01
Legal fragmentation
54 states, 54 labour codes, sector-level collective agreements, contribution caps changing every year. No single playbook holds at continental scale.
About Kernel
An HRTech built for global companies and African talents.
Kernel was built to remove the complexity of recruiting and managing HR in Africa. One platform, local teams employed by Kernel, a single point of contact, a single master agreement, a single invoice. The same standard in Abidjan, Nairobi, Casablanca, Lagos or Cape Town.
"54 countries, one expertise."
Our guiding principle since day one.
54countries
in Africa covered, with no exception.
8services
coordinated, from EOR to incorporation.
2023
founded with a pan-African thesis.
100 %
of field teams employed directly by Kernel.
Andrea Goudal
Founder and CEO of Kernel
Our genesis
Hiring in Africa will be your next best decision.
Before founding Kernel, Andrea Goudal built WIIN.io, a SaaS platform adopted by more than 350,000 users and deployed at Boston Consulting Group, Renault Group, AFD, EDF and BNP Paribas. To sustain that growth, the team quickly scaled to 40 people, split between France and Togo.
Faced with a shortage of tech, product and operations profiles in France, opening an office in West Africa changed the trajectory of the company: multiplied recruiting capacity, sharply lower turnover, rebalanced workloads, and an ideal time zone for working with Europe. The distributed team became the operational engine of WIIN.io.
After WIIN.io’s successful exit, Kernel was founded to let any company replicate that model: hiring their own talents in Africa with a real local employment contract, a declared payroll, a compliant framework, and the same standard of rigour they would expect anywhere else in the world. Putting African skills on the global stage is the mission of Kernel.
To deliver on that promise, a structural choice was made from day one: no opportunistic partnerships, but a proprietary client platform and lawyers, accountants and HR managers employed directly by Kernel across African countries. This is what makes the Kernel promise real: 54 African countries, one point of contact, the same standard everywhere.
"Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not. Kernel was built to close that gap, giving global companies a simple, compliant and lasting way to access African skills."
The diagnosis
Four barriers blocked Africa for international companies.
Before Kernel, hiring on the continent imposed four major frictions, each enough to derail an otherwise promising project.
02
Monetary dispersion
Over 40 local currencies, two distinct CFA franc zones (XOF UEMOA, XAF CEMAC), changing FX rules, heterogeneous payment rails (banks, mobile money).
03
Contractor misclassification
African freelancers are often paid through invoices without a compliant contract. The risk of reclassification into an employment contract is real and costly.
04
No single point of contact
Stacking local firms, one per country, multiplies contracts, invoices and quality standards. At five countries, governance becomes unmanageable for HR or Finance.
Our history
The milestones that shaped Kernel.
In just three years, Kernel evolved from a founding insight into an operational HR partner covering the 54 African countries. Each milestone below reflects a deliberate decision: picking the right pilot markets, industrialising the platform, broadening the catalogue, then deepening physical presence across the continent.
- 2023
Kernel is founded, first pilot countries
Kernel is created with a clear thesis: African coverage cannot be outsourced, it has to be built. First operations launch in Togo, Madagascar, Tunisia and Mauritius. Four markets selected for the diversity of their legal regimes (OHADA, French civil law, common law, offshore zone) to stress-test the hybrid model of proprietary tech and locally employed teams across radically different contexts.
- 2024
First unified platform release, 15 countries live
The proprietary Kernel platform goes live: EOR, COR, multi-currency payroll, contractor management and consolidated multi-country reporting, all in a single interface. Operations expand to 15 African countries spanning francophone, anglophone and lusophone zones. Local lawyers, accountants and HR managers are employed directly by Kernel, never subcontracted.
- 2025
Catalogue diversification beyond employment
Kernel broadens its catalogue to become a complete HR partner: Office (workspaces and seats), IT (hardware sourcing and logistics coordination), Incorporate (local legal entity setup) and Recruit (sourcing and documented shortlists). Clients can now run an end-to-end use case, from sourcing to entity creation, with a single point of contact.
- 2026
Casablanca hub opens, francophone Africa anchored
Kernel opens its regional hub in Casablanca to deepen presence across francophone Africa and coordinate operations across UEMOA, CEMAC and the Maghreb from Morocco. Operational coverage reaches all 54 African countries with a homogeneous standard: one master agreement, one consolidated monthly invoice, the same level of rigour everywhere.
Our model
Tech and field, in one single motion.
Kernel combines two inseparable building blocks: a proprietary platform and human teams employed on the ground. Technology automates what must be automated (payslips, contributions, local-currency transfers, compliance alerts). Field teams bring what no API can deliver: context reading, dialogue with social funds, cultural translation between a European manager and an African employee.
This hybridisation, rooted in our 2018 conviction, is what allows us to keep the operational promise: wherever you are in the world, you hire in Africa the way you would hire in Paris or London, with the same level of rigour and compliance.
Proprietary platform
Contracts, payroll, contractors, IT, offices, compliance, consolidated reporting: all in a single interface.
Employed teams
Lawyers, accountants and HR managers employed by Kernel in African countries, never outsourced.
Single point of contact
One master agreement, one consolidated monthly invoice, one dedicated support account, wherever you operate.
Native compliance
Local labour law, social contributions, tax, currencies and GDPR reporting built in by default.
Our commitments
Four non-negotiable principles.
Beyond operational efficiency, Kernel takes a clear stance on the social role of recruitment in Africa. These four principles guide every contract we sign.
No undeclared work, ever
Every Kernel collaborator has a locally compliant contract, declared payroll and active social cover.
Fair pay
We align on local salary standards country by country. No low-cost logic, no downward arbitrage.
Talent retention
We do not facilitate brain drain. We make staying and working from home attractive.
Measured transparency
Public pricing, tracked commitments, annual impact report. No grey areas in our operations.
Why it matters
A formal job in Africa sustains an entire household.
According to World Bank estimates, a qualified declared job in Africa supports on average 4 to 6 dependents: spouse, children, parents, sometimes nephews or nieces in school. Each Kernel contract does not stabilise an individual, it stabilises a family trajectory.
1.4 B
people in Africa in 2026.
United Nations
60 %
of the population is under 25.
African Development Bank
4 to 6
dependents per formal job.
World Bank
2.5 B
people expected by 2050.
United Nations
Go further
To understand Kernel in depth.
Press room
Press contacts, media kit, brand guidelines, articles.
Social impact
Our manifesto and concrete impact commitments.
Africa locations
Interactive map of all 54 countries and detailed market fiches.
Customer stories
The voice of corporate clients and African talents.
EOR comparator
Kernel versus other providers: coverage, model, pricing.
Partner program
Become a Kernel partner: integrators, consulting, distribution.
Let’s talk
An HR project in Africa? Let’s discuss directly.
Whether you are preparing a first hire, a market study or a multi-country consolidation, our experts support you, free of charge, to frame your need and the optimal scenario.