In 2009 Matthew Verhage got to know Felix Langfeldt. Matthew is a highly experienced salary expert and Felix a software programmer with over 20 years of experience. The two got to talking and that's how the idea arose to create online software specifically for payroll in the Caribbean. The product had to be completely different from existing payroll software and put an end to the traditional old-fashioned way of processing payroll. And so Celery was born. Often Felix and Matthew worked on the software in the evenings and weekends, because both gentlemen ran their own successful company during the day.

Matthew and Felix have a very clear vision and always strive for the highest possible quality. Celery must be easy to learn and, above all, feel very natural. The user must quickly find out how Celery works and not have to search for how it works. Celery was ready in mid-2013 and was extensively tested by several companies for months and the finishing touches were put in place. In January 2014, Celery was officially launched on the Curaçao market as the first online payroll software package. The introduction in other Caribbean countries soon followed and Celery will be expanded with an HRM module at the end of 2017. This module makes it possible to also manage HRM matters online. Celery is now active in Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba and Suriname. More than 53,000 pay slips are processed in Celery every month.

As of October 2018, Curaçao Growth Fund is the proud co-shareholder of Celery. With the participation of Curaçao Growth Fund, Celery has gained an even stronger basis to serve its customers well and to expand its activities considerably in the coming years. Curaçao Growth Fund is a local investment fund with the General Pension Fund (APC) as the main investor.