Bento, Nigerian digital payroll and human resources management platform, is entering Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda, with plans to further expand into six additional African markets in the coming year. The markets considered for the next expansion include Egypt, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Angola, and Ethiopia.
Bento, founded in 2019, digitalizes the processes involved in paying salaries and other HR management procedures. The app enables businesses to automate the payment of employee salaries as well as taxes and pensions.
Ebun Okubanjo, Bento co-founder and CEO, explained that observing companies make use of traditional/analogue methods to manage their workers is a source of inspiration to build the operating system that provides businesses with world-class payroll and HRM tools. The goal is to have a “profound impact” in Africa for the coming generations.
Bento is also planning to offer credit solutions to employees, with other services such as savings, investments, and unemployment insurance. To make provision for instant loans to users, Bento has a partnership with the Israeli fintech company, Tarya.
As of now, in Nigeria, Bento serves over 900 businesses some of which include; Hygeia, Tangerine Africa, Branch, Paystack, Kobo360, and LORI Systems.
Chidozie David Okonkwo, Bento co-founder, and COO said regarding this development; “We’re starting with payroll and HRM, but moving rapidly towards Salary 2.0, where we redefine the intersection of work and life and transform the way people earn, spend and borrow on the continent.
“Having successfully established product-market fit in Nigeria, one of the most difficult markets to penetrate in Africa, we’re excited to roll out across the continent and solve the real problems we know millions of employers and employees face on a daily basis,” Okonkwo added.
