The cash deal, which gives BAS Group over 50% ownership, will enable the company to strengthen its presence in the country’s fragmented small and medium enterprise (SME) lending market.

All of Zuvy’s institutional investors have exited. Co-founders Angel Onuoha and Ahmad Shehu retain minority stakes but are no longer involved in daily operations. BAS Group now assumes full operational control of Zuvy, integrating it into its broader financial services architecture.

The acquisition is a structural change and BAS Group is targeting Nigeria’s massive credit gap, estimated at $236 billion, that continues to limit small business growth.

Startup Zuvy Raises $4.5 Million to Revolutionize SME Invoice Financing in Africa

Through the incorporation of Zuvy’s invoice-discounting model, BAS can now offer SME credit without traditional collateral, leveraging verified invoices as a basis for lending.

“Think of the Zuvy platform as another add-on under our finance arm,” said Abdulateef Hussein, CEO and founder of BAS Group. “It’s going to be very seamless for us because it’s just a new product added to our lending offerings.”

This model isn’t entirely new, but Zuvy had managed to build a credible vendor pipeline, offering short-term (60 to 90-day) loans against invoices verified by large corporate buyers. 

With partners like Dangote, Rite Foods, and Eat n’ Go, Zuvy’s network gave BAS Group an efficient route to expand its SME loan book while reducing lending risk. Hussein noted that, “Most SMEs in Nigeria don’t have real estate or collateral, and even when they do, the approval process is long.”

Zuvy’s strategy wasn’t always sustainable. Initially a direct lender, the startup struggled with scalability as it depended heavily on external fundraising. That model changed when the team pivoted to loan origination, enabling partnerships with financiers while sacrificing some control over loan disbursement. 

This resulted in Zuvy scaling its portfolio tenfold. But growth alone wasn’t enough to keep the founders at the helm.

“Zuvy was profitable at the time of acquisition,” Onuoha confirmed, even as he and Shehu stepped away to focus on their new venture, Avelis Health, which was accepted into Y Combinator’s Summer 2025 cohort. 

“When you’re doing direct lending, you have full control over the exact types of loans you want to disburse, but it relies on constant fundraising to actually scale your loan book,” he added.

Their exit was premeditated. The two officially disengaged from Zuvy in March. Their new startup, Avelis Health, tackles complex medical billing in the United States, an idea born from personal experience. “I’ve had a chronic knee injury for the past decade,” Onuoha said. 

“In the US, medical billing is an extremely complex system. Oftentimes, when you go to the hospital, you’re massively overcharged, and your bills are full of errors. I wanted to find a way to help patients push back against those bills and give them the tools to actually pay fair prices for the care they receive.”

Meanwhile, BAS is moving ahead. In 2025, the group launched BAS Finance Company with a set of products including payroll loans, vehicle-backed loans, and collateral-based SME lending. 

But many businesses fell through the cracks. The Zuvy acquisition fills that gap, offering alternative credit lines for vendors who can’t meet traditional loan requirements but have solid invoice histories with blue-chip firms.

BAS currently manages a ₦1.5 billion loan book and plans to integrate Zuvy’s tech-driven platform to scale distribution. According to the group, no layoffs are expected, and Zuvy’s product and development teams will continue under BAS management. The integration will be led by Kayode Adnan, BAS Group’s COO.

This aligns with BAS Group’s longer-term strategy of building a seamless ecosystem of financial services. Already holding stakes in a microfinance bank and a licensed microinsurance company (ALLYCare and ALLY Microinsurance), the group is layering these services to deliver bundled offerings; banking, health cover, invoice financing, under one roof.

“We are excited about this acquisition,” Hussein said. “A lot of the infrastructure is ready. It is just for us to scale it with our capital and institutional relationships in the market. A lot of the repayments we will be receiving will now be channelled through the Zuvy platform.”

The company, founded in 2021 and currently headquartered in Nigeria, aims to address the common challenges faced by SMEs when it comes to securing timely payments and managing their cash flows effectively.

Zuvy was born out of a fortuitous encounter on Twitter, where co-founders Angel Onuoha and Ahmad Shehu connected over their shared passion for digitizing financial services and supporting small businesses in Africa.

They recognized the prevalent issue of payment delays that plague SMEs in Nigeria, with some large corporations taking up to 90 days to settle invoices for services rendered. While this practice may benefit the cash flow of these corporations, it significantly impacts SMEs with limited financial resources.

The primary focus of Zuvy lies in serving businesses operating in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), healthcare, and supply chain sectors, where payment delays are most pronounced. To access Zuvy’s innovative invoice financing solution, businesses simply submit their invoices, and in return, Zuvy provides them with much-needed cash.

To ensure the legitimacy of the loan applications and facilitate easier repayment, Zuvy establishes a connection with the business receiving the services. The receiving business confirms the relationship with the invoice-issuing business and agrees to direct the repayment to Zuvy. Repayment terms are flexible and tailored to the specific needs of each business, ranging from 30 to 90 days.

By leveraging its collaboration with the service recipients, Zuvy enhances the credibility of the loan applications, streamlines the repayment process, and reduces the risk of default.

The company also employs internal metrics to determine the eligibility of businesses for financing. Compared to traditional loans, Onuoha believes that invoice financing offers a more suitable and accessible option for small businesses seeking capital.

Before launching Zuvy, Angel Onuoha held a position as a product manager at Google and co-founded BLK Capital Management, a student-run hedge fund, during his time as an undergraduate at Harvard University. Meanwhile, Ahmad Shehu previously served as a product engineer at Mono, a startup specializing in open banking solutions.

Zuvy operates on a revenue model that involves charging a fee for cash advances. Additionally, users gain access to a digital wallet, made possible through strategic partnerships with select commercial banks.

The company’s inventory management tool, integrated into its platform, allows users to issue invoices and manage their finances efficiently. This feature enables Zuvy to determine the appropriate level of financing to offer to each business, customizing the offers based on their specific requirements and repayment capacity.

TLG Capital, a prominent investment firm, led Zuvy’s funding round, which consisted of a combination of debt — $4 million and equity — $580,000. Several other venture capital firms and angel investors also participated in the funding round. The debt portion of the investment will be instrumental in expanding Zuvy’s loan book, catering to the growing demand from vendors across Nigeria.

Zuvy’s innovative approach to invoice financing and its commitment to supporting SMEs in Africa positions it as a game-changer in the financial services landscape. With its secured funding, the company is poised to revolutionize the way SMEs manage their cash flows, empowering them to thrive and contribute to the region’s economic growth.