British International Investment

Novastar Ventures Africa Fund II

East AfricaGhanaKenyaNigeriaWest AfricaAfricaBusiness and consumer servicesFinancial servicesFood and agricultureHealthInfrastructureManufacturingTechnology and telecoms

Novastar Ventures is a Nairobi-based venture capital firm which specialises in early stage ventures in East Africa. The firm primarily invests in education, healthcare, agri-businesses, food, and water sectors which target low-income communities.

This investment was made when British International Investment was named CDC Group.

Our investment

Description of the investment.

In 2018, BII (then CDC) made a $15 million commitment to the first close of Novastar Ventures Africa Fund II.

Expected impact

Expected impact of investments made between 2012 and 2018. From 2019 onwards, we have published a fuller set of impact information, assessing each investment against six dimensions of impact.

Novastar will catalyse growth in businesses that provide basic goods and services at scale and economic opportunities for low income, mass markets. If successful, the fund can help prove the venture impact investing model in Africa which remains nascent.

Fund II is the natural evolution of Fund I and is critical to proving the VC model to develop innovative business models to positively impact underserved mass markets and low-income populations.

The fund’s investments include companies such as MoniePoint, a financial inclusion digital platform that has generated large scale benefits for MSMEs in Nigeria.

It has also invested in BasiGo, an e-mobility company looking to revolutionize and decarbonize the public transport sector in Kenya and Rwanda.

Reporting and Complaints Mechanism

The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to reportsandcomplaints@bii.co.uk or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.

For any other general enquiries contact us at enquiries@bii.co.uk

  • Key facts
    Last updated

    When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.

    :
    December 2024
    Project number

    An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.

    :
    D3271
    Status

    The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).

    :
    Active
    Region

    The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.

    :
    Africa
    Sector

    We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.

    :
    Business and consumer services, Financial services, Food and agriculture, Health, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Technology and telecoms

    We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.

    For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.

    For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.

    For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.

    For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.

    For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.

    For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.

    The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.

    For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.

    The currency in which the investment was made.

    Investment type :
    Fund
    Start date :
    October 2018
    Amount :
    $15m
    Currency of investment :
    USD
    Fund manager:
    Novastar Ventures Limited
    Domicile

    The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.

    :
    Mauritius

    Download as PDF

    Click here to read our data guidance

Investments made by this fund into companies:

For further information about these companies, visit https://www.novastarventures.com/

Investment name Country Region Sector Energy Type Start date Status
BasiGo Inc. Kenya East Africa Infrastructure February 2022 Active
Elephant Healthcare Limited Kenya East Africa Health January 2021 Active
Fortem Holdings Limited (iProcure) Kenya East Africa Business and consumer services December 2021 Active
Ignitia AB West Africa Africa Technology and telecoms April 2021 Active
KOKO Networks Limited Kenya East Africa Food and agriculture October 2023 Active
Metro Africa Xpress (MAX.NG) Nigeria West Africa Business and consumer services June 2019 Active
Moniepoint Inc. Nigeria West Africa Financial services March 2021 Active
mPharma Data Inc Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria East Africa, West Africa Health May 2019 Active
Poa International Ltd Kenya East Africa Technology and telecoms December 2021 Active
Sure Chill Kenya East Africa Manufacturing May 2019 Active
TradeDepot Inc Nigeria West Africa Business and consumer services October 2021 Active
Turaco Inc. East Africa Africa Financial services November 2020 Active

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