Local arm launched for SME financing platform with a R10 billion target

The Zvilo Group has announced the launch of Zvilo South Africa, which should prove of interest to local SMEs looking to access financing solutions. For those unfamiliar, the Zvilo Group is a trade finance and working capital solutions provider, with this recent announcement said to be its largest expansion to date.

To that end, Zvilo South Africa has an initial working capital deployment target of R2 billion, with it also pointing out that a clear roadmap to R10 billion in funding over the next three to five years is in place.

As it has been well documented, the local SME market is key to South Africa’s GDP, with the country’s economic success directly tied to that sector of the larger business ecosystem.

As essential as SMEs are to the South African economy, Zvilo SA noted that many remain constrained by limited access to affordable working capital.

“In fact, the country’s SME financing gap is estimated at R350 billion and growing. Zvilo SA aims to help bridge this gap by providing fast, scalable working capital solutions that unlock liquidity where needed across supply chains to enable these businesses to grow with confidence,” it shared in a release to Hypertext.

“Access to smart, structured working capital can truly transform a business. When SMEs receive the liquidity they need at the right time, not only can they invest in areas of growth, but they create additional jobs, strengthen their supply chains and participate more fully in the economy,” added Admir Imami, CEO and founder of Zvilo Group.

In terms of its recent track record, over the past four years, Zvilo pointed out that it has developed and scaled working capital programmes that have enabled SMEs across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. These efforts have seen SMEs specifically grow and strengthen supply chains. Here, the company has deployed working capital solutions to SMEs across 41 markets, disbursing more than €440 million (~R8.1 billion) as of the end of Q3 2026.

With R10 billion targeted within the next five years, the expansion into South Africa is notable.

As for said operations, Zvilo South Africa will be led by Peter Maila (pictured above, right), serving as its CEO. He is joined by Palesa Mabasa (pictured above, left) and Shiko Mbambu (pictured above, centre) as managing partners.

“By combining Zvilo’s proven international track record with deep local market expertise, we have a unique opportunity to unlock meaningful capital at scale and help address one of the biggest barriers to SME growth,” noted Maila.

“I am excited to work alongside Palesa, Shiko and our broader ecosystem of partners to strengthen supply chains, accelerate SME growth and expand access to finance across South Africa. We also see significant opportunities to build on this foundation and bring the Zvilo model to other African markets, helping businesses across the continent in the years ahead,” he concluded.

[Image – Provided]

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