Zvilo expands senior team with appointment of Peter Maila as CEO of Zvilo Africa

Latest senior appointment set to strengthen Zvilo’s market footprint in Africa and help the business ‘go for growth’

April 16th, 2025 Zvilo, a working capital lender to businesses in the EU, Türkiye, Africa, and the Middle East, has made a strategic appointment with Peter Maila joining as CEO of Africa. Peter will spearhead Zvilo’s African expansion as the CEO of Zvilo Africa and serve on the executive committees on a Zvilo global level.

Maila joins Zvilo from FMO, the Netherlands-based entrepreneurial development bank where he was Co-Chief Investment Officer with assets under management of €15 billion comprising of debt and equity across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

This is the second senior hire to go full time at Zvilo in recent months, with Maila joining Admir Imami who became full-time CEO in March this year. Zvilo has grown beyond originally planned, they decided to leave their full-time roles at BII and FMO respectively to dedicate their time in growing Zvilo globally.

Maila brings 30-years of finance and investment experience to Zvilo, where he worked for African and international banks, where he has been instrumental in investments worth over US$3 billion in Africa and South Asia over the last 20 years in FMCG, Infrastructure (incl. renewable energy), Real Estate and TMT (incl. FinTech) using both debt, mezzanine and equity instruments.

Imami and Maila worked together at BII since 2017, as Imami built BII’s trade finance business with commitments over $2bn. Since the inception of Zvilo by Imami, Maila has also invested his personal wealth in Zvilo.

Admir Imami, CEO, Zvilo commented: “We are thrilled to welcome Peter Maila to the team as our CEO of Zvilo Africa. He will bring exceptional experience and depth of expertise in investing and building a book of business, both from African perspective but also from a risk, regulatory and governance prospective. His appointment will dramatically strengthen the leadership team by adding deep strategic insight, which will be pivotal in driving growth across the African continent, attracting impactful partners, maximising value and helping reduce the African $120bn trade gap.”

Zvilo services local and cross-border trade finance needs of entire supply chains, ensuring businesses have the working capital they need, when they need it, for sustainable long-term growth.

Peter Maila added: “I am thrilled to join Zvilo at such an exciting time, as Zvilo seeks to strengthen its market footprint into Africa and help drive its expansion across the continent. The senior team at Zvilo – led by my old colleague Admir Imami – are determined to go for growth, which is why we have both dedicated ourselves to the business.

“The company has ambitious plans to help reduce the $2.5 trillion global trade gap, of which $120bn of that is in Africa. I am keen to partner with Admir and bring further innovation into reducing the trade gap in Africa first and there after across the globe. I’m looking forward to adding my experience to the team and making Zvilo a market leader of providing working capital for the many businesses in Africa and beyond, who need the liquidity to finance for input or trade with their intra Africa partners and the globe.”

Notes to editors

About Zvilo

Zvilo was established to offer working capital to underserved SMEs and corporates in emerging markets aiding in local, regional, and global expansion. Zvilo aims to meet borrower needs, deliver impressive investor returns, and reduce the global trade finance gap through its trade finance solutions.