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In a statement released and seen by the public by the company, Novastar Ventures has committed a $3.5 million investment to Nairobi-based Sistema.bio, a firm offering renewable power to smallholder farmers.
The funds form part of a $7.75mn internal round that Sistema.bio will use to grow biogas technology and digital services in Africa.
Popular by the name Afrika ugunde, the new local carrier is funded by Novastar’s Africa People + Planet Fund III which focuses on sustainability and economic development.
These include Novastar Ventures which operates from offices in Nairobi, Lagos and London: the organization invests in startups seeking to solve basic needs in Africa. In the year 2020, Novastar capped its second fund at $108m to invest in early and growth-stage enterprises in the East and West African region.
In 2020, Novastar Ventures opened The Africa People + Planet Fund which plans to get more than $200M to climate and agriculture initiatives. This fund supports the adaptation of clients to climatic change and access to clean technologies of various firms.
Sistema.bio is one of their strategic investments that focus on backing businesses that offer sustainable solutions in the renewable energy market. Instead, Sistema.bio looks at newly emerging markets and technologies in a bid to accelerate the reduction of Green House Gases to an extent of 1% by 2030.
Sistema.bio’s biogas technology provides an eco-friendly service to family farmers, as they can transform animal waste into renewable energy used for cooking and the production of electricity and bio fertiliser giving improved health to the soil.
Currently with a network of over 12000 farms in 31 countries, the company has in some way influenced over 100000 farmers in the sub-Saharan region.
This technology helps in came reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases and therefore helps the farmers to use less energy hence increasing productivity and income. Our operations cover several countries across Africa benefiting more than a hundred thousand farmers across sub-Saharan Africa.
In addition, Sistema.bio has benefited from the acquisition of Inclusive Energy in terms of digital MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification) capacity. The integration enables mobility as it allows remote diagnostic checks, usage analytics for carbon credentials and predictive data analysis for maintenance purposes to make farming equipment readily available and effective for farmers.
“It fortifies our mission of providing technology-enabled solutions to low resource dependent farm audits to foster the improved economic capability and climate-smart farming,” said Joyce Cacho, Board Chairman of Sistema.bio. “Altogether, we are providing reach to meaningful technologies, which are positive for people and planet alike.”
The Novastar Ventures Co-founder Steve Beck also echoed and said, “Sistema.bio enables family farmers to change waste into renewable fire and nutrients and boost output and productivity which in turn enables them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These organisations are at a growth stage and we are thrilled to be able to partner and participate in their carbon market efforts.
This collaboration underscores the importance of Africa in addressing Climate Change spearheading sustainable agricultural development in the continent. Agriculture, energy, and climate change will be transformed through this equitable cooperation by introducing new biogas technology and improving digitization processes.
