Novastar fund reaches final close at $147m
Japanese institutions join DFIs in backing Novastar’s third Africa-focused venture fund.
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Novastar Ventures announced the final close of its third fund, Novastar Ventures Africa People and Planet Fund III (NVIII), at $147 million.
The fund, which invests in businesses that align the economic interests of Africa’s growing population with planet-positive technologies, represents a 40% increase on Novastar’s previous Fund II.
For the first time, Novastar will deploy capital on a pan-African basis, expanding beyond the East and West Africa focus of earlier funds.
Investors include British International Investment, Norfund, Swedfund, Proparco, COFIDES, the Green Climate Fund, SBI Holdings, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
The fund’s portfolio already includes six companies, including delivery apps Breadfast and Chowdeck, and e-mobility start-ups Greenwheels and ARC Ride. It has also invested in MoPhones, an affordable smartphone provider, and Sistema.bio, an agritech firm developing climate-smart solutions for family farmers.
Andrew Carruthers, co-founder and managing partner at Novastar, said: “Novastar’s investment approach has always focused on transformative businesses that generate lasting financial, social, and environmental value for the common good. NVIII is a natural progression of that strategy, leveraging over a decade of experience backing businesses addressing Africa’s biggest challenges, while driving a sustainable development pathway for Africa, and the world.”
Steve Beck, co-founder and managing partner at Novastar, said: “We are deeply grateful to our investors for their continued trust and shared conviction in the power of Africa’s entrepreneurs. We’re ever closer to realising our vision of an entrepreneurial revolution on the continent. A revolution that creates lasting value for people and planet – for good.”
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