NRI-focussed fintech startup Belong raises $5 million in round led by Elevation Capital
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Fintech startup Belong , which is building a financial platform for non-resident Indians (NRIs), has raised $5 million in a funding round led by Elevation Capital as it launches operations focussed on retail investment products through Gift City The round also saw participation from Relentless Ventures and angel investors, including Abhiraj Singh Bahl and Varun Khaitan (cofounders of Urban Company), Akshant Goyal (CFO, Zomato ), Varun Alagh (cofounder of Mamaearth ), Vineet Sethi (senior vice president at PayU), and Aditya Sharma (partner, McKinsey).Belong plans to use the capital to acquire regulatory licences, build out its product suite, and invest in marketing and geographic expansion, cofounder and CEO Ankur Choudhary told ET.Founded in 2024, Belong has launched its operations with a USD fixed deposit product built in partnership with Indian banks operating at Gift City. It aims to address the longstanding pain points that NRIs face when trying to save and invest in India, which include complex KYC processes, high currency conversion costs, taxation complications, and cumbersome repatriation procedures.'For resident Indians, everything has become digital, and there are so many financial products. For NRIs, it's quite different, even though, from the ticket size perspective, they are the cream of the crop. So, we saw a very big gap in the market,' Choudhary told ET.Belong's USD fixed deposit product offers tax-free returns in India, rupee depreciation protection, simplified repatriation, and doorstep KYC.The company has secured a Payment Services Provider (PSP) licence and a broker-dealer licence from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and plans to roll out additional offerings, including mutual funds, Indian and US equities, insurance, and financial cards, structured entirely under Gift City's framework.Apart from fixed deposits, the startup has rolled out digital tools such as an NRI FD rates explorer, a GIFT Nifty tracker, a rupee vs dollar monitor, and a residential status calculator. It also plans to offer India tax filing services without the premium pricing typically charged to NRIs.The company noted that while remittances to India have grown from $82 billion in 2019 to $129 billion in 2024, NRIs' share in mutual fund assets under management (AUM) has declined from 2.9% to 2.3%, pointing to a gap in financial products tailored for this segment.Further, Belong aims to expand into other key NRI markets, including the GCC, the UK, and the US.'NRIs have long been underserved when it comes to modern, digital-first financial solutions tailored to their unique needs," said Vaas Bhaskar, partner, Elevation Capital. "Belong is uniquely positioned to serve this massive, underserved market by combining deep fintech expertise with Gift City's regulatory framework.'Last month, Y Combinator-backed cross-border payments startup Aspora, which provides remittance services for immigrant diaspora, raised $53 million in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital and Greylock Partners, with participation from London-based venture fund Quantum Light. Across three equity rounds between September 2024 and May 2025, Aspora has raised a total of $93 million, valuing the company at $500 million.
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