About Novastar Ventures
Novastar Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2013. It is primarily based out of Nairobi, Kenya. As of Sep 2026, Novastar Ventures is an active investor, having invested in 34 companies, with 1 new investment in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Seed round in Kenya based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Food and Agriculture Tech to Retail and Consumer. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series A round of ARC Ride Overall, Novastar Ventures portfolio has seen 1 unicorn, 1 IPO and 2 acquisitions including key companies like Moniepoint, PayGo Energy and Bridge. A lot of funds co-invest with Novastar Ventures, with names like Global Ventures sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Novastar Ventures has team of 15 people including 9 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 2 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
Novastar Ventures' List of Top Investments
Novastar Ventures has a portfolio of 34 companies, one of which is a Unicorn. Their most notable investments are in Komaza and BasiGo.Their portfolio spans across Kenya, Nigeria, United States and 9 more locations. They have invested in Food and Agriculture Tech, Retail, Consumer and 21 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 2 more. Here is the list of top investments by Novastar Ventures:
1. Moniepoint
Provider of integrated financial services for businesses and individuals. It offers a comprehensive platform encompassing payments processing, banking solutions, credit facilities, and business management tools. These services are designed to streamline financial operations and facilitate growth for its clientele. The platform aims to provide seamless access to essential financial resources.
Key facts about Moniepoint
- Founded Year: 2019
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $266M
- Employee Count: 5,586 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Visa, QED Investors and 22 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Nov 03, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
2. Breadfast
Online platform offering multi-category grocery products. It offers bakeries, groceries, fruits, veggies, personal care, and household products. The company claims to deliver the order within 60 minutes from the point of ordering. The company offers mobile applications for Android and iOS platforms.
Key facts about Breadfast
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Cairo (Egypt)
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $86.2M
- Employee Count: 2,524 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Mubadala, For Good Ventures and 23 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Feb 17, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. MAX
MAX is a provider of on-demand hyperlocal delivery services. It provides deliveries by combining on-demand dispatch technology with a network of local dispatch riders. It does end-to-end pick-up and delivery to customers and uses mapping technology to resolve address issues. It provides instant, same-day, and next-day delivery services. Its app is available on Android and IOS devices.
Key facts about MAX
Poa International is an internet service provider which caters to residential customers in the rural and underserved areas of Kenya. It offers wireless broadband internet access with data speeds up to 10 Mbps, multiple speed based internet plans, WiFi hotspots, managed WiFi, installation, and support services.
Key facts about poa! internet
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: Nairobi (Kenya)
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $36M
- Employee Count: 373 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: USTDA, Novastar Ventures and 6 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Venture Debt, Aug 27, 2025, $*****
5. mPharma
mPharma is a pharmacy benefits manager, the company offers pharmacy stock management services to patients and pharmacies. Provides mobile and web-based platforms that allow healthcare providers, pharmacies, insurance companies to make medicines accessible and affordable to the patients. The consumer-facing mobile app allows patients to order monthly prescription refills and provides reminders by enrolling in their program Mutti. The company provides Allows registered doctors to direct her patients to pharmacies with the prescribed drugs in stock and check adherence. Using the data from doctors and patient interfaces, the company provides pharmacies information regarding demand and other tools to manage their services. Additionally, the company provides tools to keep a track of claims on prescription drugs and marketing services to pharmaceutical companies.
Key facts about mPharma
- Founded Year: 2013
- Location: Accra (Ghana)
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $95.3M
- Employee Count: 398 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Citi, Scribble Ventures and 33 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Dec 23, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Novastar Ventures' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Novastar Ventures has invested in 34 companies over the last 12 years, with an average of 2 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 3 investments, while as of Sep 2026, it has made 1 investment in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in ARC Ride and most recent follow-on round was in Moniepoint.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2025 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
2024 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
2021 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
2020 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
2019 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
2018 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2017 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
Novastar Ventures' Investments by Stage
Novastar Ventures has made 9 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $2.56M, 9 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $13.3M, 5 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $6.83M and 1 investment in Unattributed stage.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 9 |
Series A | 9 |
Series B | 5 |
Unattributed | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Novastar Ventures' Investments by Sector
Novastar Ventures has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Consumer, Energy Tech, Environment Tech, Food and Agriculture Tech and Sustainability Tech. Notably, it has invested in 22 Tech companies, 18 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 14 Consumer (B2C) companies and at least 8 companies focusing on Software.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Consumer | 6 |
Energy Tech | 4 |
Environment Tech | 4 |
Food and Agriculture Tech | 4 |
Sustainability Tech | 4 |
Others | 31 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Novastar Ventures' Investments by Geography
Novastar Ventures has made most investments in Kenya (11), followed by Nigeria where it has made 4 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Kenya | 11 |
Nigeria | 4 |
United Kingdom | 3 |
United States | 2 |
Egypt | 1 |
Others | 4 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Novastar Ventures' recent investments
Novastar Ventures has made 1 investments in 2026 so far - ARC Ride.Here are the most recent investments by Novastar Ventures:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 08, 2026 | United Kingdom | Series A | 3132 | [+5] | |
Aug 11, 2025 | Egypt | Series B | 5760 | ||
Jul 09, 2025 | Nigeria | Series A | 5382 | [+5] | |
Jan 14, 2025 | Mexico | Series B | 9473 | - | |
Oct 29, 2024 | United Kingdom | Series C | 9234 | [+8] |
Unicorns in Novastar Ventures' Portfolio
Novastar Ventures has 1 unicorn in its portfolio - Moniepoint. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Moniepoint which became a unicorn in 2024, 3 years after Novastar Ventures first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Novastar Ventures' portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
74 | Provider of integrated financial services for businesses and individuals | 2019 | London | Series C | wukrnwb |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Novastar Ventures' Portfolio
1 of Novastar Ventures' portfolio company became public - Bridge.Here are Novastar Ventures' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
- | - | - | 4265 |
Acquired companies in Novastar Ventures' Portfolio
2 companies from Novastar Ventures' portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was PayGo Energy in Apr 2023 by Sun King for $*****.Here are Novastar Ventures' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Apr 28, 2023 | Apr 24, 2017 | Seed | 7661 | |
Apr 28, 2022 | May 2017 | Seed | 7958 |
Team profile of Novastar Ventures
Novastar Ventures has a team of 15 members including 9 Partners and 4 Principals located in Kenya, United Kingdom and 2 more locations. Novastar Ventures' team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of top team members in Novastar Ventures:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Kenya | - | ||
Partner | San Francisco | - | ||
Partner | London | - | ||
Partner | United Kingdom | - | - | |
Partner | Kenya | - | - | |
Partner | - | - | - | |
Partner | United Kingdom | - | - | |
Partner | Nairobi | - | - | |
Partner | Pittsburgh | - | - | |
Principal | Kenya | - |
Co-investors of Novastar Ventures
Over the past 12 years, 196 investors have co-invested in Novastar Ventures's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Novastar Ventures: Y Combinator, 4DX Ventures and 83 others have invested in rounds before Novastar Ventures. There are 2 companies where Y Combinator has invested before Novastar Ventures and 2 companies where 4DX Ventures has invested before Novastar Ventures.
- Top Co-investors of Novastar Ventures: 37 investors entered a company along with Novastar Ventures. These include investors like Global Ventures (2 companies).
- Invested after Novastar Ventures: A total of 74 investors have invested in Novastar Ventures's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include British International Investment (4 companies), Finnfund (3 companies) and Lightrock (2 companies).
Recent News related to Novastar Ventures
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Novastar Ventures Closes $147m Africa People and Planet Fund IIITechMoran•Apr 30, 2026•Proparco, Novastar Ventures
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Sistema.bio Raises $53 Million for FarmCarbon Climate FinanceTechMoran•Mar 19, 2026•Sistema, FarmCarbon, Shell Foundation, British International Investment and 2 others
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Autonomous Driving Startup Waymo Raises $16B Led by MubadalaStartup Scene•Feb 04, 2026•Alphabet, Mubadala, IFC, Breadfast and 7 others
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Nigeria’s MAX Raises $24 Million to Scale EV Across West and Central AfricaTech Labari•Jan 16, 2026•Equitane, NovaStar, Endeavor, MaxMobility and 3 others
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Novastar Secures Up to US$40 Million from Green Climate Fund for Africa Climate‑Tech FundTechgist Africa•Nov 06, 2025•Green Climate Fund, Novastar Ventures
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African Startups Funding Comeback in September 2025: A 430% ReboundTechloy•Oct 09, 2025•Kredete, Vound, Novastar Ventures
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Breadfast Secures $10M in Series B2 Round Led by Novastar VenturesTechMoran•Aug 19, 2025•EBRD, Breadfast, Novastar Ventures
