Afranga Review 2026: Regulated 13.92% from Bulgaria!

What is Afranga?

Afranga is a Bulgaria-based P2P lending platform where investors primarily invest in business loans from a range of international loan originators, while earning above-average returns of up to 16%.

The P2P platform was originally launched in 2021 by the Bulgarian company Stik-Credit JSC as a funding tool for its own lending operations. Its origin story is therefore comparable to other P2P platforms such as Esketit (AvaFin Holding) or Lendermarket (Creditstar).

Since receiving its license under the European Crowdfunding Regulation (ECSP) in 2023, Afranga has been operating as an independent P2P platform. Nevertheless, its structure remains closely tied to Stik Credit. With the addition of external lenders, Afranga evolved into a P2P lending marketplace in 2025.

At its core, Afranga is characterized by competitive interest rates of up to 16%, regulatory compliance, and segregated investor accounts via Lemonway.

Afranga at a Glance

All key facts and figures about Afranga at a glance.

For those who prefer watching over reading, take a look at my Afranga video review (August 2025):

Business Model

How does Afranga make money? Similar to other P2P lending marketplaces, Afranga primarily monetizes through brokerage fees charged to the loan originators. According to the Afranga price list, this fee can be as high as 10% per annum. The market average usually ranges between 2% and 3%.

Additionally, loan originators are charged a one-time fee of EUR 3,000 for the evaluation of a potential collaboration. Investors, on the other hand, do not incur any costs or fees. Neither for account maintenance, deposits, withdrawals, nor any other services.

Ownership and Management

Who are the key shareholders behind the scenes? And which individuals are responsible for the operational management of the P2P platform? Let’s take a closer look in the following sections of my Afranga review.

Afranga Ownership

Who owns Afranga? The P2P platform is officially operated by the Bulgarian company “Afranga EOOD.” A look into the Bulgarian company register reveals that Svetlin Nikolov Sabev, CEO and founder of Afranga, is also the sole shareholder of the platform.

He is an experienced entrepreneur in the fintech sector who, among other things, has been working for Stik-Credit since 2018 and also co-founded Lendivo, the first new loan originator on Afranga.

Afranga Management

Here is a list of the key individuals leading Afranga’s operational management:

• Svetlin Sabev: A fintech entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in consumer finance. He is the COO of Stikcredit as well as the CEO and visionary behind Afranga.
• Yonko Chuklev: A senior executive specializing in compliance and finance. He brings more than 15 years of experience in corporate management, legal oversight, and financial administration.
• Veniamin Istomin: Joined the Afranga team in September 2024. Formerly Head of Business Development at Bondster. His core expertise lies in onboarding loan originators.

Sign Up and Bonus

To register on Afranga, the following requirements must be met:

• Minimum age of 18 years
• Citizenship or residence in the European Economic Area (EEA)
• Citizenship or residence in Switzerland

The registration process is simple and intuitive. After opening an account using an email address, users must complete questionnaires for KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering). This is followed by identity verification and providing the tax residency information.

Legal entities also have the option to register with Afranga. In this case, the company must be based in the EEA or Switzerland.

Afranga Bonus

Interested in investing with Afranga? By registering through my partner link, you can also get an additional cashback bonus. Investors receive a 0.5% cashback on all investments made within the first 90 days after successful registration.

A platform overview with all bonus offers and cashback promotions can be found on the bonus page.

Afranga Forum

The P2P lending industry is a fast-moving environment. Hence, make sure to stay on top of all relevant information by subscribing to my channels on Telegram or WhatsApp. This way, you will always receive the latest information from the P2P industry, including platform news regarding Afranga.

Investing on Afranga

How does investing on Afranga work? What should you know, and what should you potentially watch out for? In the following sections, you’ll find a concise overview with all the essential information.

Loan Offering

In 2025, Afranga completed its transformation into a P2P marketplace. This means that loans are no longer funded solely by Stik Credit but also by external lenders. Below is a brief overview of the current loan originators on Afranga:

• Stik Credit: The Bulgarian lender is the unofficial mastermind behind Afranga. Founded in 2013 in Bulgaria, it is supervised by the Bulgarian National Bank. Since its inception, Stik Credit has established a sustainable and profitable business model in unsecured consumer loans, with more than EUR 30 million in loans financed. Loans on Afranga are offered with interest rates between 14% and 16%, with terms up to 36 months.
• Lendivo: Also based in Bulgaria, Lendivo was founded in April 2024 by a team from the Stik Credit group. Afranga’s CEO, Svetlin Sabev, was also involved as a co-founder. The fintech’s business model involves issuing installment loans of up to EUR 500 with terms of up to 30 days. On Afranga, these loans are offered with interest rates up to 11%.
• Swiss Funds: This Czech lender, founded in 2022, specializes in short-term consumer loans. On Afranga, these loans carry an average interest rate of 11%, with terms up to 18 months. The fintech company is licensed and supervised by the Czech National Bank and belongs to Orka Ventures Ltd, a holding company with lending businesses across Europe.
• Credirect: The third lender from Bulgaria was founded in 2017 and is part of the international financial group MV Finance LTD. Credirect offers short-term loans (payday loans) of up to EUR 700 as well as installment loans of up to EUR 5,100. On Afranga, the loans are offered with an average interest rate of 11%.
• Lev Credit: Founded in 2019, Lev Credit is the fourth Afranga lender from Bulgaria. The non-bank financial institution, which is licensed in Bulgaria, provides both short-term and installment loans of up to EUR 2,500, as well as secured consumer and business loans of up to EUR 50,000. On Afranga, the loans are offered with interest rates of 8% to 12%, with terms ranging from 12 to 60 months.

Costs and Fees

Investors on Afranga incur no costs or hidden fees. Neither for account maintenance, deposits, withdrawals, nor any other services. Unfortunately, this is no longer a given on many other P2P lending platforms.

Expected Returns

What returns can investors realistically expect on Afranga? Stik Credit typically offers interest rates between 14% and 16%, which is a few percentage points above the market average. The platform itself quotes an average return of 15.6%.

For the newer, externally added lenders, interest rates are somewhat lower, ranging from 10% to 12%.

Besides the interest rate, the key factors affecting the achievable return are the portfolio quality and the regularity of repayments from the loan originators. So far, no defaults have been reported, which means Afranga offers a very attractive return profile relative to the underlying risk.

Buyback Guarantee

Auto Invest and Secondary Market

The Auto Invest feature as well as the secondary market are planned to be introduced during the course of 2025.

Afranga Taxes

Interest income earned from loan financing is generally considered capital gains and must be declared as such in your tax return.

Investors should also note that interest earnings from investments through Afranga are usually subject to withholding tax. The withholding tax rates vary depending on the country where the lending company is based. For example, loans from Bulgaria are subject to a withholding tax rate of 10%

The applicable tax rate is automatically applied based on the lender’s country of origin. Therefore, the amount paid out corresponds to the net interest. Investors can view both the gross and net interest rates in the loan’s repayment schedule.

Through the main menu (Settings > Tax Certificates), investors can download their tax certificates for all previous calendar years.

Afranga Risks

Investors should take a close look at the potential risk factors when evaluating a P2P lending platform and consider them carefully before making an investment. What risks should one expect with Afranga, and how should they be assessed?

Platform Risk

The operational launch of the platform, operated by the Bulgarian company “Afranga EOOD,” took place in February 2021. In its domestic market, it is supervised and regulated by the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission (FSC).

In September 2023, the regulator also granted Afranga a license to operate as a service provider under the European Crowdfunding Regulation. This includes, among other requirements, the proper segregation of investor funds, protecting investors against potential misuse. For this purpose, Afranga partners with Lemonway, which provides individual IBAN accounts for investors.

This means that in the event Afranga ceases operations, investors would still have access to their funds and loan repayments could continue.

As a regulated P2P platform, Afranga must also meet high standards of compliance and transparency, which enhances the platform’s overall security. However, loan defaults or insolvencies of the issuers are not covered or protected by the regulation.

Deposit Insurance

The investments offered through Afranga are not covered by European deposit guarantee schemes (such as the Deposit Guarantee Directive 2014/49/EU). This means that – unlike traditional bank deposits – funds invested on Afranga are not insured or guaranteed by any national or European compensation scheme.

Accordingly, investors should be aware that the capital invested is subject to the risk of loss, that returns are not guaranteed, and that they may not recover the full amount originally invested.

However, the claims against the lending companies remain valid and can be enforced legally.

Financial Stability

The financial stability of a P2P platform is a key risk factor. Is Afranga already able to operate profitably? And what conclusions can be drawn from the balance sheet?

Afranga aims to become profitable and reach the breakeven point by the end of 2025 or during the first half of 2026. Since the platform only began operating under the ECSP regulation at the start of 2025, there are currently no annual financial statements available.

Profitability

Because the P2P platform is still heavily controlled in the background by Stik Credit, it is worthwhile for investors to take a closer look at the financial metrics of that company instead.

According to the 2024 financial figures, Stik Credit achieved a record profit of approximately EUR 3.5 million, thereby sustainably demonstrating the profitability of its business model.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet of Stik Credit also looks very positive, indicating a financially healthy foundation for the company. The equity ratio stands at a strong 54%, the debt ratio at 0.85, and the liquidity ratio at 1.62.

Important to note are the increasing impairments for written-off loans, which most recently amounted to the equivalent of EUR 5.1 million and thus made up about one-third of the entire loan portfolio.

For comparison: in a conservatively managed consumer lending business, the default rate often falls within a range of 5% to 15%.

A rate of over 30% either indicates a very high-risk loan portfolio with many non-performing loans or a conservative accounting policy in which high provisions are made to cover potential defaults.

According to Stikcredit, the increase is partly due to growth in the past year, with around 30% more loans being financed compared to 2023, and partly due to the changed loan structure, which may be attributable to a higher proportion of short-term or riskier loans, which in turn has led to higher provisions.

Lender Risk

Success on Afranga largely depends on the performance of its loan originators. So how does Afranga approach risk assessment in this regard?

• Legal Review: Verification of licensing, registration, and country-specific legal compliance.
• Reputation Check: Background checks on shareholders and key executives, including negative press screening as well as KYC/AML evaluations.
• Business Operations: Detailed analysis of the business model, management team, corporate governance, and internal control systems.
• Financial Analysis: Review of key financial performance indicators, the quality of the loan portfolio, and the credibility of the external auditor.

Following the assessment, financial covenants are defined. For example, the equity-to-debt ratio, interest coverage ratio (ICR), or liquidity reserves. In addition, loan originators are subject to ongoing monitoring (quarterly updates and random checks) to ensure a consistent level of creditworthiness.

Regardless of Afranga’s due diligence, investors should review the annual financial statements of the respective loan originators, which are published on the P2P platform. Below is a tabular overview with the current financial figures of each loan originator. Check out the lender overview and comparison page for additional information regarding applied KPIs and their interpretation.

So far, no issues have been reported with external loan originators on Afranga.

Advantages and Disadvantages

In this section, I have listed the most important advantages and disadvantages of Afranga.

Summary Afranga Review

What is the preliminary conclusion of this Afranga review?

In its first years, Afranga was used exclusively as a tool to finance loans for the Stik Credit Group, an established and profitable fintech company from Bulgaria. This structure represented a calculable risk for investors, which was offered with above-average returns.

With the relaunch as a licensed and regulated crowdfunding company, Afranga has gained significant legal and operational security. Technical weaknesses, such as the absence of an Auto Invest feature and a secondary market, are expected to be resolved by the end of 2025.

The strategic expansion toward a broadly positioned P2P marketplace opens up new revenue and growth opportunities for Afranga but also increases the risks for investors. While Afranga has a close personal and structural connection to Stik Credit, comprehensive control over external third-party lenders is considerably more difficult to implement. Therefore, investors should examine each lender very carefully.

Whether investing in business loans on Afranga is worthwhile for investors primarily depends on their personal strategy and risk tolerance. Those looking for a regulated P2P platform outside the Baltics, with a solid track record and above-average returns, should consider Afranga as a potential alternative.

Personally, I have established an initial position of EUR 3,000, investing exclusively in assets from Stik Credit. While the loan terms are slightly too long for my personal preference, I receive above-average interest rates in return, which I consider a good compromise for such a profitable and well-established fintech company.

Afranga Alternatives

Already invested in Afranga? Or looking for similar platforms? Here are three Afranga alternatives from the P2P market.

Viainvest: Both platforms are regulated and serve primarily as a financing channel for the lending business of their respective parent company (in this case: VIA SMS Group). The loan offering focuses on unsecured consumer loans from within the European Economic Area. More information in my Viainvest review.

Nectaro: A regulated P2P marketplace based in Latvia, operating under MiFID II regulations and backed by an internationally established group. Loans are primarily used to fund the lending operations of the parent company. Affiliated loan originators offer competitive interest rates and a solid track record. More information in my Nectaro review.

Income Marketplace: An unregulated P2P marketplace headquartered in Estonia, which markets itself through innovative security features that are designed to protect investors from underperforming loan originators. Attractive combination of high interest rates and high liquidity. More information in my Income Marketplace review.

You can find other Afranga alternatives on the P2P Platform Comparison page.

FAQ Afranga Review

Denny Neidhardt

denny@rethink-p2p.de | Webseite

I’m Denny Neidhardt, the founder of re:think P2P. On this blog, I help retail investors make smarter, well-informed investment decisions in the world of P2P lending. Since 2019, I’ve been publishing in-depth analyses, platform reviews, and risk assessments to bring more transparency to this investment space. My goal is to challenge marketing claims, question developments, and empower investors with honest, independent insights.

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