Novastar Ventures inks partnership with Japanese investor
SBI Holdings, one of the largest venture capital (VC) groups in Japan, has inked a strategic partnership with African-focused VC firm Novastar Ventures.
The strategic partnership takes the form of a $40 million multi-fund investment by SBI Holdings to anchor Novastar’s upcoming funds. SBI Holdings will also help to mobilise matching commitments from Japanese institutional investors to Novastar’s funds. Leveraging its experience and presence in Africa, Novastar will facilitate co-investment opportunities and share market knowledge.
SBI Holdings will invest to take a minority stake in Novastar, providing growth capital to develop the Novastar platform. Novastar and its investment process will continue to be managed and controlled by its four partners, with SBI Holdings taking one non-executive seat on Novastar’s management board. Riki Yamauchi will join Novastar’s investment team to lead delivery of the partnership objectives. Following an investment banking career in Tokyo, Riki re-located to Nairobi in 2022 to support Japanese investors with opportunities in Africa.
Yoshitaka Kitao, president and CEO of SBI Holdings said: “With its rapid growth, young and tech-savvy population, abundant natural assets and increasing urbanisation, Africa is poised for global leadership on sustainable development. We recognise Novastar as the leader in African VC and look forward to building a new, trusted bridge between Japan and Africa for financial and strategic investment, knowledge transfer and innovation learnings. This partnership will leverage Africa’s megatrends for the mutual benefit of Japanese investors and African businesses.”
Steve Beck, co-founder and managing partner at Novastar, said: “When Novastar launched nearly 10 years ago, there was no VC asset class in Africa. Since then, venture funding to start-ups on the continent has increased more than 20-fold, exceeding $5 billion in 2022. While that growth is exciting, African VC is just getting started. Together with SBI, we see an opportunity to harness Africa’s development path to planet-positive, inclusive business models that leapfrog the polluting practices of the past and set us on track towards a sustainable and just future. Realising this opportunity requires the capital, technology and long-term mindset of corporate Japan and other mature economies.”
Since inception, Novastar has raised over $200 million from global institutional investors and is currently investing from its second fund.
* Subscribe to Africa Private Equity News’ monthly Dealmaker’s Log for a database of the reported investment deals, exits and fundraising closes. Click here for more information.