Novastar Secures $147M to Fund African Climate Startups

Novastar Ventures just closed its third fund with $147 million to invest in startups tackling Africa's climate and sustainability challenges. The firm is expanding beyond its traditional East and West African focus to explore opportunities across the entire continent.

Japanese investors are leading the charge with unprecedented enthusiasm. SBI Holdings, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency all committed capital, signaling growing confidence in African innovation.

Development finance institutions from Europe also joined in, including Norway's Norfund, Sweden's Swedfund, France's Proparco, and British International Investment. Their participation shows that impact investing in Africa continues attracting serious institutional money.

The fund has already started putting money to work. Portfolio companies include Breadfast, a food delivery platform, Sistema.bio, which builds clean energy systems, and Chowdeck, a logistics company transforming how people access goods and services.

Novastar's strategy centers on businesses that deliver both profits and measurable positive impact. The firm has spent over a decade proving this approach works, backing companies that address real challenges while building sustainable economies.

The Ripple Effect

This investment wave does more than fund individual companies. It creates jobs, reduces carbon emissions, and proves that African entrepreneurs can build solutions the world needs while attracting global capital.

Japanese limited partners will get co-investment rights, deepening ties between Japan and African startups. This partnership opens doors for more cross-continental collaboration and knowledge sharing in the years ahead.

Andrew Carruthers, Novastar's co-founder and managing partner, sees the fund as a natural evolution of their mission to back transformative businesses. The firm focuses on ventures that generate lasting financial, social, and environmental value for communities across Africa.

The sectors receiving investment are critical to Africa's future: food systems that feed growing populations, clean energy that powers communities without harming the planet, and logistics that connect people to opportunities. These aren't abstract concepts but practical solutions improving lives today.

A new generation of African entrepreneurs now has $147 million more reasons to dream big.