BAS Group, a diversified Nigerian investment firm with interests across healthcare, micro-insurance, and finance, has acquired a controlling stake in Zuvy Technologies, a fintech startup based in Lagos that offers invoice discounting services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although the value of the all-cash transaction remains undisclosed, BAS now owns over 50% of the company and has assumed operational leadership.
As part of the acquisition, all institutional investors in Zuvy have been fully bought out. The company’s co-founders, Angel Onuoha and Ahmad Shehu, will retain minority interests but have stepped back from day-to-day operations.
The move underscores BAS Group’s intent to solidify its presence in Nigeria’s SME finance landscape, which faces a $236 billion credit deficit. The acquisition adds invoice-backed credit solutions to BAS’s lending portfolio, empowering suppliers—particularly those serving large FMCG firms—to receive early payments on their invoices without traditional collateral.
“Zuvy will be integrated as a new product offering within our finance division,” said Abdulateef Hussein, CEO and founder of BAS Group, in a statement to TechCabal. “We’re not starting from scratch. It’s about building on an existing platform with our capital and market reach.”
Zuvy’s model offers short-term loans (typically 60 to 90 days) to vendors after their invoices have been verified by the large companies they supply. BAS was drawn to Zuvy’s extensive vendor network and sees the invoice discounting model as a lower-risk method to scale credit access. Leveraging the credibility of anchor clients like Dangote Group, Eat n’ Go, and Rite Foods, the firm believes it can expedite lending decisions and mitigate default risk.
With existing ventures like ALLY Microinsurance and a stake in ALLYCare Microfinance Bank, BAS plans to complement Zuvy’s tech infrastructure with additional services—including micro-insurance, health plans, and credit-life cover—delivering a more comprehensive suite of financial tools to SMEs.
“We’re excited about the possibilities this opens up,” Hussein noted. “Much of the infrastructure is already in place; our role now is to inject the resources and partnerships needed to scale it.”
Zuvy’s Journey and Strategic Pivot
Founded in 2021, Zuvy initially operated as a direct lender before pivoting to a loan origination model. Over 1,500 businesses have secured financing via its platform, thanks to partnerships with firms like TLG Capital and Advancly. In 2023, Zuvy raised $4.5 million through a combination of debt and equity, drawing support from TLG Capital, Dunbar Capital, Next Chymia Consulting HK, and several angel investors. According to Onuoha, the company has fully repaid its $4 million debt.
Despite successfully building infrastructure for invoice financing and closing critical short-term credit gaps, Zuvy faced limitations in scaling its loan book due to its dependence on continuous fundraising. To address this, the team transitioned to a loan origination approach, trading off some control in exchange for greater scalability.
“With direct lending, you retain control but are limited by how much capital you can raise. With origination, you scale faster,” said Onuoha. “We grew our loan book by over 10x after making the switch.”
He confirmed that Zuvy was profitable at the time of its acquisition.
Future Plans Under BAS
Conversations around the acquisition had been underway for several months. Once Zuvy’s founders aligned with BAS Group’s strategic vision and its experience in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem, the deal was finalized. BAS plans to leverage its broader financial services infrastructure to accelerate Zuvy’s reach and capabilities.
BAS Group established its finance arm, BAS Finance Company, in 2025 with three flagship products: payroll loans, vehicle-backed lending, and collateral-secured SME loans. However, these products excluded many SMEs lacking traditional assets.
“Many SMEs don’t own property or can’t wait for lengthy loan approvals,” Hussein explained. “By using invoice discounting, we can offer them credit backed by their verified receivables from trusted buyers.”
BAS currently manages a ₦1.5 billion (approximately $967,000) loan book. Moving forward, all repayments and disbursements will be processed through Zuvy’s tech-enabled platform, led by Kayode Adnan, COO of BAS and head of its lending operations.
The acquisition will not affect existing Zuvy staff. Its technology and business development teams will remain under the BAS umbrella, ensuring continuity in operations and company culture.
“We’ve maintained close ties with Zuvy’s founders, so integration will be smooth,” Hussein added.
A New Chapter for the Founders
Having exited operational roles earlier this year, Onuoha and Shehu have launched a new venture—Avelis Health, a U.S.-based startup that helps patients identify and resolve errors in their medical bills. The company has been accepted into Y Combinator’s Summer 2025 cohort.
“My long-standing knee injury exposed me to how opaque and error-prone the U.S. healthcare billing system can be,” said Onuoha. “We want to empower patients to pay only what’s fair by flagging discrepancies in their medical expenses.”
While Zuvy now enters a new phase under BAS, its co-founders are shifting their attention to tackling inefficiencies in an entirely different sector—healthcare.
