Cross-border fintech Zolve raises $251 million in equity-debt mix from Creaegis, others

Cross-border financial services platform Zolve has secured $251 million in a debt-equity mix funding round led by Creaegis. The startup offers credit facilities to students and professionals moving to the United States from other countries.

Out of the total funds, $51 million is an equity infusion and the rest is debt. Other than Creaegis the round saw participation by HSBC, SBI Investment, GMO Venture Partners, DG Daiwa Ventures, and existing investors Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sparta Group, and DST Global Partners.

Accel, DST Global Partners, and others had participated in the platform's first institutional funding round of around $40 million, which took place in October 2021.


The startup was founded by Raghu G, who previously founded TaxiForSure. The mobility startup was sold to Ola for $200 million in 2015. Eventually Raghu became an angel investor and a limited partner in various funds. He founded Zolve in 2021.

In a press note, the company said that it leverages home country financial data for professionals and students moving to a new country, to underwrite them and offer them credit facilities there.

This solves a major problem faced by travellers who cannot get access to credit accounts when they shift between geographies and need to slowly build up a financial history to get access to quality credit products.

In a statement, the company said that Zolve has served 750,000 customers, moving over $1.2 billion.

"The financial system isn't designed for mobility," says Raghu. “When talented people move countries, their financial history is erased overnight. We're changing that by giving global citizens access to credit and banking from the moment they arrive.”

In its press statement, the company said that it is on track for company-level profitability by the end of 2025. Zolve gets around 70% of its customers through referrals and word-of-mouth.