CARMA, a start-up in the data marketplace that offers lending companies with peer-to-peer access to real-time credit data through a pay-as-you-go service, is preparing operations around the continent after moving its headquarters to Lagos, Nigeria.
Tackling the void in markets underserved by credit bureaus by supplying lending firms with access to critical data to promote lending. CARMA credit data marketplace.
“We do the same with corporate data at CARMA as marketplaces sell goods and services,” said Ted Martynov, co-founder and chief executive officer of the startup (CEO).
Initially launched in Kenya as part of the Nairobi Antler cohort, CARMA recently moved to Lagos after raising funding from Microtraction, an early-stage VC company that invests in start-ups at the earliest stage of their growth.
In July 2020, we went on the market and it took more than 6 months before that to produce the original technology. We began by signing an agreement with NASCU, the local credit union association, in Zambia and decided to place our headquarters in Nigeria as it is one of the largest markets for us,” Martynov said.
Early this year, CARMA expects to start processing transactions in Nigeria.
Essentially, CARMA offers a single protocol of technology that serves as the corporate data internet.
With its technology and investors in place, CARMA, which charges a fee any time a business data-seeker reaches another peer’s database, is ready to expand.