Investors Bet USD 4.2 M On Nigerian Digital Lender With An Unusual Gameplan

As global fintechs like BlockFi and Robinhood leverage digital assets for credit, Nigeria’s Carrot Credit is quietly pioneering a similar model on the continent.

In a USD 4.2 M seed round led by MaC Venture Capital, with participation from Partech Africa and Authentic Ventures, Carrot is poised to deepen integrations with digital brokerages and scale its collateralised lending platform across Africa.

Launched in late 2023 by Bolu Aiki-Raji, Carrot lets retail investors borrow against stocks, ETFs, bonds or crypto without liquidating their portfolios or enduring traditional credit checks.

Through API hookups, the startup verifies asset positions and then places a lien, offering up to 40 percent of a stable stock portfolio, 70 percent of fixed-income assets, and a cautious 10 percent against volatile equities.

For example, a NGN 1 M (~USD 630) blue-chip stock holding can unlock a NGN 400 K (~250) loan, while a government bond portfolio of the same size could yield NGN 700 K (~USD 440) in credit.

This model addresses a longstanding pain point in Africa’s under-banked markets: investors who accumulate digital wealth but lack access to credit.

Carrot’s flexible repayment terms, ranging from fixed six- to twelve-month tenors or customizable monthly schedules, alongside below-market interest rates, have resonated with over 10,000 users and powered more than USD 2 M in loans within its first two years.

While most Nigerian digital lenders focus on short-term consumer credit, Carrot’s asset-backed approach offers a genuine alternative.

Its B2B2C strategy embeds lending into fintechs, brokerages, and wealth managers, creating new revenue channels for partners and low-barrier credit for end users.

“Trillion-dollar markets get you headlines, but our real market is everyday investors with digital assets,” says Aiki-Raji. This pragmatic focus has attracted MaC’s Marlon Nichols, who notes that Carrot’s model could dramatically expand credit access in markets where traditional borrowing is out of reach.

As embedded finance gains traction across Africa, Carrot Credit’s early traction and fresh capital position it to lead a wave of asset-collateralised lending.

It could unlock a substantial slice of the continent’s untapped retail investment base, if successful, transforming digital portfolios into practical purchasing power without forcing investors to sell.