In a surprising turn of events, Ebun Okubanjo, the CEO of Nigerian HR-tech startup Bento Africa, has resigned from his position. The news comes amidst allegations of the company's failure to remit taxes and pensions on behalf of its clients, which led to an investigation by the Lagos Inland Revenue Service (LIRS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Okubanjo had earlier attributed the issue to the limitations of Nigeria's complex and outdated tax and pension systems, and had promised to work with the LIRS to repay owed taxes.

However, Okubanjo's resignation letter to the company's board of directors cited the difficulty of scaling HR and payroll systems in Africa as the reason for his departure. This marks the CEO's second attempt at leaving the startup this year, after he sent a resignation letter to the board in January. The news has come as a shock to some of Bento's investors, who only learned about the resignation through the news.

Meanwhile, in other news, Nigeria's labour union has threatened to protest the recent 50% telecom tariff hike approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The union has described the hike as "insensitive, unjustifiable, and a direct assault" on Nigerians, and has announced plans for a nationwide protest on February 4. The protest could lead to a telecom-wide strike, cutting off millions of Nigerians from telecom services, and potentially causing prolonged outages.

In South Africa, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 7.5%, marking the third consecutive easing. The decision was widely expected, but the apex bank's governor Lesetja Kganyago remains cautious, warning that future cuts may not come as easily. The move brings the prime lending rate for commercial banks down to 11%, and is expected to ease borrowing costs.

In other tech news, Rwandan-based agriculture insurtech company Pula Foundation has secured a $10.4 million grant from Bayer Foundation. Other funding announcements include NjiaPay, a South African fintech startup, which closed an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round, raising over $1 million, and Fincart.io, an Egyptian e-commerce logistics platform, which closed its pre-seed funding round for an undisclosed amount.

Finally, the Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, is set to take place on February 12-13, 2025, providing a platform for African and international investors and tech leaders to drive growth across the continent. The event will connect 2000+ industry leaders, 1000+ companies, and 160+ speakers via four tracks, plus workshops, expo, and multiple networking opportunities.