Novastar Ventures

The entrepreneurs we partner with at Novastar are, like us, obsessed with serving the basic needs of everyday consumers; understanding their lifestyles, the friction that slows them down, the tools that lift them up, and the informal markets where they live, work and shop. Brian Waswani Odhiambo and Riki Yamauchi hosted a seminar in Tokyo last week on the behavioral economics of the everyday African consumer, producer and supplier and what it takes to successfully build and scale businesses in our markets. Thanks to everyone who attended and took part in the lively discussion. We thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to returning in August to participate in Nikkei's pre-TICAD seminar discussing the latest startup trends in Nigeria. #venturecapital #investinafrica #startups #AfricaJapanBridge

What a pleasure it was to take part at #IVS2024 last week to discuss the startup and VC ecosystem in Africa. 15,000+ delegates gathered in Kyoto, making it the largest industry event in Japan, and we were privileged to speak on the main stage. We're seeing increasing collaboration between ecosystem players in Africa - from asset owners, startups and other VCs - to build a trusted bridge between Africa and Japan for investment, knowledge transfer and innovation learnings. Huge thanks to our fellow panelists including Yamada Shohei of SBI, Fuwa Naonobu of JICA, Koya Matsuno of VunaPay, Tamako Watanabe of the Japan Research Institute and Reiji Kobayashi of HAKKI. Thanks also to everyone in our network who we had the pleasure of catching up with, including the wonderful Kola A. of Ventures Platform! Until next time! 😍 Riki Yamauchi #venturecapital #investinafrica #startups #africajapanbridge

Our Riki Yamauchi is taking part in a panel at #IVS2024 this week on Thursday to discuss the vibrant startup ecosystem in Africa and what global institutions can do to support its growth. Make sure you catch him if you're in Tokyo this week😊👋 #venturecapital #investinafrica #africanstartups

And that's a wrap on our Novastar Summit 2024! 🚀 A week when the whole team from Nairobi, Lagos and London come together under one roof to take stock, reflect on lessons learned and look ahead to the future with optimism and exciting plans! This year was particularly special as we also celebrated Novastar's 10-year anniversary (much more on this to come...). Here's a little snapshot of our week together. Huge thanks to our colleague Nghi Tran for the beautiful photos! 💖

Throwing it back to the excellent Africa Tech Summit at the London Stock Exchange last week. It was great to be part of the panel for the Investment Showcase and learn more about the brilliant work of African startups and climate-tech entrepreneurs 👏 Huge thanks to everyone who took part, including our fellow panelists Maelis Carraro, Catalyst Fund, Lewam Kefela, Partech, and our wonderful moderator Boko Inyundo! We loved being at the summit, seeing old friends and new faces ❤️ #venturecapital #africanstartups #africatechsummit #africatechsummitlondon #investinafrica

Last week, we had the pleasure of attending GITEX AFRICA, the continent's largest all-inclusive tech and startup event, in Marrakesh ☀ It was a privilege to join a panel alongside Élisabeth Moreno from Ring Capital, Marieke Roestenberg from FMO and David Akinin from JABU to discuss the current state of play and outlook for African VC. A highlight of the week for us was judging a startup pitch competition (with fellow judges Eunice Wambui from Founders Factory Africa, Tareq from Royal Air Maroc and Eleni Gabre-Madhin from timbuktoo Africa). The startups had just two minutes to tell their story followed by rapid fire Q&A! A fast-paced, high-energy event with Zambian fintech, Lupiya, taking home the $50K prize! Huge congrats to all participants and especially to the Lupiya team 👏 Marrakesh is a city full of character and GITEX AFRICA a true melting pot of players from large corporates to pre-revenue startups. We absolutely loved being there. Thanks GITEX for having us and we hope you invite us back next year! 😄❤️ Andrew Carruthers Olúwatóyìn Emmanuel-Olubake #GITEXAFRICA #investinafrica #venturecapital #startups

Wow!! Some of Regen's 2023 impact in numbers: ♻ 30,300 tonnes of organic waster collected and converted 🌡 13,600 tonnes of CO2e emissions avoided 🌿 17,700 acres where regenerative agricultural practices were applied Kudos to the Regen Organics team for achieving these incredible milestones. This is a reflection of a tremendous amount of dedicated work to deliver quality, climate-smart services and products to farmers and to residents of fast-growing cities! Regen's work continues to help farmers improve their yields and incomes, create jobs across the value chain, improve the built-up environment in cities, and offset or remove carbon from the environment. Onwards and upwards! 🚀 #circulareconomy #regenerativefarming #venturecapital #investinafrica

Earlier this year, we engaged BlueMark to independently verify the alignment of Novastar's impact management practices with the Operating Principles for Impact Management, an industry standard for integrating impact throughout the investment lifecycle. BlueMark’s assessment findings cover both areas of strength and areas for improvement, as reflected in the Verifier Statement. BlueMark is a leading independent provider of impact verification services. It is a subsidiary of Tideline Advisors, a specialized consulting firm that works with asset managers and allocators to design and implement best-in-class impact management and measurement systems. We are pleased to have undertaken this rigorous assessment of our impact management processes, by an independent and trusted third party, so that we can continue to strive for and achieve best practice in impact management and reporting. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/enfVKqSg #impactmanagement #OPIM #venturecapital #investinafrica

In the words of Steve Beck...Congratulations on this well-earned recognition once again! It is a privilege to partner with you, Tosin Eniolorunda, Felix, and Moniepoint Group team. You have continued to innovate to deliver superior value to all your stakeholders - that's the growth I'm celebrating most here with you. Well done... and onward! 🚀

Dear friends, We're excited to share the first edition of News & Views 2024 where you'll find:  ✨Portfolio highlights  From investments and strategic partnerships to industry awards, we discuss the latest developments shaping our portfolio. 🚀Ecosystem engagement   We loved hosting our carbon masterclass at the Africa Tech Summit, as well as our Africa VC seminar in Tokyo. It was also a privilege to contribute to industry events like AVCA's annual conference. 💡Insights & updates  We've been keeping Brian even busier lately! His blog spotlights the startup ecosystem in Nigeria, he talks to CNBC about investing in Africa and he contributes to a feature in the Associated Press on climate funding in Africa. Read on for these updates and more!    As ever, The Novastar team ❤️