[Nigeria] Bento Africa temporarily halts operations

Bento Africa, the Nigerian HR technology startup plagued by allegations of tax and pension irregularities, has temporarily ceased operations, Fintech Magazine reports.

This decision follows the resignation of founder and CEO Ebun Okubanjo and the dismissal of Bento's engineering team in the wake of a protest over unpaid January salaries.

“We will proceed to temporarily shut down operations to bring stability back to the company,” the company’s board stated in an email obtained by TechCabal. 

The board reportedly advised clients to refrain from funding their payroll positions during this period and expressed confidence in a quick return to normal operations. Bento’s troubles escalated in January when its 10-person tech team was laid off after employees refused to work until their January salaries were paid. 

According to Google Chat messages reviewed by TechCabal, despite his January 30 resignation Mr Okubanjo informed employees on January 31 that salaries would be “strategically delayed” to prioritise client payroll.  Employees subsequently decided to suspend operations until they received the payments due, citing financial difficulties.

The layoffs effectively paralysed Bento’s operations, particularly its payroll processing services. Several clients publicly shared failures to receive employee payroll in the first week of February.  

Bento Africa had previously automated salary disbursements but it has been manually processing payments since 2024 due to issues with payment processors and reconciling underfunded accounts.

In a subsequent email to customers, Bento reportedly claimed to have paid staff their January salaries and “reactivated key staff to aid in bringing core functionality back online to clear outstanding payroll obligations triggered by our clients.”  However, it continued to face challenges in disbursing payments for some customers.

Bento committed to refunding clients whose salaries cannot be processed by the close of business on February 11. The combination of all its recent problems casts significant doubt on the company’s future yet Bento’s board has assured customers of their belief in a prompt return to normal.

Source: Fintech Magazine

(Quotes via original reporting)

Bento Africa, the Nigerian HR technology startup plagued by allegations of tax and pension irregularities, has temporarily ceased operations, Fintech Magazine reports.

This decision follows the resignation of founder and CEO Ebun Okubanjo and the dismissal of Bento's engineering team in the wake of a protest over unpaid January salaries.

“We will proceed to temporarily shut down operations to bring stability back to the company,” the company’s board stated in an email obtained by TechCabal. 

The board reportedly advised clients to refrain from funding their payroll positions during this period and expressed confidence in a quick return to normal operations. Bento’s troubles escalated in January when its 10-person tech team was laid off after employees refused to work until their January salaries were paid. 

According to Google Chat messages reviewed by TechCabal, despite his January 30 resignation Mr Okubanjo informed employees on January 31 that salaries would be “strategically delayed” to prioritise client payroll.  Employees subsequently decided to suspend operations until they received the payments due, citing financial difficulties.

The layoffs effectively paralysed Bento’s operations, particularly its payroll processing services. Several clients publicly shared failures to receive employee payroll in the first week of February.  

Bento Africa had previously automated salary disbursements but it has been manually processing payments since 2024 due to issues with payment processors and reconciling underfunded accounts.

In a subsequent email to customers, Bento reportedly claimed to have paid staff their January salaries and “reactivated key staff to aid in bringing core functionality back online to clear outstanding payroll obligations triggered by our clients.”  However, it continued to face challenges in disbursing payments for some customers.

Bento committed to refunding clients whose salaries cannot be processed by the close of business on February 11. The combination of all its recent problems casts significant doubt on the company’s future yet Bento’s board has assured customers of their belief in a prompt return to normal.

Source: Fintech Magazine

(Quotes via original reporting)