Posted by My investment decisions are primarily based on numbers and reliable information, which are then combined into an overall risk-adjusted assessment.
Over the years, traveling to individual P2P platforms or lenders has given me the opportunity to add another, less quantifiable dimension. While personal conversations can also be helpful in an online context, hardly any impression is as lasting as an on-site visit.
After having travelled almost exclusively to the Baltic states since 2018, 2025 brought a somewhat more exotic trip to the Indonesian lender Danarupiah in Jakarta.
For 2026, I was planning a visit to Bulgaria, as my P2P portfolio has increasingly grown with lenders from the Balkan state. At the end of 2025, I had five-figure portfolios with Stikcredit (via Afranga) and with ITF Group (via Income Marketplace).
In this article, I would like to share some impressions from my on-site meetings with my community. The idea is not to communicate every single detail and new piece of information, but rather to summarize the essence of the meetings as best as possible.
Disclaimer: I was not sponsored by any of the respective companies in any form. I covered all transportation and accommodation costs myself. If you would like to support me and the blog, feel free to use one of my affiliate links when registering on a new platform or support me via Buy Me A Coffee.
Monday: First Visit to the Afranga Platform in Bulgaria
The week began on Monday with a visit to Afranga, where I had the opportunity to speak with three different employees.
The P2P platform’s headquarters are located in the south of Sofia, near the Business Park metro station. A single metro ticket in the city costs a flat EUR 0.80, which I consider a good and fair offer.
After a 10-minute walk, I arrived at an office complex with around 15 floors, connected on the left side to a larger hotel. There are no signs on the outside indicating Afranga or the various lenders. Even at the reception desk, there was initial confusion when I asked for “Afranga.” However, the situation was resolved a few minutes later and I was allowed to take the elevator to the 5th floor.
After a brief welcome, the individual conversations took place, which had been scheduled in advance for 30 minutes (+10 minutes optional extension). Personally, I find such “speed dating” formats less effective, but due to prior inconsistencies (staff changes and the unavailability of selected interview partners), I tried to approach the team behind the platform with an open mind.
Eftim Eftimov | Head of Investor Services
Eftim has been working in investor relations at Afranga for nearly a year. Some members of the Telegram group will therefore likely recognize his name. Our discussion focused on the scope of his work, the most frequent investor questions, complaints and misunderstandings, and the typical mistakes investors make on the platform.
In fact, most issues apparently arise on the technical side. Namely verification (via Lemonway) and transfer of funds.
Ivaylo Ivanov | Strategic Advisor
Ivaylo is an “old acquaintance” whom I met several years ago at the AltFin Summit in Berlin. More experienced investors may still remember him as the founder and CEO of the iuvo platform.
After his exit and the sale of his shares in the Bulgarian P2P platform in May 2022, he joined Afranga in the summer of 2025 as a strategic advisor. Specifically, this means that he helps build internal processes, whether in acquiring new lenders or attracting new investors.
Interestingly, he sees the difference between Afranga and the iuvo Group primarily in licensing (understandable) and in the technical infrastructure, which allows faster integration of new features. In this context, he confirmed once again that both the Auto Invest and the secondary market are to be introduced within the next two quarters.
Even more exciting from my perspective was the information that Afranga is also reportedly working on a fixed-interest product similar to Bondora Go & Grow or Monefit SmartSaver. Afranga is therefore seamlessly joining a list of platforms that are moving in this direction this year.
My final question whether he might become the future CEO of the Afranga platform was answered with a smile.
Yonko Chuklev | Chief Compliance Officer
Yonko has been with Afranga since January 2021 and is therefore one of the first team members. Contrary to what one might expect from his role, he is by no means a dry, theory-heavy personality. His character reminded me more of a Balkan version of The Wolf of Wall Street, which is not meant negatively.
He deliberately chose to enter the P2P environment because he wanted to work on something similar to the iuvo Group, which he called “a big thing.” With great energy, he spoke about the regulatory framework in which Afranga operates as an ECSP-licensed company and how challenging it is to meet the various requirements.
Currently, there is a quarterly exchange with the Bulgarian financial supervisory authority. Recent discussions focused on the platform’s performance, compliance with various guidelines, currency changes, and artificial intelligence. Particularly due to Afranga’s strong performance (0% default rate), discussions with the regulator have so far reportedly been very relaxed and less characterized by the need for explanations.
In his opinion, the relatively easy-to-understand business model of the platform, based on direct loan agreements, also contributes to this. Aside from future sustainability directives, he does not see any regulatory risks approaching Afranga in the next two to three years.
Wednesday: Meeting with Credissimo Board Member George Roukov
At Osteria Luce, which had opened only a month earlier, I met George Roukov for lunch on Wednesday. I was able to exchange views for two and a half hours with the board member of Credissimo.
More experienced investors may remember that Credissimo was present on Mintos for several years (2017 to 2022) with a relatively small portfolio (maximum EUR 2 million). However, P2P loans have always represented only a small part of Credissimo’s overall funding strategy (currently EUR 60+ million portfolio). Brand awareness and the possibility of short-term liquidity were the primary objectives.
George, who is celebrating his tenth company anniversary this month, was already involved and active during that time. As Director of International Expansion, he supported market entries in Colombia, North Macedonia and Poland.
His know-how and network regarding various lenders — both in Europe and worldwide — were indeed impressive. Therefore, it seemed credible to me which P2P platforms had reportedly approached him in the past seeking support with international expansion.
Thursday: Exchange with Afranga Founder and CEO Svetlin Sabev
On Thursday, I returned to Afranga. After following up with him personally several times, a one-hour time slot opened up during which I was able to ask the Afranga founder and CEO a few questions. Here are three brief insights from our discussion:
Objectivity in Lender Evaluation
A large part of the conversation revolved around the criteria according to which Afranga reviews and selects its lenders. An important question in this context is how potential conflicts of interest are avoided (Svetlin is, among other roles, a board member at Stikcredit and co-founder of Tiberus and Lendivo).
According to him, there is no preferential treatment, as all lenders are reviewed according to the same framework. Objectivity is ensured by an internal rating and control system, which has been developed in advance, and which is reviewed by an external person. This person reportedly has a professional background at one of the largest credit rating agencies and also contributed to the development of Afranga’s lender rating system.
Based on the internal lender rating, both Stikcredit and Credirect received the highest score.
Portfolio Quality and the Cash Flow Statement
In my lender comparison page, companies are assessed in terms of their financial stability. Portfolio quality also plays an important role, with a 20% weighting. Here, expected credit losses (ECL) are compared to the outstanding loan portfolio.
An approach that could make portfolio quality even more visible would be a look at the cash flow statement. While ECL is an assumption based on probabilities (model parameters), the cash flow statement reflects the reality and shows how much money is actually coming back from the loan book. A simple example: if the loan portfolio is growing strongly but operating cash flow from repayments is weak, the portfolio may grow on paper but perform poorly in cash terms.
Of course, there are different aspects to consider here as well, for example the different loan types. Short-term consumer loans cannot be compared one-to-one with more capital-intensive loan types such as mortgage loans. Therefore, an integration into the blog still needs to be examined. Nevertheless, it was a valid and worthwhile input from the Afranga CEO.
New Lenders and New Products
Afranga aims to continue growing and is pulling two main levers.
First: Additional European lenders are to be added to the marketplace, including those outside Bulgaria and without ties to the current shareholders. The company is reportedly in advanced discussions with one of the bigger lenders on Mintos, which is said to be even larger than Stikcredit.
Second: As Ivaylo had already indicated, Afranga is developing a fixed-interest solution comparable to established products such as Go & Grow and SmartSaver. However, no timeline or detailed product information has been communicated.
Instead, Svetlin was much more precise regarding the platform’s goals. According to him, the platform targets to manage a portfolio of EUR 100+ million within the next five years (currently around EUR 20 million).
Friday: Meeting with Juliana Muteva, CFO of ITF Group
What does it mean to be the finance director of a publicly listed company?
This question crossed my mind on the final day of my trip to Bulgaria as I made my way to ITF Group. Once there, CFO Juliana Muteva welcomed me on the eighth floor of the SAP Center in Sofia.
Somewhat unexpectedly, another person attended the meeting as well: Alexander Grozdanov, an external service provider and communications consultant. Since ITF Group JSC has been a publicly listed company since 2022, there are strict regulations regarding external communication with bloggers, journalists or influencers (insider information). Somehow logical and understandable, even though I had not really considered this aspect beforehand.
The consequence: many statements were kept rather general, and some answers could only be given with great caution or after consultation.
As part of a presentation, I first received some insights into the company’s history and overall development. This was followed by a discussion about the company’s various funding sources, the role P2P financing will play in the future growth of the lending business, and the objectives associated with the recent acquisition of the Bulgarian P2P platform Klear Lending.
This is a Bulgarian P2P platform specializing in SME financing. While this segment will continue to be served and the branding will remain untouched, the company plans to also offer the group’s consumer loans through the platform in the future.
Does this mean the end of ITF loans on Income Marketplace? No. At least, there are currently no such intentions, which appears credible from my perspective. On one hand, because the volume of EUR 6.6 million (outstanding portfolio on Income Marketplace) is not insignificant (too much volume for Klear Lending alone) and on the other hand, because other funding sources are not necessarily cheaper. Bank loans currently cost around 11% (similar to Income Marketplace), while bonds are said to be around 13%.
Conclusion of the Bulgaria Trip 2026
Every encounter and every conversation leaves an impression that contributes to my personal assessment. Therefore, I am taking several valuable insights and impressions back from Sofia. I am also grateful for the opportunity to exchange views on-site with individual participants from the P2P market.
Nevertheless, I am left with a somewhat unsatisfactory feeling, as the trip did not meet my prior expectations. Why is that?
In advance, I usually have a fairly clear idea of whom I want to meet and which topics I want to discuss with them. In the end, I must conclude that the time made available to me was simply insufficient and that some of the desired meetings did not take place.
The reasons are different. Whether it was inconsistent communication due to changing staff in recent weeks or the “welcome culture” itself, which I have perceived as significantly more open and friendly in the Baltics or in Indonesia.
Should there be future visits to platforms or lenders, I will need to communicate my standards and expectations more clearly in order to avoid such scenarios.
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.