Registered microfinance institution· RBZ-MFI-2024-017
Mbizi Working Capital
Mbizi Working Capital is Alector’s business loan for Zimbabwe’s small and informal enterprises — the wholesalers, retailers, hardware traders, transporters and service businesses that account for most of the country’s employment but sit outside conventional bank lending.
Overview
It is deliberately short-dated. Working capital funds a trading cycle: buy stock, sell it, repay. Matching the term to that cycle keeps the total cost of credit low and stops a business carrying debt beyond the turn it was raised for.
How it works
Most of our SME borrowers have no audited accounts. We look at sales records, stock turnover and your repayment history with us — evidence a real business actually generates.
A working-capital loan should be repaid out of the trade it financed. We size the facility against that cycle rather than against the maximum you could theoretically service.
Amount, rate, term and every installment date are on your schedule before acceptance. Applying is free and there are no hidden fees.
Businesses that repay cleanly move up the trust tiers and reach materially larger limits — up to eight times the starting limit at gold tier.
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 hardware trader knows demand triples in the two months before the rains. Buying that stock early means a better wholesale price, but ties up more cash than the business holds.
What we would suggest: Size the facility to the stock being bought, and set the term so it ends after the selling season rather than during it. This is the cleanest use of working capital there is: the trade repays the loan that funded it.
A supplier has completed and delivered an order for a large customer on 60-day terms. The work is done, the money is certain, but wages and the next order cannot wait 60 days.
What we would suggest: A short facility bridges the receivable. Keep the term close to the payment terms — borrowing over six months to bridge a 60-day gap means paying for four months of credit you did not need.
A fabrication workshop wins a job that needs steel and consumables up front, with payment on completion in six weeks.
What we would suggest: Bring the contract or purchase order to your application. Evidence that the revenue is contracted rather than hoped-for strengthens the assessment and helps us size the facility properly.
A trader has run a stall for four years, has consistent takings, and has never formally registered the business.
What we would suggest: Registration is not required. What we need is verifiable evidence of trading over at least six months — sales records, stock purchase receipts, invoices or bank statements. Informal is not the same as unassessable.
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.
Working capital multiplies an existing trade; it does not create demand. If you have not yet sold the product at that volume, the loan is funding a hypothesis, and the instalments are not hypothetical.
If the loan funds stock but the instalment comes out of household income, neither the business nor the household can be assessed properly. Keep the trading account separate — it also makes your next application far stronger.
A six-month facility on a machine that pays for itself over three years produces an instalment almost nobody can service. See our vehicle and equipment guide for what to do instead.
The right facility is the size of the trade you are funding. Anything above that is stock sitting unsold with interest running against it.
Honest routing
Sending someone to the wrong facility helps nobody. If any of the following describes you, start there instead.
FAQ
Yes. Mbizi Working Capital is built for informal enterprises. A registration certificate helps but is not required — what we need is verifiable evidence of trading, such as sales records, invoices or stock purchase receipts covering at least six months.
Mbizi runs from $200 to $5,000 over terms of up to six months. New borrowers typically start lower and grow their limit as their repayment record builds.
Alector lends primarily against your trading record and trust score rather than against security. Where collateral or a guarantor is required for a larger facility, we tell you before you apply, not after.
Yes. Payments are applied to your oldest unpaid installment first and reflect on your schedule immediately, so settling ahead of schedule reduces what you carry.
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
Seasonal financing for seed, fertiliser, chemicals and livestock inputs, structured around the harvest.
Read moreWhat we can and cannot fund when a business needs an asset — stated plainly, including when to go elsewhere.
Read moreA short salary-backed advance that bridges the gap to payday, for anyone on a regular wage.
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