As reported Ebun Okubanjo, CEO and co-founder of Nigerian HR and payroll platform Bento Africa, has stepped down following allegations that the company failed to remit employee taxes and pension contributions on behalf of its clients. In an email to Bento’s board of directors, Okubanjo not only announced his resignation but also confirmed his decision to relinquish all equity and debt holdings in the company. His departure signals a potential fresh chapter for both him and Bento Africa.
In the same email, Okubanjo hinted at launching a new venture, Ada AI, an AI-powered sales assistant. He cited challenges in scaling HR and payroll systems across Africa as a key reason for his exit. “If Africa adopts the Western style of taxation and remittances—these companies are gold mines. I use Gusto in the U.S. not because I want to, but because I have to. Until that happens—scale will be a challenge,” he wrote.
His resignation comes amid a storm of financial mismanagement allegations, particularly concerning unremitted taxes and pensions. The controversy gained traction after Akintunde Sultan, co-founder of edtech company AltSchool, publicly accused Bento of failing to meet its obligations. Additionally, Fuelmetrics, a digital inventory management firm, claimed that Bento had withheld up to ₦50 million ($108,000) in tax and pension remittances for 2023 and 2024.
Okubanjo initially submitted his resignation to Bento’s board on January 11, 2025. His leadership at the company has been marked by turbulence, including a previous resignation in 2022 following allegations of verbal abuse and a toxic work culture. At that time, the board appointed co-founder Chidozie Okonkwo as CEO, but Okubanjo made a surprise return just six months later when Okonkwo stepped down for personal reasons.
Signs of his departure had been brewing for some time. In 2024, Okubanjo had reportedly explored succession options, offering the CEO role to CTO Lede Adeniyi, who declined and left the company in October 2024 to pursue other ventures. In his resignation email, Okubanjo reflected on his leadership journey, calling it “an education” and acknowledging the lessons learned from what he termed “a great failure.”
Despite Okubanjo’s formal resignation on January 11, Bento’s investors were left in the dark for days. Some investors claimed they were not informed, while others suggested the company’s lack of communication had been a persistent issue. One unnamed investor noted that Bento rarely provided updates, while another admitted knowing little about the company’s internal operations.
Founded in 2019, Bento Africa has raised funding from backers including Berrywood Capital and Flexcap Ventures. It provides salary automation, tax and pension remittances, and employee loan access to clients such as Moniepoint, Lori Systems, Paystack, and Kobo360. The company claims to have processed over $40 million in payroll since inception.
However, investor confidence in Bento’s future appears shaky. One investor remarked that the company did not seem to be growing, despite Okubanjo’s assertions that Bento was profitable, handling ₦4-5 billion ($2.6 million) in monthly salary payments and generating ₦24 million ($15,871) in monthly revenue.
As Bento Africa navigates this leadership transition, questions remain about its financial health, transparency, and ability to restore client and investor trust.
