Brian Waswani Odhiambo came up through building companies himself, from joining Jumia when it was just four people working out of an apartment to co-founding a renewable energy startup in Zambia, and that hands-on path across Kenya, Lagos, and Zambia now shapes how he invests from Novastar's West Africa base in Lagos, insisting on meeting founders in person and looking for patterns across different businesses rather than sticking to one sector label. He pays close attention to honesty and trust between founders and their boards, focuses on Nigerian businesses that provide basic goods and services with steady demand, and is drawn to companies that build financial services directly into things like logistics, supply chains, and energy access, work recognized through his selection as a 2024–2025 Obama Foundation Africa Leader.
About their Fund
Novastar Ventures
Novastar Ventures is a venture capital fund that invests in African startups reaching low-income consumers, suppliers, employees, and distributors at large scale, focusing especially on climate adaptation, decarbonization, and natural-resource businesses, and it looks beyond Africa's four biggest markets to places like Uganda, Ghana, and Francophone Africa for less crowded opportunities. The fund has backed companies such as Moniepoint, mPharma, TradeDepot, Turaco, MoKo, and iProcure, operates from bases in London, Nairobi, and Lagos, was named the accredited entity for a Green Climate Fund project spanning Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Egypt, and received a $40 million multifund commitment from Japan's SBI Holdings—its first direct investment in an African venture capital firm.
Notable Fund
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