Niraj Varia spent the last eight years at Novastar Ventures, a global VC with hubs in Nairobi, Lagos and London, having joined it at inception and rising through the ranks to become partner. Under his watch, the firm invested in numerous tech-enabled startups in Africa’s sub-Saharan region, and, more recently, led efforts to help the firm manage multiple funds.

It is this business-development experience that he brings to Kenyan agtech scaleup, iProcure, which is part of Novastar’s portfolio, and which he joins as CEO, taking over from co-founder Stefano Carcoforo. Carcoforo, who with Varia’s appointment becomes the chief data and growth officer, co-founded the agtech with Nicole Galletta (head of innovation), Patrick Wanjohi (chief technical officer), and Bernard Maingi (chief commercial officer) in 2014.

iProcure connects agricultural suppliers to local retailers (agro-dealers) through unique distribution infrastructure that interlink agricultural supply chains in East Africa. The agtech is designed to address the challenge of stock-outs and sub-standard supplies, bringing about new efficiencies that also lowers and stabilize product prices.

TechCrunch spoke with Varia on his plans for steering iProcure’s growth across Africa, and his thoughts on the current startup investment space in Africa.

TC: You have just been appointed to head one of Africa’s fastest growing agtech enterprises, but you also have great experience in the tech startup world, both as a founder and investor. You must have had great experiences. How has the journey been for you, so far?

Varia: My career has been something of a random walk. After a brief stint as an actuary, I joined McKinsey & Co for four years, where I was exposed to multiple industries and business problems. On leaving McKinsey, I spent several years trying to bring business ways of thinking to NGOs and charities in Africa, which led me to work in 12 African countries, where I greatly interacted with regulators, farmers, and business people.