Registered microfinance institution· RBZ-MFI-2024-017
Alector Starter
Most Zimbabweans have never held a formal loan, which means they have no credit record — and without a record, conventional lenders have nothing to assess. The Alector Starter Loan exists to break that circle.
Overview
It is small and short by design. The point is not the amount; it is that repaying it creates the verifiable track record that unlocks everything else we offer.
How it works
New customers begin with a limit of up to $500. It is deliberately modest — enough to be useful, small enough that repaying it is realistic.
Your Alector trust score is built from your actual repayment record with us, not from a bureau file you have never seen.
Repaying on time moves you from new through bronze and silver to gold. At gold tier your limit reaches up to eight times where you started.
We show you what drives your score. If a decision looks wrong to you there is a person to ask — the reasoning is not hidden behind a model you cannot see.
Before you apply
Everything is uploaded from your phone — there is no branch queue. Read how the application process works for the full sequence, or check rates and fees before you commit.
In practice
Illustrative situations, not real customers. They are here because the useful question is rarely “what is the rate” — it is “is this the right instrument for what I am actually trying to do”.
A borrower with steady income has been declined by a bank, not because of anything they did, but because there is no record of them ever having borrowed.
What we would suggest: This is the circle the Starter Loan exists to break. Take a small amount you are certain you can repay, repay it on schedule, and you have manufactured the record that was missing.
Someone considering a larger facility later wants to see how a lender actually behaves — whether the schedule matches what was promised, whether payments post correctly.
What we would suggest: A deliberately small first loan is a reasonable way to audit any lender, including us. Check that the schedule you were shown is the schedule you were charged.
A trader wants working capital in six months but has no formal borrowing history to support the amount they will need.
What we would suggest: Two settled Starter Loans create a repayment record that materially strengthens a later Mbizi application. The sequencing is the strategy.
Avoid these
Several of these cost us margin to tell you. They are here because a borrower who takes the right facility repays it, and a borrower who takes the wrong one does not.
The amount is modest; the record it creates is not. A missed instalment on $200 damages your standing exactly as much as one on $2,000 — which cuts both ways, and is the entire point.
Curiosity is not a use case. Interest runs on money that is sitting unused, and a loan taken without a purpose is the easiest one to fall behind on.
Tiers move with settled instalments, not with elapsed time. One repayment does not make a record; a completed loan does.
Honest routing
Sending someone to the wrong facility helps nobody. If any of the following describes you, start there instead.
FAQ
Yes — that is exactly what the Alector Starter Loan is for. New customers start with a limit of up to $500, assessed on income and identity rather than on a prior credit file.
Your limit moves with your trust score, which is built from settled installments. Borrowers who repay on time progress through bronze, silver and gold, reaching up to eight times their starting limit at gold tier.
No. Applying is free. Any fee that applies to your loan is shown on your schedule before you accept it.
New borrowing is paused while an installment is overdue. Where an existing loan is in good standing, additional borrowing is assessed against your trust score and current exposure — talk to a loan officer about your situation.
Terminology
If any of these are unfamiliar, that is worth fixing before you sign anything — with us or with anyone else.
Availability
Applications are handled online and reviewed by the same team wherever you are. Our office is in Harare.
Keep reading
A short salary-backed advance that bridges the gap to payday, for anyone on a regular wage.
Read moreShort-term working capital for traders, retailers and informal SMEs who need to restock or bridge a receivable.
Read moreFunding a term’s fees when the invoice lands before the money does — and which Alector product to use.
Read moreApplying is free and takes a couple of minutes. You will see your limit and full repayment schedule before you accept anything.
Free to apply · No hidden fees · Most applications reviewed the same working day
+263 242 700 145 · Free to apply · No hidden fees