Name

Stargate Finance

Legal name

Stargate Finance Ltd.

Website

https://stargateloans.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Lending

NAICS

Sales Financing (52222)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Salary-Backed / Payroll-Deducted Secured Loans (FSAKALAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Small-Dollar Short-Term Installment Loans (Non-payday) (FSAKAMAI)

Keywords

• Consumer lending
• Salary advance
• Mobile lending
• Short-term loans
• Digital microfinance

Headquarters

HQ city

Lusaka

HQ country

Zambia

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Loan Interest Income: Primary revenue from monthly interest charged on loans. Interest rates vary from 7% to 20% of the loan principal per month based on agreements with employer organizations. Late payment interest is 1% daily of loan principal. Interest is not compounded.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Stargate Finance operates Loangate, a mobile-first lending platform that disburses short-term salary advances and personal loans to salaried employees in Zambia. Customers access credit through a dedicated mobile app and a USSD short code (*115#), with employer partnership agreements facilitating customer acquisition and payroll verification.

Product overview

Stargate Finance Ltd is a Zambian fintech company (founded 2018, operations started 2019) that operates as a unified digital lending platform delivering multiple loan products through a single mobile application (Loangate) and USSD channels. The core Loangate App serves as the primary access layer for all products, including Salary Advance Loans and Personal Loans for individual borrowers, while the Bwangu Bwangu USSD Loan provides a lightweight, no-app-required short-term credit option via Zamtel Money. Employer-partnered clients access the Scheme Loan Agreement (M.O.U) through the same digital infrastructure. The platform integrates loan origination, automated credit decisioning, disbursement, and repayment management into one service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bwangu Bwangu: A USSD-based quick loan service accessible via mobile phone through Zamtel Money partnership, allowing eligible customers to access short-term loans using *115# USSD code.

Products and services

• Loangate Mobile App Smartphone application through which salaried Zambian employees apply for and receive short-term salary advances and personal loans directly from Stargate Finance.
• USSD Lending Service (*115#) USSD-based (*115#) access point that allows Zambian borrowers, including feature-phone users, to apply for and receive salary advances and short-term personal loans.
• Salary Advance Loan Short-term cash advance against upcoming salary, underwritten using employer partnership data and serviced to the individual employee via the Loangate mobile app or USSD.
• Personal Loan Personal loan product for salaried Zambian individuals, disbursed through the Loangate platform with automated credit decisioning.

Quantifiable outcome

• Same-day loan approval
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Zamtel MoneycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership where Stargate Finance provides the Bwangu Bwangu USSD Loan Service through Zamtel Money's mobile money platform. Zamtel handles mobile money infrastructure and auto-deductions for repayments. First-time borrowers can access K10-K100 with limits increasing based on repayment history.
• Employer Organizations (M.O.U Partners)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorM.O.U (Memorandum of Understanding) partnerships with employers allowing Stargate to provide salary advance loans to their employees at negotiated rates. Loans are administered through the employer organization with 12-month repayment cycles at lower interest rates.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Branch International: Branch is a mobile-first digital lender offering instant personal and salary-backed loans in emerging markets (Kenya, Nigeria, India, Mexico, Tanzania). It shares Stargate's mobile-app underwriting, automated credit decisioning, and salaried-borrower focus, and is the most directly comparable peer.
• Tala: Tala is a mobile-data-driven consumer lender serving underbanked borrowers across emerging markets. It uses a smartphone app and alternative credit scoring to deliver short-term personal loans — directly comparable to Stargate's Loangate product and target customer.
• FairMoney: FairMoney is a mobile lending and neobank platform in Nigeria and other African markets, offering instant personal loans via smartphone app with automated underwriting. Directly comparable on digital salary-backed consumer lending.
• Carbon (formerly OneFi): Carbon is a Nigerian digital lender offering personal loans, BNPL, and credit products via mobile app to underbanked customers across Africa. Same mobile-first consumer lending model and target borrower profile as Stargate.

Others

• M-Kopa: M-Kopa provides pay-as-you-go financing for solar and smartphones across East Africa using mobile money infrastructure and alternative credit scoring. Adjacent model — same African underbanked borrower and mobile-money distribution mechanism — but focused on asset financing rather than cash loans.

Regional players

• Bayport Financial Services: Bayport operates a large employer-based salary-deduction lending business in Zambia and across Africa. Directly comparable in employer M.O.U / salary-deducted lending mechanics, though typically focused on larger-ticket personal loans.
• Madison Finance Company Zambia: Madison Finance is a Zambian microfinance institution offering salary-backed loans and personal credit to formally employed Zambians. Same domestic market, same core borrower segment, and a traditional (non-mobile-first) delivery model — making it the most direct Zambian competitor.

Emerging players

• Mzansi (TymeBank consumer credit): South African digital bank offering short-term consumer credit to salaried and underbanked customers via mobile app. Comparable on mobile-first short-term consumer lending to mass-market borrowers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/stargatefinance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stargate-finace
• Instagraminstagram.com/stargate_finance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stargate Finance