2026-04-02
April 2, 2026
SBI Holdings, Inc.
(TOKYO: 8473)
Notice Regarding Investment in Novastar Ventures’ “Africa People and Planet” Fund 3
SBI Holdings, Inc. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, Chairman & President: Yoshitaka Kitao; hereinafter “SBI Holdings”) hereby announces that, through one of its subsidiaries, it has made a USD 20 million investment in Novastar Ventures Africa People and Planet Fund III (the “Fund”), managed by Novastar Ventures (Head Office: United Kingdom; Representatives: Steve Beck and Andrew Carruthers; hereinafter “Novastar”), with which SBI Holdings entered into a strategic capital partnership agreement in November 2023. The Fund has also reached its final close at USD 147 million and completed fundraising.
Founded in 2014, Novastar is one of the first and largest venture capital firms in Africa. Since entering into the strategic partnership with Novastar in November 2023, SBI Holdings has been able to accelerate direct investments into leading African businesses. Concrete outcomes of this partnership include co-investments in BasiGo, leading EV bus operator in Kenya and Rwanda, and Breadfast, Egypt’s largest integrated household e-commerce platform, among other partnership achievements.
The Fund primarily invests in technology companies that contribute to sustainable growth for both people and the planet, in light of social challenges such as Africa’s population growth, urbanization, and responses to climate change. Investment activities through the Fund are already well underway, and the Fund has completed investments in sector-leading companies such as Chowdeck, a fast-growing e-commerce platform in Nigeria, and Greenwheels, which operates an electric motorcycle network in Kenya under an exclusive partnership with Uber. In addition to SBI Holdings’ own investment, SBI Holdings has served as a bridge between Japan and Africa, facilitating participation in the Fund by leading Japanese institutional investors and business corporations, including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. As a result, investments from Japanese investors came to represent a significant portion of the Fund’s total capital commitments. This transaction represents an extremely large-scale example of Japanese capital participation in an Africa-focused fund.
Going forward, through its collaboration with Novastar, SBI Holdings will continue to serve as a bridge between the investment and business networks of Japan and Africa, while pursuing investment opportunities that combine growth potential with social significance, thereby contributing to Africa’s sustainable growth and the development of its startup ecosystem.
For further information, please contact: SBI Holdings, Inc. Corporate Communications Dept., Tel: +81 3 6229-0126