Tortoise, a save now buy later (SNBL) startup, has raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Sriharsha Majety (co-founder of Swiggy) and Lizzie Chapman (Co-founder of fintech ZestMoney). It had earlier raised around $2.3 million this year from Vertex Ventures.

The current funding round is an extension of the seed funding round and is being referred to as a “mentors round” as Tortoise gets two founders as investors to help Tortoise strategise a faster growth plan.

Tortoise | Save Now, Buy Later

Founded by Vardhan Koshal and Surya Harsha Nunnaguppala in 2021, Tortoise provides users with the ability to save up for their future purchases by creating a savings plan and earning rewards in the process.

Speaking about the development, Vardhan Koshal, Co-founder of Tortoise, said,

“This round is our mentors round, where we are raising angel cheques from category-defining leaders such as Lizzie and Sriharsha and expect a few more such visionaries to join in. We are well capitalised from our seed round, and hence this is less about investment and more about access to such inspirational leaders.”

Recently, the former vice president at ZestMoney, Nikhil Joy, joined the Tortoise team as a co-founder.

Its savings plan, inspired by Tanishq’s Golden Harvest Scheme, offers weekly and monthly savings plans ranging from a few months to a year. Using this, consumers can make small deposits over a few months to a year for a particular product on the Tortoise app and then use those to buy the product with an assured cashback of up to Rs 10,000.

Vardhan Koshal added,

“Consumerism in India is on the rise, and so is the aspiration among consumers to upgrade their lifestyles. However, not all consumers want to or have the capability to pay upfront for large-ticket purchases. Besides, over 93% of Indians do not have access to formal credit, and in such scenarios, SNBL is the best alternative.”

Follow us and connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Note: If you are a budding entrepreneur and require assistance in startup compliance services, new company registration or other startup related legal services, contact us.