In an era where financial inclusion and accessible credit remain pressing challenges across emerging markets, the rise of digital financial services has opened new doors for innovation. Yet, traditional lending models often fail to serve the growing number of retail investors who have assets but lack access to instant, low-friction credit. As more people invest in stocks and digital assets, there’s a growing need to unlock the value of these portfolios in smarter, more flexible ways.
Carrot was founded to meet this need—reimagining credit by turning investment portfolios into accessible collateral. Through strategic partnerships with investment platforms, Carrot provides users with an instant line of credit based on the value of their holdings. By placing a lien on their portfolio and issuing loans with transparent interest structures, Carrot empowers users to borrow responsibly without selling off their assets.
More than just a lending platform, Carrot reflects a shift toward a new kind of financial infrastructure—one that is API-first, user-centric, and deeply integrated with the habits of modern investors. In doing so, it not only helps users unlock liquidity but also reshapes how credit works in the age of digital finance.
Despite the rise in retail investing across Africa and other emerging markets, a significant gap remains between wealth stored in digital assets and access to flexible credit. Traditional lenders typically ignore investment portfolios when assessing creditworthiness, leaving users with few options outside of selling their long-term assets to meet short-term cash needs.
The challenge was clear: how do you unlock liquidity for users without forcing them to liquidate their investments? Existing credit systems were rigid, not built for the dynamic nature of modern investing, and offered little to no real-time insight into a borrower’s actual asset value. Worse still, applying for a loan remained a slow, opaque process, often misaligned with the digital-first habits of younger, mobile-savvy users.
Carrot needed to solve this by creating a seamless, transparent platform that could assess investment portfolios in real-time, offer flexible loan options, and build trust through clear repayment structures—all while integrating directly with investment platforms users already relied on.
Duration
12 Months
Platform
Web ( Responsive for mobile devices)
Deliverables
Research
Wireframes
Prototypes
Design System
Collaborated with
Product Managers
User Researchers
Data Analyst
Product Designers
I set out to design and develop a user-centric, scalable platform for Carrot that would make credit more accessible by leveraging users’ investment portfolios. The goal was to bridge the gap between digital asset ownership and everyday liquidity needs, enabling users to access credit without liquidating their investments.
The platform needed to offer a seamless borrowing experience—with real-time portfolio assessments, transparent loan terms, and automated repayment flows—all while integrating securely with investment partners. By focusing on trust, speed, and flexibility, the solution aimed to redefine what credit could look like for the modern investor and position Carrot as a leading innovator in embedded finance across emerging markets.
