The news:
- Carrot Credit has raised $4.2 million in seed funding to expand its asset-backed lending platform.
- The round was led by MaC Venture Capital, with backing from Authentic Ventures.
- The funding will support product development and expansion across Africa.
Carrot Credit, a Nigerian fintech startup, has secured $4.2 million in seed funding to scale its alternative credit service that allows users to obtain loans by pledging their digital investments as collateral. The funding round was led by US-based MaC Venture Capital, with participation from Authentic Ventures.
Founded in 2023 by Boluwatife Aiki-Raji, Carrot Credit is carving a niche in Africa’s lending landscape by enabling individuals to borrow without selling their investment portfolios.
Instead of relying on traditional credit scores, the platform connects to users’ investment accounts, ranging from stocks and ETFs to fixed-income instruments like government bonds, and assesses their holdings to offer credit lines.
Users can access up to 40% of their stock portfolio’s value or up to 70% of fixed-income assets. The platform secures a lien on these assets through API integrations, ensuring users retain ownership while leveraging their value. Loan repayment terms are flexible, offering fixed durations of 3, 6, or 12 months or adjustable monthly payments. Interest rates are competitively low, giving it a strategic edge over many digital lenders in Nigeria.
Boluwatife Aiki-Raji, CEO and co-founder of Carrot, says, “People were investing in all types of things—stocks, crypto, fixed income—but many didn’t recognise those investments as worth anything. That was the initial idea: why can’t this be collateral?”
Carrot operates with an embedded B2B2C model, integrating its lending service into fintech platforms, brokerages, and digital wealth managers across Africa. This approach widens access to credit and embeds Carrot’s services into the financial routines of digitally savvy users.
So far, the startup has disbursed over $2 million in loans to over 10,000 users, proving early traction for its innovation. Revenue is generated from interest payments, which remain below market averages.
Marlon Nichols, co-founder and managing partner at MaC Venture Capital, expressed confidence in Carrot’s potential: “What excites me about this investment is how Carrot is leveraging digital assets to create a seamless, low-barrier credit solution in markets where credit has traditionally been out of reach.”
As Carrot expands across Africa, it aims to make borrowing more inclusive and responsive to the digital investment habits of a new generation of African consumers.
