Nigeria’s Digital Payroll Platform Bento Expands to Kenya, Rwanda And Ghana

Bento, a digital payroll and human resource management platform, is expanding to Ghana, Kenya, and Rwanda with plans to set up operations in six other markets in Africa over the next year.

The startup, founded in 2019, is helping businesses automate the disbursement of salaries and other statutory remittances, including taxes and pensions.

Bento said that its platform is leveraging data to extend credit solutions to third parties (employees) and other services like unemployment insurance, savings, and investments.

Its proprietary credit engine, built in partnership with Israel’s Tarya, ensures the disbursement of instant loans.

Bento currently serves over 900 businesses in Nigeria, including healthcare and financial service companies such as Hygeia and Tangerine Africa, and Y Combinator-backed startups Paystack, Kobo360, Branch, and LORI Systems.

Bento co-founder and CEO Ebun Okubanjo told TechCrunch: “Seeing so many companies using analog methods to manage their workforce is both frustrating and exciting for us. Employers don’t have access to locally customized, world-class payroll and HRM tools, and employees can’t easily access third-party services to help make life easier.

“When you think about it, your salary powers your life, so we’re building the operating system that will have a profound impact on the African continent for generations to come.”