Afranga Review

Afranga Review

Afranga is a Bulgarian P2P lending platform that allows you to invest in business loans from the Bulgarian lending company StikCredit. This P2P lending platform allows you to earn 13% to 16% interest per year by investing in loans secured by a company's assets. Find out more about Afranga in our in-depth review.

Our Opinion of Afranga

Afranga is a smaller but well-established P2P lending platform based in Bulgaria. It serves as one of the funding channels for its lending partner, Stikcredit, which has been active in the consumer lending sector since 2013.

According to Stikcredit's latest preliminary financial report, the company achieved a record profit of €3.5 million in 2024. As of April 2025, its outstanding loan volume via Afranga stands at approximately €10 million. All loans are secured by company assets, which totaled €28.3 million at the end of 2024.

The FY2024 figures confirm Stikcredit’s strong profitability and solid equity base. The company maintains positive cash flows and a healthy balance sheet—indicators of sound financial management. However, rising loan impairment losses and significant receivables from related parties are potential red flags that should be monitored closely.

From a legal and operational standpoint, the newly relaunched Afranga platform offers improved investor protection. It now operates under a direct loan structure, utilizes individual Lemonway accounts, and has enhanced transparency around risk disclosures.

Despite these improvements, Afranga still has some catching up to do if it wants to compete with leading P2P platforms. While the CEO shared some portfolio statistics during a recent interview, Afranga does not publicly disclose loan performance data, limiting investors’ ability to assess credit quality independently.

Although the platform now operates within a regulated framework, key features such as auto-invest and a secondary market are still missing. In our view, Afranga remains underdeveloped from a technical standpoint. That said, both features are expected to be reintroduced in the near future.

Strategically, Afranga aims to expand into a pan-European marketplace for business loans from various external lenders. This ambition comes with increased risks. Unlike with Stikcredit—where Afranga has full insight into the loan book—the platform will have less oversight and control over third-party lenders. Investors should approach such listings with greater caution.

The main appeal of Afranga lies in its above-average interest rates, which are generally higher than those offered by more established competitors. However, these rates are not guaranteed to last. According to the CEO, returns will be adjusted between May and June 2025 based on market demand.

User Requirements

You need to meet specific requirements to earn interest by investing in loans on Afranga.

Afranga lists loans in EUR, so we recommend depositing money from your EUR account to avoid currency exchange fees. Afranga advises only transferring EUR to your account.

Risk and Return

Afranga began its operations in early 2021. The platform is backed by the Bulgarian lender Stikcredit, a name familiar to many experienced investors. Until March 2025, Afranga operated without formal supervision. It has since relaunched as a regulated platform, now offering business loans issued by Stikcredit.

Loan durations range from 6 to 36 months, with interest rates between 13% and 16%. Repayments are made monthly and cover both interest and principal. You can find Stikcredit’s latest financial report in the statistics section above.

Stikcredit AD is licensed and regulated by the Bulgarian National Bank, while Afranga falls under the supervision of the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission.

The risk-return ratio is a key factor when investing in loans. On Afranga, you're currently only funding loans from Stikcredit, which means your exposure is limited to a single lender and a single market.

As noted earlier in our Afranga review, Stikcredit is a well-established lender with a solid track record.

Secured by the company's assets

Business loans on Afranga offer enhanced security and transparency for investors. Unlike platforms where investments are made through SPVs acting as intermediaries, Afranga uses a direct loan structure.

This setup provides clearer documentation of the loan agreement, making it significantly easier to prove the amount owed in the event of borrower default. Investors hold a direct claim against the loan originator, which simplifies legal recovery and enables both individual and collective legal action if necessary.

The introduction of a regulated framework has further strengthened investor protection. Borrowers are now fully liable for the loan with all their company assets. This marks a notable improvement over the previous structure, where investors held fragmented claims across individual loans—often making it difficult to assess the exact exposure and recovery potential.

To properly assess risk, investors should review the financial reports of the loan originator. As of the end of 2024, Stikcredit reported total assets of €28.3 million.

In our recent discussion with the CEO, it was emphasized that Stikcredit has consistently honored its obligations, with no reported payment delays—highlighting its reliability as a lending partner.

Stikcredit's Loan Book Performance

In 2023, the net impairment costs for loans and receivables amounted to approximately €3.63 million (BGN 7,098 thousand), reflecting a decrease of about €1.02 million compared to 2022, when the impairment costs reached €4.66 million (BGN 9,103 thousand).

In 2024, however, impairment costs rose again to around €5.07 million (BGN 9,911 thousand). This increase corresponds with the growth of Stikcredit’s loan portfolio but also indicates a rising share of non-performing loans.

According to the CEO of Afranga, Stikcredit’s default rate currently represents about 12% to 15% of its loan book. While the platform has scaled its lending activities, this level of defaults highlights the importance of continuously monitoring credit risk as the portfolio grows.

You can learn more about the CEO and the company’s vision in the exclusive interview below.

Usability

Afranga is a straightforward platform to use. The design is clean and you can easily navigate to all the essential information that you might require. It’s much easier to navigate than IUVO’s platform, which is an unregulated P2P marketplace from Bulgaria.

Primary Market

The recently re-launched Afranga platform currently does not offer an auto-invest feature yet. Currently, investments can only be made manually on the primary market. According to the CEO, the auto-invest will be reintroduced in the upcoming weeks.

Liquidity

Afranga previously offered access to a secondary market, allowing investors to sell their loans. To do so, you would navigate to My Investments, select the loans you wish to sell, and confirm your selection.

You would then be redirected to the secondary market view, where you could set a premium or discount for each loan.

The time it takes to sell a loan depends on the loan amount and current investor demand on the platform. Some users have reported successfully selling loans within a day.

At the time of writing this Afranga review, there is no fee for using the secondary market.

Please note: If you're expecting to receive accrued interest, you will need to wait until the loan is fully repaid.

Currently, this feature is not yet available on the newly launched version of the platform.

Support

Afranga’s support is very responsive. The platform answered our questions within 24 hours. Afranga didn’t hesitate to provide further details that are not publicly available on the website, which we appreciate.

You can reach out to Afranga during business hours at support@afranga.com.

Afranga Alternatives

While Afranga offers competitive interest rates, you might want to prioritize platforms that offer a technically better platform, with a larger variety of loans. 

Income Marketplace

Income Marketplace is an Estonian P2P lending platform that allows investors to diversify across lending companies from Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

All loans come with a buyback guarantee, and many lending partners also pledge their loan books as additional security—offering an extra layer of protection for investors.

With returns of up to 15% per year, the platform provides an attractive option for those seeking high-yield opportunities. To learn more, check out our detailed Income Marketplace review.

LANDE

Based in Riga, LANDE is a Latvian investment platform focused on agricultural loans secured by grain, insurance, or other forms of collateral.

The platform stands out for its transparency and strong track record in safeguarding investors’ funds. If you're looking to invest in collateral-backed loans, LANDE ranks among the top choices in year. For more insights, read our full LANDE review.

Nectaro

Nectaro is a regulated Latvian P2P lending platform offering high-yield investments primarily from EcoFinance, operating in Romania, Moldova, and the Philippines. The platform features a modern interface and frequently rewards investors with cashback offers—boosting your overall returns.

With interest rates of up to 14% per year, Nectaro is an appealing option for yield-focused investors. Explore more in our in-depth Nectaro review.