About EMPLOI
We're building the corridor between US companies and South African talent.
One route, done properly. EMPLOI is the Employer of Record built exclusively for US companies hiring in South Africa — combining deep local labour expertise, world-class payroll infrastructure, and a talent bench that runs on the same clock as your team.
Our mission
Talent should move faster than paperwork.
South Africa has one of the deepest engineering, finance, and support talent pools in the emerging world — English-first, US-timezone-friendly, and priced 60–70% below equivalent US hires. And yet most US companies never touch it, because standing up an entity in Johannesburg is a nine-month legal project.
We built EMPLOI to make that nine months feel like nine days. You interview. We hire, pay, benefit, and protect. Your new team member starts on Monday.
One corridor. Deep expertise. Zero compromise on compliance.
What we believe
Four values we hire, fire, and ship by.
Compliance as craft
BCEA, LRA, POPIA, SARS — we treat every clause as design. Zero shortcuts, zero surprises for our clients or our talent.
Talent-first, always
Great placements need great homes. We pay fairly, benefit generously, and advocate loudly for every person we employ.
Borderless by design
One corridor, done well. We say no to global sprawl so we can say yes to the deepest expertise on the SA–US route.
Ship the boring stuff
Payroll, contracts, tax. If it's operational, we automate it. If it's human, we show up in person.
Our story
From one painful hire to a hiring corridor.
The idea
Founders spent 18 months hiring South African engineers into a US Series B. The paperwork was brutal, the talent was extraordinary. They saw a corridor.
EMPLOI launches
Incorporated in Cape Town and Delaware. First 10 EoR placements go live inside 90 days — every one still with us today.
Scale the corridor
Cross 200 employees under management. Open the Johannesburg office. Ship the Talent Explorer and Savings Calculator.
Where we are now
500+ placements across 80+ US companies. A team of 45 across Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Austin — and just getting started.
Leadership
Operators who've walked the corridor themselves.
Thandi Mokoena
Co-founder & CEO
Ex-Stripe (Dublin), built SA operations for two YC companies. Cape Town.
James Okafor
Co-founder & COO
Employment lawyer turned operator. 12 years advising multinationals on SA labour law.
Sarah Chen
Head of US Growth
Previously scaled sales at Deel and Remote. Austin, TX.
Nadia van Wyk
Head of People
SHRM-CP. Ran talent at Amazon Development Centre Cape Town.
Ready to walk the corridor with us?
Book a 30-minute call with a founder. We'll map your first three roles, share market-rate comps, and show you what compliant SA hiring looks like end-to-end.