Belstar was incorporated in January 1988 in Bengaluru. It obtained a non-banking financial company (NBFC) license from the RBI in March 2001 and was reclassified as an NBFC-MFI in 2013. The company was acquired by the Hand in Hand group, a non-governmental organisation, in September 2008. Muthoot Finance, the largest gold loan NBFC in the country, made an equity investment in Belstar in 2016 and held stake of 64% as on March 31, 2024. Belstar had a portfolio of Rs 10,023 crore as on March 31, 2024, with operations in 17 states and 2 UTs. Under the SHG model, it has groups of 10-20 people and an average ticket size of Rs 45,000, and in the joint liability group model, it has groups of 4-10 people and an average ticket size of Rs 25,000.