KhayaHR

KhayaHR is a South African startup building an AI-first workforce platform for the country's frontline economy, including domestic work, housekeeping, cleaning, care, hospitality, retail and general labour. Workers build a portable digital workforce passport holding identity and right-to-work confirmation, skills, experience, references, certificates, availability and optional voice or video introductions; profiles are published only after identity and right to work in South Africa are confirmed. Through Khaya Connect, employers can search the workforce, and Khaya AI turns a natural-language hiring requirement into a structured search. The platform also offers an HR and payroll system for households and small businesses (PAYE, SDL and UIF calculations, contracts, leave and payslips), an on-demand AI HR assistant, and KhayaHR Academy short mobile certificate courses. Founded by Jacques Roux and run by a husband-and-wife team, the company is self-funded. It launched in May 2026 and, as reported by Disrupt Africa in October 2026, says more than 12,000 workers have signed up, spanning all nine provinces and 50 occupations. Revenue comes from employers paying to connect with workers, per-employee HR and payroll subscriptions, Academy courses and sourcing/placement programmes for larger employers. It plans to expand into selected Southern African markets through local partnerships.