The news
- Vendease has shifted to a performance-based pay system, supplemented by an Equity Share Option Plan (ESOP).
- The company has outlined a five-phase plan to gradually restore salaries to their original levels by December 2025, contingent upon meeting specific performance targets.
- Vendease is concentrating on its software solutions, particularly in sales, payments, and its credit marketplace, while phasing out warehousing and logistics operations to enhance profitability.
In a move aimed at financial sustainability, Vendease, a Nigerian food procurement startup, has restructured its employee compensation and refocused its business strategy.
This development follows a significant workforce reduction, with the company laying off approximately 120 employees — 44% of its staff — in February 2025, marking the second round of layoffs in five months.
Established in 2019 by co-founders Tunde Kara, Olumide Fayankin, Gatumi Aliyu, and Wale Oyepeju, Vendease aimed to streamline food procurement processes for African restaurants and food businesses. By 2022, the startup had moved 400,000 metric tonnes of food for over 2,000 customers, reportedly saving them $2 million in procurement costs and reducing wastage-related losses by nearly $500,000 in Nigeria, its primary market.
Despite these achievements, Vendease faced financial challenges, exacerbated by currency depreciation and inflation, which increased operational costs and squeezed profitability.
In response, the company has implemented a performance-based pay system supplemented by an Equity Share Option Plan (ESOP). The new compensation model includes a five-phase salary recovery plan:
- February 2025: All employees received a flat salary of ₦140,000 (~$90), regardless of previous pay.
- March to May 2025: Salaries to increase to 30% of former levels, contingent upon meeting unspecified performance targets.
- June to August 2025: Compensation will rise to 60% of former salaries.
- September to November 2025: Salaries will reach 90% of previous levels.
- December 2025: Full salary restoration is expected, again contingent on company and employee performance goals.
Unpaid portions of the salaries will convert into share options under the ESOP, with 50% vesting over ten months and the remainder over three years. However, employees can only exercise these options at a board-approved fair market value.
It is still unclear whether these decisions were reached unilaterally or whether employees had a say in them.
A company spokesperson stated that Vendease has restructured both its business and operations, emphasising a focus on facilitating operations with technology rather than handling them directly.
The spokesperson added that the changes aim to encourage employee productivity while steering the company towards financial sustainability, maintaining that Vendease is consistently at break-even and focused on profitability.
With a remaining workforce of slightly over 150 employees, Vendease is betting on internal restructuring, fresh capital, and AI-driven efficiency to cut costs and sustain operations. The company plans to focus more on software-driven growth, doubling down on its sales and payments solutions and credit marketplace, while gradually phasing out warehousing and logistics operations.
