Bento, a pan-African digital payroll and HR Management (HRM) platform, has been launched in Ghana as part of its plans to support companies and employees with payrolls, and grow the companies’ reach across the continent.
Founded in Nigeria in 2019, Bento automates salary payments, taxes, pensions and other statutory remittances through its cloud-based platform for African businesses with a single click.
Bento is registered and mandated to run payroll on behalf of companies who use the excel payroll system. The system is run digitally, and processes companies’ statutory tax obligations and remittances, including GRA and SSNIT.
In an interview, Country Director for Bento, Saddick Abubakar, revealed that Bento supports companies struggling to pay their employees on time by pre-financing their payrolls and allowing for a payment plan for the company to pay later at a minimum interest rate of GH¢3 per employee.
He said: “We deal with the finance manager and HRM and do a demo and upload all the data you have onto the platform. So automatically, we can even run your payroll for you on the same day. We charge as low as GH¢3 per employee; and I need to emphasise that our role doesn’t take away the role of the finance officer, but increases their efficiency in managing the finances of the company”.
Mr. Saddick added that for employees, the platform offers access to third-party services, such as credit solutions of up to six months of their monthly salary – which include the ability to pay school fees and rent monthly rather than yearly, unemployment insurance, savings, investments and much more, all at no cost to employers.
“There are other opportunities that the employees get to benefit, like the salary advance. We give as much as six times of your net at a minimal rate of just 4 percent per month and this takes a maximum period of 48 hours. So you just download the app, apply through the app, and we credit your account. We follow the financial industry standard of giving you up to 40 percent of your salary,” he said.
According to the Country Manager, the payroll and HR Management market in Africa is a vast untapped opportunity with over 400 million people in the labour force. He said African businesses have mainly remained analogue up until now, using spreadsheets and bulk upload on bank portals, bank transfers, cheques, and even cash.
He encouraged small and medium-sized enterprises to take advantage of the role that Bento is offering in order to take off the pressure of the excel system, and “we will help you and provide your pay slips that you can receive on the phone, including your bank statements.
Currently, Bento operates in 10 African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda, and will adapt its products to local cultural and financial nuances, obtaining full operating licenses in each market. The company also plans to launch in Egypt, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Angola and Senegal.
