Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Novastar Ventures · Joined 2014
View Live Interactive Profile →Andrew Carruthers built two decades of fund management experience in Europe, India, and China - launching his first fund on the London Stock Exchange in 1999 and managing 12 more over 15 years - before turning his attention to emerging markets in 2009. Born in Lesotho and raised partly in Ethiopia and Kenya, he co-founded Novastar Ventures with Steve Beck in 2014, applying his fund-management discipline to a specific mass-market thesis: that venture capital could profitably serve East and West Africa's largest underserved consumer needs, not just a narrow tech elite. That philosophy backed early bets on Bridge International Academies, Sanergy, mPharma, and SolarNow, and Carruthers has grown Novastar into one of Africa's largest and most established dedicated venture firms, with roughly $260 million under management across three funds, including a new pan-African vehicle that closed at $147 million in early 2026.