Belong raises $5m to build NRI-focused FinTech platform

By Vriti Gothi

Belong, a FinTech start-up developing a dedicated financial platform for non-resident Indians (NRIs), has raised $5 million in a funding round led by Elevation Capital as it begins operations focused on retail investment products through Gift City.

The round attracted further backing from Relentless Ventures and a group of well-known angel investors, including Abhiraj Singh Bahl and Varun Khaitan, co-founders of Urban Company; Akshant Goyal, CFO at Zomato; Varun Alagh, co-founder of Mamaearth; Vineet Sethi, senior vice president at PayU; and Aditya Sharma, partner at McKinsey & Company.

Founded in 2024, Belong’s goal is to address long-standing challenges faced by NRIs when seeking to save and invest in India. These challenges have persisted despite the increasing digitalisation of financial services for domestic residents. The company’s first offering is a USD fixed deposit product, developed in partnership with Indian banks operating under the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gift City.

Belong’s initial product aims to provide tax-free returns in India, protection against rupee depreciation, straightforward repatriation, and simplified Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, including doorstep verification. The company has secured a Payment Services Provider (PSP) licence and a broker-dealer licence from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to support its broader ambitions.

Alongside its core product, Belong has introduced a set of digital tools to help NRIs navigate financial decisions more easily, such as an NRI fixed deposit rates explorer, a GIFT Nifty tracker, a rupee-dollar monitor, and a residential status calculator. The firm also intends to offer India tax filing services without the premium costs that are often charged to overseas residents.

According to the company, while remittances to India have risen from $82 billion in 2019 to $129 billion in 2024, the share of NRIs in mutual fund assets under management has fallen from 2.9% to 2.3% during the same period underlining an underserved market segment that Belong intends to target with a wider suite of investment and wealth products.

Belong plans to expand into other major NRI markets, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the UK and the US. The company expects to broaden its product range further, with plans for mutual funds, Indian and US equities, insurance, and financial cards, all designed to fit within the regulatory structure of Gift City.

Ankur Choudhary, co-founder and CEO of Belong, said, “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 huge gap in the market.”

Vaas Bhaskar, partner at Elevation Capital, said, “NRIs have long been underserved when it comes to modern, digital-first financial solutions tailored to their unique needs. Belong is uniquely positioned to serve this massive, underserved market by combining deep FinTech expertise with Gift City’s regulatory framework.”