turtle funding: Fintech firm Tortoise raises undisclosed sum in funding from Swiggy co-founders ZestMoney
The fintech startup had previously raised around $2.3 million this year from Vertex Ventures, part of global investment firm Temasek.
The current funding is an extension of the seed funding round and is being referred to as a “mentor round” as the startup gets two founders as investors to help Tortoise plan a faster growth plan.
“This round is our mentoring round, where we raise angel checks from category-defining leaders like Lizzie and Sriharsha and expect a few more such visionaries to join. investment and more about access to such inspiring leaders,” said Vardhan Koshal, co-founder of Tortoise.
Founded in 2021 by Vardhan Koshal and Surya Harsha Nunnaguppala, Tortoise encourages saving for big purchases. It gives users the ability to save up for future purchases by creating a savings plan and earning rewards in the process. Recently, Nikhil Joy, the former Vice President of ZestMoney, joined the Tortoise team as a co-founder.
“I am excited to support a founder who comes from the ZestMoney family. I wish Nikhil and the team at Tortoise the very best as they take a complementary path to Zest to make life more affordable for Indians,” said Chapman.
Discover the stories that interest you
Tortoise’s savings plan, inspired by Tanishq’s Golden Harvest Scheme, offers weekly and monthly savings plans from a few months to a year. In this concept, consumers can make small deposits over a few months to a year for a particular product on the Tortoise app and then use them to purchase the product with a guaranteed cashback of up to Rs 10,000.
SNBL is gaining increasing importance not only in India, but also in western markets such as the USA and the UK.
“Consumerism in India is on the rise and so is the aspiration among consumers to upgrade their lifestyle. However, not all consumers want or have the opportunity to pay in advance for large ticket purchases. Also, over 93% of Indians do not have access to formal credit and in such scenarios SNBL is the best option,” Koshal added.
