines has a highly complex labor law where employee record keeping, government compliance of payroll reporting, and employee time-keeping are major pain points, according to Harris Yang, vice president of SoftBank Ventures Asia.
“Through its localized digital HRIS, payroll, and time-keeping solutions, we believe Sprout will be the leader in HR digitization in the Philippines,” Yang added.