Ebun Okubanjo, CEO of payroll and employee benefits platform Bento Africa, has resigned following allegations of financial management, specifically the failure to remit taxes and pension contributions on behalf of its clients.
Per TechCabal, his resignation, which was communicated via an email to the company’s board, also involves him relinquishing both his equity and debt holdings in Bento.
Fuelmetrics, a digital inventory management firm, and AltSchool, an edtech company, have both accused Bento of withholding taxes and pension contributions, amounting to approximately ₦50 million ($108,000) for 2023 and 2024.
The allegations surfaced on Friday and have led to doubts about the company’s ability to effectively manage the payroll and human resource needs of its clients.
The timing of Okubanjo’s resignation also adds complexity to the matter. Bento’s leadership has been rough in recent years, with Okubanjo stepping down in March 2022 after facing issues of verbal abuse and facilitating a toxic work environment.
Although he returned as CEO in September 2022, his decision to leave now could be seen as a reflection of the company’s current challenges. It was reported that Okubanjo had hinted at stepping down earlier, and in a January 2025 email to investors, he suggested a search for his successor.
In his resignation email, Okubanjo alluded to the difficulty of scaling payroll systems in Africa, pointing to the continent’s differing taxation structures.
He explained, “If Africa adopts the Western style of taxation and remittances—these companies are gold mines. I use Gusto in the U.S. not because I want to, but because I have to. Until that happens—scale will be a challenge.”
Nonetheless, Bento continued to attract investors, including Berrywood Capital, Flexcap Ventures, and angel investors. The company, which was founded in 2019, has worked with clients like Moniepoint, Lori Systems, Paystack, and Kobo360.
However, the allegations of mismanagement and the company’s opaque communication with investors have led to growing doubts. Several investors are discouraged by Bento’s lack of transparency, with some revealing that they were unaware of Okubanjo’s resignation until they were contacted by TechCabal.
Bento now has to face the aftermath of Okubanjo’s resignation, dealing with a damaged reputation, unanswered financial obligations, and questions about its future.
Investors and clients are looking for clarity on how the company plans to address these issues and whether it can continue its growth, especially given the absence of a clear successor to the exiting Bento Africa CEO, Okubanjo.
Focused on training individuals with in-demand tech skills, Nigerian edtech startup AltSchool has expanded into Europe.
This follows the company’s successful participation in the SuperCharger Ventures accelerator programme, one of the largest edtech-focused accelerators globally.
The new European operations will be based in Malta, where the startup plans to set up a hybrid learning model, blending online courses with in-person engagements for greater learner interaction and support.
AltSchool was founded in 2021 to provide accessible, high-quality education in areas like engineering, data analytics, and business.
The startup has already established a strong presence in Africa, with over 100,000 learners across 12 countries, and it is now looking to extend its reach to European markets.
By 2025, AltSchool plans to welcome its first cohort of learners in Malta, with initial programmes covering cloud engineering, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and data science.
AltSchool’s founder and CEO, Adewale Yusuf, explained that the company’s mission is to create opportunities for individuals to transform their lives through accessible education, while also supporting businesses in building the teams they need to drive innovation.
He noted the growing demand for tech skills across Europe, especially in light of the digital skills shortages that many companies face. “Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not,” Yusuf said, emphasising the startup’s focus on addressing this gap.
As part of its expansion strategy, AltSchool will be adopting a hybrid learning approach in Europe, combining its successful online model with in-person sessions in Malta.
This is a change from its predominantly virtual operations in Africa, where the company has garnered considerable attention for its flexible learning programmes.
Rachael Onoja, the head of innovation and market expansion at AltSchool, noted that this approach allows the startup to leverage the best elements of traditional and modern education methods. “We want to take the best of both sides,” Onoja explained.
In addition to individual learners, AltSchool will explore business-to-business (B2B) partnerships in Europe, offering tailored training programmes to help organisations upskill their employees.
This will allow the startup to diversify its revenue streams, which have traditionally focused on individual learners. Onoja also revealed that the company is in talks with local businesses to offer enterprise licensing for workforce development.
AltSchool’s expansion into Europe marks a critical juncture in its growth journey. The company is actively seeking new hires in business development, marketing, and content production to support its efforts.
As the European market presents new challenges, AltSchool’s core offerings in cloud engineering, cybersecurity, AI, and data science are expected to address the pressing demand for skilled professionals in these fields.
Shortly, AltSchool aims to establish further partnerships with local universities, governments, and businesses to enhance its impact and expand its accreditation in Malta.
School records40% course completion rate in the first year, with Falzthebahdguy and Mr. Macaroni set to join faculty
Skill-to-market platform AltSchool Africa, has expanded its learning faculty to introduce Creative Economy, and Business schools, following an impressive 40% completion rate in its first year.
Taking a non-conventional approach to learning, the tech-enabled platform has traditionally offered courses directly related to in-code and no-code courses.
Strengthening its push in the edtech sector, AltSchool Africa has included content creation, sales, and music business – using Afrobeats as a case study, to its existing nine courses, with applications now open for the first cohort of these new streams.
In the last two years, AltSchool Africa facilitated nearly 3 million hours of training for tech roles, including software engineering, data science, and product design.
The new programs are focused on non-traditional careers beyond the technology field, and are designed to provide a comprehensive and experiential upskilling platform for aspiring learners looking to forge careers in other growing sectors. With the ongoing adoption and expansion of technology on the continent, Africa has witnessed a burgeoning interest in its creative economy.
AltSchool Africa’s team
As a result, a new wave of nonconformist career paths have emerged (for example, music management, content creation, and influencer marketing). This shift in thinking has enabled young people to reimagine their goals as well as career prospects outside of technology; with AltSchool spearheading a new era in learning for the continent.
Prolific Nigerian artist Falzthebahdguy (Folarin Falana) and well-known content creator and actor Mr. Macaroni (Adebowale Adedayo) have been named as two of the facilitators for the creative economy school while media personality Do2dtun (Oladotun Ojuolape Kayode) was recently named as the school’s Creator Relations Director. Other facilitators joining AltSchool Africa’s business faculty include Nigerian film director and cinematographer Nora Awolowo, multi award winning music journalist Joey Akan, and content creator Aproko Doctor (Chinonso Egemba).
Africa’s music streaming market is projected to reach US$372.80M in 2023, with an annual growth rate of 8.89%. At this rate, the projected market volume will be approximately US$524M by 2027. With some of the most popular streaming services only introduced to the continent late in the last decade, the relevance of jobs within this and the wider creative economy has increased.
Co-founded by Adewale Yusuf,Akintunde Sultan, and Opeyemi Awoyemi in 2021, AltSchool Africa has, since its inception, received over 50,000 applications from at least 83 countries, with the majority of applicants coming from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, and the United Kingdom. The platform has successfully enrolled more than 20,000 learners.
Speaking on the launch and call for applications, Co-Founder and CEO of AltSchool Africa, Adewale Yusuf, said, “Our goal is to create a fun and communal learning platform for all Africans to develop their skills, regardless of their previous education or background. Our unique teaching methods have proven successful in helping our learners better retain information, demonstrating that we understand the complexities of how online education works. We are excited to announce the addition of these two new faculties, with qualified experts leading the courses. These industries were specifically chosen for their rapid growth, and we want to help people quickly enhance their careers in these fields. In Africa, many individuals earn low salaries due to a lack of essential job skills training. However, our platform aims to make a positive impact by connecting individuals with the necessary skills for the job market, enabling them to grow and reach their full potential. By doing so, we aspire to contribute to a brighter future for the continent”.
Dr. Ademola Akinrinola, Director of Curriculum and Learning Experience Design at AltSchool Africa, added, “As someone who joined AltSchool Africa from the University of Texas, I understand the significance of an upskilling platform like AltSchool in preparing individuals for career success – locally and internationally. The AltSchool curriculum is designed to cater to learners of all levels, from beginners to experts, who possess a natural curiosity and a drive to solve problems”.
Rachel Onoja, Head of Operations at AltSchool Africa shared, “We are committed to providing our learners with a fun, informative, and accessible learning experience. We believe that our learners should feel a sense of belonging as they learn in communities and that their time with us should be a profitable investment in their future”.
Over 90 percent of youths aged 15-24 in Africa are part of the informal sector with very low pay due to lack of relevant skills. This underscores the pressing urgency to enhance Africa’s workforce through upskilling initiatives. With about 321 million youths projected to enter the workforce by 2030, upskilling is vital for quality job prospects post-tertiary education.
AltSchool Africa is championing the mission to empower every individual with the knowledge, skills, and career opportunities they need to thrive in the modern world. The platform is empowering learners to thrive by fostering creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills that will set them up for success.
The programmes offered have no educational requirements and can be completed in as little as six weeks with course fees starting from $100.
Nigeria’s AltSchool has raised $1,000,000 in pre-seed funding to scale its efforts in technical and software skills training.
The investment will enable AltSchool to build its content and curriculum, technology infrastructure and community concept, where students will meet offline to network and learn together.
Founded by Adewale Yusuf, Akintunde Sultan and Opeyemi AwoyemI, AltSchool enables thousands of individuals make money via marketable skills rather than banking on degrees all the time.
Leveraging its digital platform, AltSchool provides a curriculum to improve and upskill individuals without technical skills, helping them gain these soft skills while partnering with higher institutions to provide diploma certificates within a short and effective period. All that’s needed to participate in the programme is a high school certificate and computer literacy.
The programme provides new applicants with a home study kit in preparation for an assessment test. Those admitted into the school, meeting a pass mark of 85%, will take a software engineering course with three tracks: frontend engineering, backend engineering and cloud engineering. In the one-year programme, students take classes for nine months – three semesters, followed by a three-month internship at local tech companies to gain experience.
Those who do not get admitted into its programme are not left out. AltSchool gives them access to the platform’s first-semester content for free and practice. If they stick to the end of the three-month curriculum, AltSchool will provide avenues for them to complete the entire nine-month programme.
In AltSchool’s pipeline are courses on product, blockchain and data. It intends to launch the product modules, including product management, marketing and design, by Q2 this year. The company is also exploring B2B partnerships with private schools in Nigeria and Africa, using AltSchool’s curriculum in their classes.
So far, more than 8,000 people have applied (the application fee is ₦10,000, almost ~$20) to participate in AltSchool’s software engineering program, which starts in April. These applications came from 19 countries (including 14 African countries) and Yusuf said the company received the most entries from Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and Botswana.
