Ghanaian Businesses Stranded as Bento Fails to Remit Taxes and Pensions

Ghanaian businesses have been significantly impacted by Bento Africa’s failure to remit taxes and pension contributions on their behalf. Bento Africa, a payroll management startup that expanded to Ghana in 2021, has been unable to fulfill its obligations to remit these funds, leading to penalties from Ghana’s tax authority for the affected businesses.

Bento repeatedly failed to properly record client information such as employee tax numbers and salary details. Clients were often asked for the same information multiple times, months after registration, causing delays and sometimes resulting in Bento collecting money but not filing the taxes.

Bento Ghana had fewer than 15 employees but experienced frequent staff departures. This high turnover, combined with poor documentation, led to new employees struggling to access necessary data, further delaying tax filings.

Bento’s failure to remit taxes and pensions often resulted in penalties for clients. These penalties depleted Bento’s available funds, making it difficult to make future payments and creating a vicious cycle of delays and more penalties.

Clients reported difficulties resolving issues due to frequent personnel changes and poor communication from Bento’s management, including from former CEO Ebun Okubanjo.

One former client reported over seven months of unpaid PAYE and pension contributions amounting to more than GH₵ 12,000, despite repeated assurances from Bento.

These problems in Ghana mirror Bento’s earlier issues in Nigeria, where similar failures to remit taxes and pensions led to investigations, client fines, and reputational damage. Bento’s expansion appears to have outpaced its operational capacity, raising doubts about its ability to restore trust and stabilize its services in Ghana and other markets.

Bento Africa’s failure to remit taxes and pensions has stranded Ghanaian businesses with unpaid obligations and penalties, primarily due to poor documentation, high staff turnover, financial mismanagement, and inadequate client communication.