Zvilo brings its SME financing business to South Africa with R2 billion target

For a small supplier, a big order can create a cash problem. The business has to buy materials, pay workers and deliver the goods before it sees any money from the customer. If payment takes 60 days, the owner must find a way to cover those costs while waiting. Taking on another order can make the situation even harder.

This is the market UK-based finance company Zvilo wants to enter in South Africa. The company plans to provide R2 billion in working capital financing to local small and medium-sized businesses, with an ambition to grow that figure to R10 billion over the next three to five years. According to a MyBroadband report published on 28 October, citing Bloomberg, Zvilo had secured half of its initial R2 billion target and was preparing to deploy the capital.

The company began operating in South Africa in July 2026. Its immediate focus is on businesses supplying large corporate customers, rather than startups that are still trying to establish themselves.

The money is there, but it has not arrived

A supplier can have a signed contract, deliver an order and issue an invoice without having the cash to cover its next round of expenses. This is particularly difficult for smaller businesses working with large customers that take weeks to settle invoices. The supplier may have to pay staff and purchase more stock long before the money from the previous order arrives.

Zvilo plans to finance eligible invoices, giving suppliers access to money before their customers pay. The company intends to work with South Africa's 20 largest listed businesses, including companies in retail, mining, banking and insurance. These businesses would serve as anchor buyers, helping Zvilo identify and finance suppliers within their supply chains.

For a supplier, the arrangement could mean accessing money tied up in an unpaid invoice instead of waiting for the full payment period to run its course. It would not remove the customer's payment obligation or the supplier's debt to the finance provider. The business would still need to understand the repayment terms and the cost of accessing the money early.

A fee that needs to make business sense

Zvilo's reported pricing is between 1% and 2% of the invoice value, according to MyBroadband's report citing Bloomberg. On a R500,000 invoice, that would mean R5,000 to R10,000 if the fee applies to the full invoice amount. Whether that is affordable depends on what the supplier earns from the job and how urgently it needs the cash.

A company with another confirmed order may be willing to pay the fee if early access to money allows it to buy stock and complete the next delivery. A supplier with a narrow profit margin may find the same charge harder to justify. Business owners will need to establish whether the quoted rate is the full cost, how much of an invoice they can access, and whether additional fees apply. They should also compare the offer with bank overdrafts and other invoice-financing services. The important calculation is what the business has left after paying for the work and the finance.

Zvilo is betting on established supply chains

The company's approach depends on businesses that already have corporate customers and invoices that qualify for financing. That gives it a different target market from lenders financing new businesses without a trading record. Zvilo has operated in Kosovo, Serbia, North Macedonia and Turkey. The company has reportedly disbursed more than $501 million to around 3,900 businesses across 41 countries.

Peter Maila has been appointed chief executive of Zvilo Africa, with Palesa Mabasa and Shiko Mbambu leading its South African operations as managing partners. The company estimates South Africa's SME financing gap at R350 billion. Its initial R2 billion target would address only a small part of that gap, while the R10 billion ambition depends on future growth. The targets are sizeable, but the amount announced is not the same as the amount eventually received by small businesses.

What happens next?

Zvilo's plans raise practical questions for South African suppliers. Which invoices will qualify? How long will approval take? Will smaller suppliers be able to access the service on terms they can afford? Those details will determine whether the financing works for the businesses it intends to reach.

Invoice financing can help a supplier cover expenses while waiting for a customer to pay. It cannot, by itself, fix an unprofitable contract or a customer that repeatedly pays late. For businesses with steady orders and money tied up in unpaid invoices, Zvilo could offer another way to manage working capital. The next measure of its progress will be how much of its initial funding is deployed and whether suppliers find the terms worth paying for.