Olufemi Adeyemi

Nigerian HR software company Bento Africa is hitting pause on transactions after co-founder and CEO Ebun Okunbanjo decided to step down. He shared the news with investors via email, mentioning that he plans to start a new chapter with Ada AI, an AI-driven sales assistant.

Okunbanjo's exit comes amid accusations that the startup hasn't been remitting PAYE deductions for some clients. Akintunde Sultan, co-founder of AltSchool, previously claimed that Bento failed to handle pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) and pensions properly, even providing fake receipts to suggest otherwise. The Lagos Inland Revenue Service (LIRS) is now investigating the company.

In his email, Okunbanjo pointed to issues with Bento's business model as a reason for his departure.

"I started to confide in some of you early last year that our thesis was not working. We did change it to something more pared down, but it is time for me to journey on. If Africa adopts the Western style of taxation and remittances, these companies are gold mines," the email read.

This isn’t the first time he’s had to leave the company. After facing allegations of a toxic work culture in 2022, he took a brief hiatus and, according to his recent email, stepped down again in 2024.

While the latest allegations seem to have accelerated his decision, his resignation raises concerns about the startup's leadership. Bento claims to have processed over $40 million in payroll since it started, and Okunbanjo has often highlighted its successes.

With his departure, Bento's board will need to find a new leader, but this could also create acquisition opportunities for other companies in the field. Although HR tech startups have emerged in Nigeria recently, the market might not be very large, given that the informal sector dominates job creation. This could lead to a trend of consolidation in the industry.