Novastar Ventures East Africa Fund I LP

Novastar is a venture capital fund dedicated to finding and growing the "new stars" of East Africa. Novastar backs early stage businesses led by entrepreneurs with the capability and ambition to transform markets at the base-of-the-pyramid. These innovative businesses serve mass market demand for basic goods and services such as education, healthcare, information, sanitation and energy. Novastar aims to generate attractive financial returns for our investors and large-scale social benefits in the communities where we invest.

Financial description

Novastar applies a disciplined venture capital approach to investing in early stage businesses. We are prepared to invest early in promising entrepreneurs serving large (i.e. low-income consumer) markets in our territory. We employ multiple rounds of small investments to iterate a new business model, then either back rapid growth with significant follow-on capital through the growth cycle of the company, or stop. By so doing, only a small portion of our fund is deployed in unproven businesses - the majority is deployed in businesses that can rapidly grow to a scale that makes them attractive to strategic buyers. Novastar is an active equity investor that takes a minority stake in our portfolio companies and adds value through our knowledge, experience and networks.