During Uncertain Times, Kamal Reggad Built a Game-Changing Service for Remote Workers

In September 2019, Kamal Reggad started a business travel and expense management platform. Over the next nine months, he raised seed funding and prepared to launch — just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and brought business travel to a halt. It was clear that he needed to pivot fast to create a business that could thrive in a new environment.

He noticed that once the pandemic took hold of the global economy, everyone was hiring remotely, but no one knew how to do it. And workers had to deal with the burdens of trying to work for companies that struggled to serve them.

Kamal’s experience starting a remote-first company over the previous nine months helped him see firsthand the pain points of hiring remote employees in different countries. Each country has its unique challenges. For example, a remote worker in Morocco can’t get health insurance if their company is based in another country. Workers in other emerging countries cannot get paid in USD.

Kamal became determined to facilitate remote hiring for companies and empower remote workers.

That was how Kamal created RemotePass, the UAE company that provides an HR & Fintech platform for onboarding, managing, paying, and retaining remote employees and contractors. It officially launched in January 2021, serving seven countries. Currently, it supports thousands of remote workers spread across 103 nations.

RemotePass today announced a Series A investment round of $5.5 million, led by 212 Ventures, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst.

Scaling Impact

RemotePass is not Kamal’s first foray into building a business that lifts up workers and businesses in emerging markets. He is a serial entrepreneur who has been an Endeavor Entrepreneur since 2015. After graduating from school in Boston and working for some large software companies, Kamal returned to Morocco where he grew up to start his first venture. In 2011, he launched Hmizate, the first e-commerce company launched in Morocco. In a country lacking early-stage venture capital, Kamal created one of Morocco’s first successful startups.

By 2014, Hmizate carved out 65% of the e-commerce market share in Morocco with over 600,000 members and 1.7 million products. After the company was sold in 2019, Kamal was ready to continue his impact. He launched his travel and expense management platform just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic, which led him to pivot to RemotePass.

A Global Solution

After his pivot in 2020, Kamal wanted to return money to his pre-seed investors before starting RemotePass. After all, they had invested in a business travel platform, not a hiring, onboarding, and payroll solution. But as he spoke with them, Kamal discovered they were investing in him as a founder, not the specific business idea. And now with RemotePass active in so many countries and growing in exciting new directions, their investment paid off.

“The beauty of serial entrepreneurs like Kamal is that their impact doesn’t stop at their first company. We are so happy to support his journey since Hmizate and now with RemotePass as a remote company coming out of the UAE,” says Margaret Pollack, Head of Capital and Investments at Endeavor Catalyst.

Kamal’s vision was to go all in on helping remote workers in emerging markets. The platform not only helps onboard workers but also offers remote workers the same ecosystem of services and benefits as someone sitting in a local office. Companies can instantly create localized contracts, automate onboarding with identity verification, and process mass international payroll, all in one place. Remote teams can get paid in the currency of their choice, decide how and when to transfer, hold funds through the RemotePass USD debit card, and access premium health insurance and benefits.

With this new round of funding, Kamal plans to expand RemotePass’s ecosystem of fintech services for remote workers to include relocation, tax, and payout methods as well as enter new markets.

When tech companies from all over the world can hire people from places they may not be familiar with, opportunities are equally spread. Companies in the United States can use the service to tap into the talent in Africa. Remote workers in Egypt can count on a consistent pay stub and not worry about currency fluctuation affecting loan or visa applications. A contractor in Angola can offer their family health insurance through the platform. With this simple shift, Kamal and RemotePass are changing the lives of global workers and distributing wealth to emerging markets.