Carrot, a digital lending startup expanding access to credit for African businesses and individuals backed by their digital financial assets, announced its $4.2 million seed funding round, led by MaC Venture Capital, with participation from Partech Africa and Authentic Ventures. The funds will be used to grow Carrot’s team, scale operations and accelerate product development, including investments in AI to enhance its credit scoring, risk management and fraud prevention systems.
The platform provides users with access to credit by allowing them to leverage assets like stocks, fixed-income products, crypto and other alternative investment products as collateral. Since launch, the company has originated more than $2 million in credit and served beyond 10,000 users.
Traditional infrastructure for credit scoring is limited in many African markets due to fragmented financial systems and large informal economies. Younger consumers, though financially literate, are often excluded from credit-building opportunities, creating a significant barrier for individuals and small business owners seeking access to reliable, affordable credit. Carrot is addressing this gap by offering liquidity without forcing users to sell their investments and providing a safety net for emergencies and/or day-to-day spending.
For individual users, Carrot provides access to liquidity without relying on traditional forms of collateral. The B2B2C model makes it capable of direct integrations with digital fintechs, wealth managers, brokerages and savings platforms. For these partners, Carrot’s credit solution enables them to offer credit options to their customers without requiring the liquidation of investment assets or diminishing their total assets under management (AUM).
Carrot also offers enterprise lending solutions, allowing businesses to meet short-term obligations.
“Access to credit shouldn’t be limited by geography or legacy infrastructure,” said Bolu Aiki-Raji, founder and CEO of Carrot. “People in Nigeria and across Africa are already investing in digital assets—but there’s no ecosystem to help them unlock liquidity when it matters. Carrot is building that bridge, helping users leverage their investments and take cash out when they need liquidity the most.”
The idea for Carrot came from Bolu’s personal experience studying in the United States, where he saw the role credit plays in establishing and enabling financial independence. Upon his return to Nigeria, he noticed his peers, despite being digitally savvy and active investors, lacked access to even basic credit products. With this in mind, Bolu built Carrot to support a generation that already understands finances and financial independence but needs the infrastructure to unlock it.
“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. “We see the fintech space evolving rapidly, especially in regions like Africa, where traditional credit systems have struggled to keep pace with innovation. This investment not only strengthens our portfolio but also positions us in one of the most exciting but underserved sectors in global fintech.”
Carrot is expanding its offering to support individuals looking to unlock credit using their existing investment portfolios. With this fresh capital, strategic partnerships and growing user momentum, Carrot plans to expand its services to other countries in Africa by the end of 2025.
