JuiceMe has acquired Ajiraworks, a compliance-focused employment firm operating across the UK and Kenya, in a strategic move aimed at strengthening its Employer of Record offering across African markets. The company has also appointed Ajiraworks founder Catherine Ochako as Global Director, Employer of Record, while bringing her onto JuiceMe’s board and shareholder base. Announced in Nairobi on May 13, 2026, the deal gives JuiceMe direct access to Ajiraworks’ operational systems, compliance infrastructure, and cross-border employment expertise.
Acquisition Strengthens JuiceMe’s African Expansion Strategy
The acquisition reflects JuiceMe’s view that scaling employment infrastructure in Africa requires more than technology alone. By bringing Ajiraworks in-house, the company is integrating a tested compliance model rather than building one from the ground up. This gives JuiceMe a faster route to market while reducing the operational risks often associated with entering multiple African jurisdictions.
Ajiraworks was created to address common barriers companies face when hiring and managing teams across African markets. These challenges include fragmented labour regulations, uneven payroll systems, and limited local employment infrastructure. Through the transaction, JuiceMe gains Ajiraworks’ market entry frameworks, compliance processes, and partner relationships across key jurisdictions.
Catherine Ochako Takes On Global EOR Leadership Role
Ochako joins JuiceMe with more than ten years of experience in cross-border employment operations. Before founding Ajiraworks, she built an Employer of Record function from the ground up, expanding operations across 29 markets and managing distributed teams in the UK, South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya. Her new role will focus on building a structured employment layer that allows companies to hire, pay, and manage African talent with compliance and consistency.
Commenting on the deal, Ochako said companies often prioritize speed when expanding into new markets but can expose themselves to risk without the right operational structure. She noted that the larger opportunity is to create systems that allow businesses to grow quickly while remaining compliant and in control. According to Ochako, combining Ajiraworks with JuiceMe will help deliver that balance.
JuiceMe Positions EOR Infrastructure as Core Growth Driver
JuiceMe said the acquisition will accelerate the development of its expanded EOR platform by incorporating systems that would have taken years to replicate organically. Lawrence Diamond, co-founder of JuiceMe, described the transaction as a deliberate step to speed up the company’s work across Africa. He said Ajiraworks had already addressed many of the difficult operational and compliance issues that companies encounter in cross-border employment.
Sandile Dlamini, founder of JuiceMe, also emphasized the complexity of hiring across African markets. He said many companies underestimate the operational demands of cross-border employment on the continent. Dlamini added that Ochako brings not only expertise but also practical infrastructure, including compliance systems, operating procedures, and local market knowledge developed through years of execution.
The acquisition of Ajiraworks marks a significant expansion of JuiceMe’s workforce infrastructure ambitions in Africa. By combining Ajiraworks’ compliance-led model with JuiceMe’s broader platform, the company is positioning itself to support global businesses seeking to hire and manage talent across the continent. With Ochako leading the EOR function, JuiceMe aims to offer companies a more structured, reliable, and locally informed path to African market expansion.