Bento Africa, a Nigerian HR-tech startup founded in 2019, has recently come under scrutiny due to allegations of failing to remit tax and pension contributions for its clients. Investigations by the Lagos Inland Revenue Service (LIRS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have further escalated the situation, resulting in the loss of high-profile clients, including Moniepoint, Paystack, Kobo360, and Bamboo.
Multiple sources allege that Bento is implicated in forging tax receipts, delaying pension contributions, and engaging in financial discrepancies. One former client reported ₦50 million ($108,000) in unpaid taxes and pension contributions between 2023 and 2024, raising serious concerns about the company’s financial practices. The allegations were compounded by public claims from Akintunde Sultan, co-founder of AltSchool, who accused Bento of forging tax receipts and remitting only ₦100 monthly after collecting significant payments from startups.
Bento’s CEO and co-founder, Ebun Okubanjo, acknowledged issues with unpaid taxes and stated that the company is working on a resolution, though he emphasized that these discrepancies impact only a small portion of Bento’s user base.
Okubanjo attributed the challenges to Nigeria’s outdated tax and pension systems, which rely heavily on manual processes. He noted that while errors occur in less than 1% of transactions, systemic inefficiencies make a zero-error rate almost unattainable. He also pointed out the difficulty of reconciling records across multiple Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) due to the lack of automation in the regulatory framework.
Former employees and clients, however, challenge these explanations. A former employee alleged that Okubanjo intentionally delayed tax and pension remittances, even when client funds were available. Documents also show delays of up to ten months for some payments. In defense, Okubanjo claimed that delays were addressed once identified, but critics argue that the manual nature of Bento’s processes leaves room for significant lapses. Despite lobbying for direct API integrations with tax and pension systems to improve efficiency, these efforts have yet to materialize.
The controversies have led to an exit of key clients. High-profile firms such as Paystack and Helium Health severed ties with Bento in 2024, stating concerns over reliability. Okubanjo downplayed these departures, framing them as part of Bento’s strategic move toward traditional businesses and SMEs, which he claims are easier to retain and require fewer features than venture-backed startups. Despite the turbulence, Okubanjo asserts that Bento remains profitable, processing ₦4-5 billion ($2.6 million) in monthly salaries and earning ₦24 million ($15,871) in monthly revenue.
Several cultural and systemic factors allowed discrepancies to persist undetected for extended periods. Employees, for instance, rarely monitor their pensions, assuming funds will be destroyed by inflation. Moreover, salary payments—processed on time—masked issues with tax and pension remittances.
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Bento’s reliance on manual bank payments for taxes and pensions also introduced delays, sometimes stretching for months. The lack of regular audits or reconciliations by clients further made the issue worse. Some businesses only discovered discrepancies during regulatory investigations or after employee complaints, often requiring years of backlogged records that Bento struggled to produce. One former HR manager at Kobo360 revealed that Bento delayed providing pension records during an EFCC investigation. The company blamed “glitches” for discrepancies and reportedly obstructed the investigation by refusing to supply comprehensive documentation.
Okubanjo’s leadership has also come under scrutiny. In 2023, he faced allegations of fostering a toxic workplace and briefly stepped aside as CEO. A viral video in 2020, showing him berating a dissatisfied customer at his gym, added to concerns about his management style. These controversies have tarnished Bento’s reputation for the second time in three years, highlighting the challenges of scaling operations in Nigeria’s largely unregulated HR-tech sector.
The situation underscores the need for greater accountability and oversight in Nigeria’s HR-tech sector. While startups like Bento aim to simplify payroll and compliance processes, the absence of regulatory frameworks leaves room for operational inefficiencies and client mistrust.
For businesses, this serves as a reminder that outsourcing payroll and compliance does not exempt them of the responsibility to monitor tax and pension remittances. For employees, it is crucial to actively track pensions and ensure contributions are being made.
