Responsible lending
Borrowing responsibly
Credit is useful when it is affordable and harmful when it is not. This page sets out how we try to keep it on the right side of that line — and what to do if it has already crossed it.
Our commitments
What we hold ourselves to
- 01
We size the loan to your income
Affordability is assessed against verified income and the trading or household cycle the loan sits in — not against the maximum you could theoretically service. This is why a first loan is small.
- 02
We show the cost before you commit
Every installment, its date and its amount appear on a repayment schedule you review before accepting. You can decline at that point at no cost and with no mark against your record.
- 03
We do not add charges after the fact
No charge is ever applied to a live loan that was not on the schedule you accepted, and the rate on your agreement is fixed for the life of that loan.
- 04
We would rather restructure than pursue
If a schedule has become unaffordable, talk to us. Restructuring a live loan is nearly always a better outcome for a borrower — and for us — than letting it fall into arrears.
Before you borrow
Signs you should not take this loan
Every one of the following is a reason to pause. None of them is necessarily a reason we would decline you — which is exactly why they are worth checking yourself, before you apply.
Think again if
- You are borrowing to repay another loan
- The installment would leave you short of food, rent or school fees
- You are not sure how you would repay if income arrived a month late
- You are borrowing more than the specific thing you need actually costs
- You are relying on income that is not yet confirmed
Work the installment out against your real monthly income first. Our repayment calculator takes a few seconds and asks nothing of you.
If you are struggling
What to do if you cannot make a payment
Most borrowers who fall behind do so because something changed, not because they decided to stop paying. We would far rather hear about it early.
- 01
Contact us before the due date
This is the single most useful thing you can do. A schedule that has not yet been breached can be discussed; one already in arrears is much harder to unwind.
- 02
Tell us what actually changed
Lost work, a bad season, a medical cost, a customer who has not paid. What we can do depends on the situation, and we cannot work with what we do not know.
- 03
We look at restructuring the schedule
Where the underlying income still exists but the timing has moved, reshaping the schedule around it is usually possible. It is not automatic — but it is always worth asking.
- 04
Do not take a second loan to cover the first
Borrowing to repay borrowing is the fastest route into a debt spiral. Overdue installments pause further borrowing with us for exactly this reason.
Talk to us
Call +263 242 700 145 or email info@alectormicrofinance.co.zw. There is no charge for the conversation, and asking about a struggling loan does not by itself count against your record.
Your rights
Complaints and how to escalate
Raising a complaint
Email info@alectormicrofinance.co.zwwith your full name, the phone number on your account and what happened, putting “Complaint” in the subject line.
If the first response does not resolve matters, ask for it to be escalated. If you remain dissatisfied you retain the right to take the matter to the relevant regulator — being a registered institution is what makes that route available to you.
What you are entitled to
- An explanation of any credit decision made about you
- A full repayment schedule before you accept any loan
- Sight of what drives your Alector trust score
- A named person accountable for your application
- Escalation to a regulator if we cannot resolve it
Protect yourself from fraud
Alector will never ask you to pay a fee to release a loan, and will never ask for your password or a one-time code. Our only phone number is +263 242 700 145 and our only email address is info@alectormicrofinance.co.zw. Anyone contacting you otherwise is not us.
Keep reading
Read next
Rates and fees
Published rates for every product, what is charged and when, and how repayments are applied.
Read moreRepayment calculator
Check an installment against your income before you apply for anything.
Read moreContact us
Phone, WhatsApp and email, plus our Harare office address and opening hours.
Read more
Borrow only what you can repay
If it is affordable, applying takes a couple of minutes and you will see the full schedule before you commit.
Free to apply · No hidden fees · Most applications reviewed the same working day