NOVA GROUP

What NOVA GROUP does

NOVA Talent Group (operating as NOVA Group) is a Nairobi-headquartered executive recruitment and talent advisory firm focused on East Africa. The firm serves two customer segments — employers (organisations hiring senior and specialist talent) and candidates (job seekers) — through a hybrid service-plus-platform model. Its employer-side offering spans Executive Search, Talent Mapping, Talent Pipeline development, Workforce Planning advisory, Employer Branding/EVP, and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) for volume hiring. Its candidate-side offering includes CV Review and ATS Optimisation, full CV rewrites, LinkedIn profile optimisation, interview preparation, career coaching, and executive personal branding services.

The firm operates across five targeted verticals — Finance & Banking, HR & Leadership, Technology & Digital, NGO & Development, and Supply Chain — staffed by named specialist consultants (Sarah Kimani in Finance/FMCG executive search, James Omondi in Technology/SaaS, Grace Mutua in HR/People, David Njoroge in Commercial/FMCG). Its underlying technology is a self-service Candidate Portal that supports CV upload, application tracking, service order monitoring, and role recommendations; no proprietary AI/ML platform is disclosed. Distribution is direct: enterprise-style employer onboarding via a two-step account creation process, mid-market and SMB candidate self-service, and WhatsApp/email direct consultation with a guaranteed one-business-day response.

The revenue model is professional services — quote-based recruitment fees for executive search (retained or contingency), managed-service fees for RPO engagements, and project fees for candidate services (CV rewrites, LinkedIn optimisation packages). Pricing is not publicly disclosed; specific salary bands for active mandates (e.g., Treasury & Risk Manager KES 200K-260K/month, Head of Data & Analytics KES 350K-420K/month) are listed publicly. Reported operational KPIs include 500+ cumulative successful placements, 200+ trusted client organisations, a 15,000+-professional network, a 93% placement rate, and a 21-day average time from engagement to offer. The company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds.

Name

NOVA GROUP

Legal name

NOVA Talent Group

Website

https://novatalent.co.ke

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NOVA Talent Group is a Nairobi-based executive recruitment and talent advisory firm serving employers and job seekers across East Africa via specialist consultants in Finance, HR, Technology, NGO, and Supply Chain verticals, supported by a self-service candidate portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive RPO (Leadership Hiring Programs) (BPACABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industry-Specific RPO (e.g., Healthcare, IT, Engineering) (BPACABAF), Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS) (BPACAPAD), Recruitment Marketing & Employer Branding for RPO (BPACABAL), Sourcing / Talent Research & Pipeline RPO (Sourcer-as-a-Service) (BPACABAM)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Talent recruitment
• Candidate career services
• Workforce planning
• RPO services

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Executive Search & Recruitment: Retained and contingency-based recruitment services placing senior and specialist candidates with employers. Services include talent mapping, talent pipelines, and workforce planning.
2. Candidate Services: CV review, ATS optimisation, LinkedIn profile optimisation, interview preparation, career coaching, and executive personal branding services provided to job seekers.
3. RPO & Volume Hiring: Recruitment Process Outsourcing services for employers needing bulk hiring support, including employer branding and workforce planning.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NOVA Talent Group is a recruitment and talent advisory firm based in Nairobi, Kenya that places senior and specialist candidates with employers across East Africa. The firm delivers executive search, talent mapping, talent pipeline, workforce planning, employer branding, and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) for hiring organisations, and separately offers CV review, ATS optimisation, LinkedIn optimisation, interview preparation, career coaching, and executive personal branding to individual job seekers.

Product overview

NOVA Talent Group operates as a unified recruitment and talent advisory platform offering two interconnected service suites: employer-focused recruitment services (Executive Search, Talent Mapping, Talent Pipeline, Workforce Planning, Employer Branding, RPO & Volume Hiring, Job Advert Writing) and candidate-facing career services (CV Review & ATS Optimisation, CV Revamp, LinkedIn Optimisation, Interview Preparation, Career Coaching, Executive Personal Branding). The firm also provides a Candidate Portal platform for application tracking and job matching. Services span key industry sectors including Finance & Accounting, HR & Leadership, NGO & Development, Supply Chain, and Technology & Digital.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Search Senior and specialist placements handled with discretion for C-suite and senior leadership roles, targeting passive candidates through focused outreach for employers in East Africa.
• Talent Mapping Research and analysis service that maps the talent landscape within specific industries, sectors, or organisations to identify potential candidates for current or future roles.
• Talent Pipeline Pre-built candidate pools maintained for growing teams, enabling employers to hire faster without restarting searches from scratch.
• Workforce Planning Strategic advisory service to help organisations anticipate and plan their future staffing needs based on business objectives and market trends.
• Employer Branding (EVP) Development of employer value proposition and branding strategies to help organisations attract top talent and differentiate themselves in competitive hiring markets.
• RPO & Volume Hiring Recruitment Process Outsourcing service where NOVA manages the entire recruitment process on behalf of employers with high-volume hiring needs.
• Job Advert Writing Creation of clear, targeted job advertisements that attract suitable candidates and set realistic expectations from the outset for employers.
• CV Review & ATS Optimisation Review and optimisation of candidate CVs to improve Applicant Tracking System alignment, recruiter visibility, and market competitiveness for job seekers.
• CV Revamp (Full Rewrite) Complete restructuring and rewriting of candidate CVs to maximise impact, clarity, and alignment with target roles.
• LinkedIn Optimisation Professional profile rewrites that improve recruiter search visibility, keyword alignment, and professional credibility on LinkedIn for individual professionals.
• Interview Preparation Structured coaching for competency interviews, panel sessions, salary discussions, and final-stage readiness to help candidates perform optimally.
• Career Coaching Personalised guidance and support to help professionals navigate career transitions, development, and advancement.
• Executive Personal Branding Strategic positioning and branding services for senior executives to enhance their professional image and marketability.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ successful placements across sectors
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm focused on board, CEO, and senior leadership hiring. Comparable because it competes in the same executive search category as NOVA, particularly for senior finance, NGO, and technology leadership roles across emerging markets including Africa.
• ManpowerGroup: Global workforce solutions provider offering staffing, RPO, and talent advisory. Comparable because it operates in the same RPO and high-volume hiring category as NOVA and has established presence in African markets, providing direct competition for enterprise mandates.
• Michael Page: Global specialist recruitment firm covering multiple professional disciplines. Comparable because it competes in the same mid-to-senior professional recruitment space as NOVA, with operations in Africa serving similar finance, technology, and supply chain mandates.
• Robert Half: Global professional staffing and recruitment firm specializing in finance, accounting, technology, and legal placements. Comparable because it directly competes for the same finance and accounting specialist mandates NOVA targets, with established East African and global delivery infrastructure.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm specializing in leadership and C-suite placements. Comparable because it directly competes for the executive search mandates NOVA serves, particularly across finance, technology, and NGO leadership, though at the highest end of the market.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with a significant RPO, executive search, and talent advisory practice. Comparable because it offers enterprise-grade RPO, executive search, and workforce planning services spanning multiple industries, the same core services NOVA provides, but at a vastly larger scale and global footprint.
• Adecco: Global staffing and RPO provider with operations across Africa. Comparable because it competes for the same RPO and volume hiring mandates NOVA offers, with significantly broader geographic and enterprise delivery capability.

Direct peers

• BrighterMonday: Leading East African online job marketplace and recruitment platform headquartered in Kenya. Comparable because it directly competes for the same employer clients and candidate pool in East Africa, with a stronger technology platform but a less specialist, less executive-search-focused positioning than NOVA.
• Corporate Staffing Services: Kenyan-headquartered recruitment firm offering permanent placement, executive search, and HR consulting. Comparable because it directly competes with NOVA in the Kenyan market for the same finance, NGO, and corporate recruitment mandates, with a similar boutique service model.

Regional players

• Catenon: Global executive search firm with strong presence across Africa, the Middle East, and emerging markets. Comparable because it targets the same executive and specialist mandates NOVA serves, with broader geographic reach and similar emerging-market positioning, but operates primarily outside East Africa.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/novatalent
• YouTubewa.me/254733222231
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nova-talent-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NOVA GROUP