Swiggy, ZestMoney founders invest in Tortoise

As part of the “mentors round” of funding, Sriharsha Majety, co-founder and CEO of Swiggy, and Lizzie Chapman, co-founder and CEO of fintech ZestMoney, provided an undisclosed amount of funding to fintech start-up Tortoise, which provides the Save Now Buy Later (SNBL) facility. 
 
The startup received about $2.3 million earlier this year in a seed round of funding from Vertex Ventures, a division of the large international investment company Temasek.

Intriguingly, the newest round is an extension of the seed round though it is being made reference to as “mentors round”. The start-up has got funding from two well-known pioneers of the beginning world who can help Tortoise put in place a strategic plan for faster growth. 
 
The co-founder of Tortoise, Vardhan Koshal, said, “This round is our mentors round, where we are raising angel cheques from category-defining luminaries like Lizzie and Sriharsha and hope a few more such visionaries to join in.”

ZestMoney

We have strong financial backing from our seed round, so access to such inspiring leaders is more important than the investment, Koshal continued. 
 
In 2020, Koshal and Surya Harsha Nunnaguppala co-founded Tortoise. Recently, Nikhil Joy, a former vice president of ZestMoney, also joined the start-up as a co-founder. 
 
Users can save money with the startup, and they receive rewards for doing so. On the Tortoise app, users can make tiny deposits spaced out over a few months to a year towards a specific purchase while being guaranteed cashbacks up to Rs 10,000 on the transaction. 
 
“Consumption aspirations to better their lifestyles are growing along with India’s consumer culture. However, not all customers desire or are able to pay in full up front for expensive products. Additionally, over 93 percent of Indians lack access to formal credit, making SNBL the greatest option in these circumstances, according to Koshal.