Funding

DFC Invests $25M in Novastar’s Africa People + Planet Fund to Boost Climate Solutions and Agriculture

DFC invests $25M in Novastar’s Africa People + Planet Fund to boost climate solutions and agriculture.

The Africa People + Planet Fund, initiated by Novastar Ventures, a Pan-African venture capital firm, will receive a USD 25 million equity investment from the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

The Nairobi and Lagos-based VC firm intends to raise over USD 200 million and support startups working on climate solutions and agriculture. These startups will primarily improve community resilience by offering financial and supply chain services.

This fund is Novastar’s third injection following the Africa Fund II and the East Africa Fund. Previous funds assisted tech-based startups in various industries and agriculture, education, and renewable energy.

The Africa Fund II facilitated Novastar’s geographic growth into West Africa, which provided $108 million. The East Africa Fund, on the other hand, invested $80 million in 15 regional startups.

Novastar’s co-founder and managing partner Andrew Carruthers commented, “We perceive opportunities across all three categories, buoyed by evident megatrends such as significant population growth, swift urbanization, and the vast expanse of arable land available on the continent.”

Novastar’s previous two funds supported technology-based startups that provided public services in various industries, including agriculture, education, and off-grid renewable energy. Turaco, an insurance technology startup; Moniepoint (previously TeamApt), mPharma, a health technology firm, MoKo, TradeDepot, and iProcure, are a few of the notable investors.

The Africa People + Planet Fund supports cleantech that tackles environmental challenges in Africa, such as developing clean utilities, eco-friendly construction tech, and circular economy initiatives. The Vc firm also invests in climate techs that use regenerative forestry, agriculture, and biofuels to safeguard biodiversity and improve soil health. Novastar Ventures provides additional funding to expand cleantech companies in Africa, as these were the second most funded startups in the region last year, after fintech.

“Going forward, we are looking to build on this experience and use the same tools and strategies to support sustainable, planet-positive, mass-market business models across Africa that the rest of the world can learn from,” Carruthers, Novastar co-founder said in an interview with Tech Crunch.

According to Carruthers, Novastar Ventures intends to support cleantech companies working in clean utilities, clean construction technologies, electric mobility, smart logistics, the circular economy, and alternative materials. These efforts will aid in decarbonizing the African continent’s anticipated growth over the next 10 to 20 years.

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