Login

Lost your password?

Sign Up

Register

Login

Login

Lost your password?

Register

Thursday, July 7, 2022
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion

Africa's
Investment
Gateway

The Exchange
  • Login
  • Register
Subscribe
This Month's Edition
Previous Editions
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
The Exchange
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
The Exchange
LOGIN
alternatetext
Novastar backs early and growth stage businesses led by entrepreneurs with the capability and ambition to transform markets and sectors.- The Exchange

The Exchange (www.exchange.co.ke) Photo source Techreport

Kenyan based Novastar secures $72.5 Million for Nigerian expansion

Novastar backs early and growth stage businesses led by entrepreneurs with the capability and ambition to transform markets and sectors.

by Kimani Chege
November 9, 2018
in African Entrepreneurship, Kenya
0
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

Nairobi based venture fund, Novastar has announced that it is expanding into west Africa.  Backed by existing investors, Novastar held a first close of its second venture fund on October 18th with $72.5 million in commitments. Leading private asset manager’s AXA Impact Fund II joined with European development finance institutions CDC Group, European Investment Bank, Dutch Good Growth Fund and FMO to capitalize the fund, matching or increasing their commitments from Novastar’s first fund.

With a target size of $120 million, the second fund expands Novastar’s venture model to cover both East and West Africa, adding a presence in Lagos to the one in Nairobi.

Novastar is a venture capital fund manager dedicated to finding and growing the “new stars” of East, and now West Africa. Novastar backs early and growth stage businesses led by entrepreneurs with the capability and ambition to transform markets and sectors.

Novastar Ventures East Africa Fund I reached its target of $80. This was used to fund some of the most innovative social enterprises in East Africa including PayGo Energy a distribution service that harnesses the power of pay-as-you-go-technology to unlock clean energy for those who cannot otherwise afford it, Penda Health a chain of outpatient medical centres to bring high-quality healthcare to East Africa’s aspiring mass market families and Poa Internet, a low cost internet service provider in peri urban Nairobi.

Such enterprises address proven demand for basic goods and services with innovative business models that widen access, improve quality, and lower cost for the mass market in these emerging economies. The fund targets businesses where positive social impact for low-income households is a natural bi-product of their commercial success.

Co-founder and Managing Partner Steve Beck explained the big idea: “Our vision is to see sub-Saharan Africa populated with a growing number of high-capacity entrepreneurs building innovative businesses that serve the common good. We aim to demonstrate that commercial venture investing can generate both large-scale social benefits for the mass market and attractive financial returns for investors, thereby unlocking more capital to fuel entrepreneurship in the region.”

alternatetext

As with its first fund, Novastar II is a multi-round investor with the scale and flexibility to tailor support to each portfolio company’s stage of development. The fund can invest as little as $250,000 in an unproven business model addressing a big problem in a big market. Following initial small funding rounds, Novastar can then fund the rapid growth stage of portfolio companies with more than $6 million through multiple capital rounds.

Explaining the expansion to Lagos, Novastar co-founder and Managing Partner Andrew Carruthers said, “We have seen how flexible long-term capital, coupled with local knowledge and innovative business models has catalyzed rapid growth in some truly exceptional enterprises in East Africa, thereby attracting substantial investment from a new category of investors. By establishing a presence in Lagos, with its concentration of talented entrepreneurs addressing a vast market, we want to be the spark to a similar cohort of innovative businesses generating social and economic value for the mass market, attracting substantial investment into West Africa as well.”

Novastar’s first fund of $80 million plus a $10 million co-investment facility has backed 15 companies, each reflecting the Fund’s focus on mass-market scale potential, business model innovation and outstanding entrepreneurial leadership. While Fund I continues to invest follow-on capital into the successful businesses in its portfolio, Novastar II targets new breakthrough businesses in East and Anglophone West Africa.

Tags: CDC GroupDutch Good Growth FundEUropean Investment BankFMOKenya venture fundsPenda HealthPoa InternetVenture Africa

STATE OF ECONOMY - GET THE REPORT

ASSESSING EAST AFRICA

Loading...

Kimani Chege

Related Posts

Africa

Powering Africa: Renewables safest bet for sustainable future

July 4, 2022
Growth in employment earmarks Kenya's post-pandemic economic recovery. www.theexchange.africa
Countries

Growth in employment earmarks Kenya’s post-pandemic economic recovery

May 11, 2022
www.theexchange.africa
Banking

Kenya: Business conditions worsen as customer demand declines

May 9, 2022
Next Post
Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board (KNEB) has sent out a request for proposal for international organisation to analyse various sites on their suitability for nuclear plants- The Exchange

Kenya identifies locations for setting up nuclear energy generation plants

African Development Bank

Portuguese speaking nations in Africa in US$5 billion development fund

Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) signs a membership and subscription agreement with Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB)- The Exchange

Arabian and Eastern African development banks sign partnership

Please login to join discussion




This months edition

Features

Countries

Era of the African Passport: A mixed bag of opportunities?

by june njoroge
July 4, 2022
0

The African passport is a common passport document that is set to replace the existing nationally issued AU member states’...

Read more
Sibongile Thobakgale. She is the area sales manager for South Africa at Aggreko Africa. www.theexchange.africa
Investing

Transforming manufacturing in Africa

by Opinion
July 4, 2022
0

From cement to food and beverages to metal production and processing, manufacturing organisations are looking for sustainable energy solutions to...

Read more
Wallace Manyara. He is the Business Development Manager, Region South & East Africa, Wärtsilä Energy. www.theexchange.africa
Investing

Renewables, gas cheapest ways to meet Mozambique’s electricity demand

by Opinion
July 1, 2022
0

To meet its growing energy needs and increase electricity access across the population, Mozambique must build 1.3GW of new power...

Read more
By 2030, tech financing in Africa will hit US$90 billion. African governments have a lot to do to reduce the risk of investing in tech startups. www.theexchange.africa
Tech & Business

Challenges and opportunities across Africa’s tech ecosystems

by Njenga Hakeenah
July 4, 2022
0

In addition, governments have to make things better for businesses. Currently, tech start-ups have to pay a lot to comply...

Read more
Foreign Currency Auction System Fails to Meet Soaring Demand
Industry and Trade

Foreign currency auction fails to meet soaring demand

by Laurence Sithole
July 4, 2022
0

Despite these fundamentals, the Zimbabwe dollar has continued to slide against the United States dollar prompting the government to take...

Read more

News

Banking
Industry & Trade
Investing
Money Deals
Regional Markets
Tech & Biz
Opinion

Countries

Kenya
Tanzania
Uganda
Burundi
Rwanda
Southern Africa
Ethiopia

More

My Account
Contact us
Advertise
About us
Help Center

Subscribers Center

E-paper
Premium Stories
Education Rates
Corporate Subscriptions
Weekely Newsletter

  • My account
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund Policy – The Exchange
  • Sitemap

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart

© 2021 The Exchange - Powered by MediapixManaged by Supported by Digihandler,

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In