Carrot Credit raises $4.2 million seed to scale lending in Africa

Carrot Credit, a Nigerian fintech that offers loans backed by digital investment assets like stocks, ETFs, and crypto, has raised $4.2 million in seed funding. The fintech will use the funding to scale its credit infrastructure across Africa, expand its team, and deepen integrations with digital investment platforms. MaC Venture Capital led the round, with participation from Partech Africa and Authentic Ventures. 

Launched in 2023 by Bolu Aiki-Raji, Carrot Credit is a digital lending platform that allows retail investors to borrow money using investment assets—like stocks, ETFs, bonds, or cryptocurrencies—as collateral, without having to sell them or go through traditional credit checks. Through API connections, the fintech verifies users’ asset positions and places a lien on them, allowing users to draw down a percentage—up to 40% for stocks and as high as 70% for fixed-income assets—without liquidating. 

If a user has a portfolio of relatively stable stocks worth ₦1 million, Carrot can let them borrow up to 40% (₦400,000). For volatile stocks, Carrot offers a credit line of up to 10% of the portfolio and up to 70% for fixed-income assets like government bonds and treasury bills. 

“People were investing in all types of things—stocks, crypto, fixed income—but many didn’t recognize those investments as worth anything. That was the initial idea: why can’t this be collateral?” said Boluwatife Aiki-Raji, CEO and co-founder of Carrot.

The company says it charges below-market average interest rates and offers flexible loan repayments. Users can opt for a fixed loan repayment (6 months, 3 months, or 12 months) or pay back monthly at their preferred timeframe. 

Carrot’s approach to lending on the continent has been popularised by global firms such as BlockFi and Robinhood. However, the model’s appeal is yet to catch on in Africa. Aiki-Raji says Carrot hopes to make the approach more accessible to retail investors across the continent. The startup’s embedded B2B2C model targets fintechs, brokerages, and digital wealth managers across Africa.  The company, which generates revenue from the interest charged on its loans, says it has already processed over $2 million in loans and serves over 10,000 users. 

“Everyone writes a deck claiming a trillion-dollar market,” said Aiki-Raji. “I’d rather define our market as anyone who can put money aside in digital assets—that’s who we’re building for. That includes everyday investors.”

The business competes with other digital lenders—Sycamore, Carbon, FairMoney, Aella Credit—across Nigeria, but claims its flexible repayment options and below-market interest rates further differentiate it from Nigeria’s crowded field of digital lenders, where most competitors focus on short-term credit rather than asset-backed lending.

“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,” said Marlon Nichols, co-founder and partner of MaC Venture Capital. 

Carrot is among the first few startups offering an alternative lending model on the continent. As embedded finance gains traction in Africa, Carrot’s approach could expand access to credit for a new generation of digital investors and financial platforms.