Bento Africa, a Nigerian HR technology startup, has temporarily halted operations.
The company, which had previously faced allegations of tax and pension irregularities, made this decision following the resignation of its founder and CEO, Ebun Okubanjo, and the layoff of its engineering team after protests over unpaid January salaries.
In January, the company laid off its 10-person engineering team after they refused to work due to not receiving their January salaries. Despite resigning on January 30, Okubanjo told employees on January 31 that the salaries would be “strategically delayed” to prioritize processing client payroll.
The layoffs severely disrupted Bento’s operations, particularly the processing of client payrolls. Several clients had previously shared on social media that Bento had not processed salaries for their employees in the first week of February.
The company, which had previously automated salary disbursements, had switched to manual processing in 2024 due to issues with payment processors and underfunded accounts.
In three emails sent to customers, Bento confirmed that it had paid staff their January salaries and reactivated key personnel to restore functionality. The company plans to refund clients who are unable to receive salary disbursements before the close of business on Tuesday.
The salary payment issues, combined with the CEO’s sudden resignation and allegations of financial discrepancies, have made the company’s future uncertain. However, Bento assured customers in another email that normalcy would soon be restored.