Pricing

Loan rates and fees

Every rate we charge is published here, before you apply. Applying is free, and any fee that applies to your loan appears on your repayment schedule before you accept it.

Published rates

What each product costs

Published starting interest rates, amounts and terms by Alector Microfinance loan product
Product	Amount	Rate from	Maximum term
Chapupu Salary Advance	$50 – $1,500	from 10%	up to 3 months
Mbizi Working Capital	$200 – $5,000	from 15%	up to 6 months
Zunde Agri-Input	$300 – $8,000	from 18%	up to 12 months
Alector Starter	$100 – $500	from 12%	up to 3 months

How to read these rates

These are published starting rates. The rate offered to you depends on the product, the term you choose and your Alector trust score. Your repayment schedule is the authoritative document: it lists every installment, its due date and its exact amount, and it is generated for you to review before you accept anything. Add those installments together and you have the total cost of your loan, in real figures rather than as a percentage.

Fees

What we charge, and what we do not

Our commitments on charges

Applying is free — there is no application or assessment fee
Every charge that applies to your loan appears on your repayment schedule before you accept it
The rate on your signed agreement is fixed for the life of that loan
No charge is ever added to a live loan that was not on the schedule you accepted
Paying ahead of schedule reduces what you carry — settlement is applied immediately

How repayments are applied

Every payment you make is applied to your oldest unpaid installment first. That order is fixed, and it means a payment always reduces the part of your loan closest to falling overdue.

Payments reflect on your schedule immediately, so you can always see what is settled and what is still outstanding. Paying more than the installment due, or paying early, reduces what you carry.

If you fall behind

What happens when a payment is missed

We send an SMS reminder before every installment falls due. If one is missed it is flagged as overdue: your trust score falls, and new borrowing is paused until it is settled.

The single most useful thing you can do is talk to us before a due date rather than after. A schedule that has become unaffordable can often be restructured; an installment already in arrears is much harder to unwind, for both of us.

Before you borrow, check it is affordable

Work out the installment against your actual monthly income before you apply. Our repayment calculator gives an indicative figure in seconds, and our responsible lending page sets out how we assess affordability.

FAQ

Questions about rates and fees

What interest rate will I actually pay?

Your rate starts from the published rate for your product and is confirmed on your repayment schedule before you accept it. Rates start at 10% for the Chapupu Salary Advance, 12% for the Alector Starter Loan, 15% for Mbizi Working Capital and 18% for Zunde Agri-Input.

How do I find out the total cost of my loan?

Your repayment schedule lists every installment, its due date and its amount before you accept the loan. Adding those together is the total you will pay — we show it as real figures on a schedule rather than as a percentage you have to convert yourself.

Does Alector charge an application fee?

No. Applying is free and carries no obligation. You can register, complete KYC, submit an application and review a full repayment schedule without paying anything, and decline at that point at no cost.

What happens if I miss an installment?

A missed installment is flagged as overdue, which pauses new borrowing until it is settled and lowers your trust score. We send SMS reminders before every due date — if you know a payment will be late, contact us before it falls due so the schedule can be discussed rather than breached.

Can my interest rate change during the loan?

No. Whatever rate appears on your agreement is fixed for the life of that loan. A different loan taken later may carry a different rate, but a live agreement does not move.

Why do agricultural loans cost more than salary advances?

Price follows risk and duration. A salary advance is repaid over three months against a verified monthly income; an agricultural loan carries a full season — up to twelve months — before a harvest can realistically repay it, and that period carries weather and commodity-price risk.