Carrot Credit, a Nigerian digital lending platform that provides low-interest credit in US dollars, has raised $4.2 million in seed funding to expand its innovative lending solution across Africa.
The funding round was led by MaC Venture Capital an early-stage venture capital firm, with participation from Partech Africa and Authentic Ventures—signaling strong investor confidence in Carrot’s mission to transform access to credit for retail investors on the continent.
Marlon Nichols, co-founder and partner at MaC Venture Capital, expressed enthusiasm for Carrot’s vision, stating, “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.”
Carrot disclosed that the newly secured capital will be used to scale its credit infrastructure, expand its team, and strengthen integrations with digital investment platforms. Operating a B2B2C embedded finance model, Carrot is building partnerships with fintechs, brokerages, and digital wealth managers to broaden its global footprint.
Founded in 2023 by Boluwatife Aiki-Raji, Carrot Credit enables users to access lines of credit using their digital investment portfolios—including stocks, ETFs, bonds, or cryptocurrencies—as collateral. This eliminates the need to liquidate assets or undergo traditional credit checks, a major barrier to borrowing in many African markets.
Carrot’s solution is especially timely as embedded finance gains momentum in Africa. By integrating financial services into non-financial platforms, Carrot enhances the user experience while meeting a critical gap in credit access—especially for individuals underserved by conventional lenders.
The platform offers customizable credit options with flexible repayment terms. Borrowers can choose fixed repayment periods of 3, 6, or 12 months, or repay monthly at their own pace. Interest rates are competitively below market average, and the entire credit application process is digital, removing paperwork and delays.
For individuals, the startup enables access to credit collateralized by a diverse range of assets, including stocks, cash, and cryptocurrency. This provides access to credit without relying on traditional forms of collateral or having to liquidate assets.
For businesses, it empowers businesses to offer credit options to their customers, eliminating the need for them to sell off their assets to get access to funds. By providing access to credit as an alternative to liquidation of assets, businesses can preserve their Assets Under Management and maintain a stronger financial portfolio.
Carrot’s approach to lending on the continent has been popularised by global firms such as BlockFi, Quick Lend, Lantern Finance, SALT amongst others. 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. “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.”
Since launching, Carrot has processed over $2 million in loans and grown its user base to more than 10,000. While facing competition from Nigerian digital lenders like Carbon, Sycamore, Aella Credit, and FairMoney—who primarily offer unsecured, short-term loans—Carrot stands out through its asset-backed model, user-centric flexibility, and inclusive underwriting approach. The startup is present in Nigeria at the moment, with hope to extend to other African countries and the world at large
By empowering retail investors to borrow against their investments without selling them, Carrot Credit is redefining credit access in Africa—offering liquidity, flexibility, and financial freedom to a new generation of borrowers.
