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CDC to back SMEs in West Africa with EUR8m investment

Small and medium-sized businesses in Francophone West Africa will receive commercial investment thanks to a EUR8m investment by CDC, the UK’s development finance institution.



CDC’s EUR8m commitment is to the Fonds Cauris Croissance II, a private equity fund run by Cauris Management, a West African team based in Togo and Cote d’Ivoire.

FCC II will also invest in promising business in other countries such as Senegal, Benin, Mali and Burkina Faso.

CDC’s commitment has helped FCC II raise a total of EUR45m from investors, including other development finance institutions and local private investors. The fund aims to raise a total of EUR60m at its final close. This is the first fund that CDC has supported operating solely in French-speaking West Africa. 

FCC II’s focus will be on backing businesses across a range of sectors that are looking to expand beyond their local country markets. Investments will typically be between EUR2m and EUR5m and FCC II expects to make around ten to 15 long-term investments across the West Africa Economic and Monetary Union countries. The target region for FCC II’s investments has over 93 million people and a combined GDP of EUR37bn.

FCC II is Cauris Management’s third fund and follows on Cauris Croissance I which raised EUR15m and has invested in a number of businesses including a bottled water company in Benin and a petrol station franchise in Cote d’Ivoire.

Jean-Marc Savi de Tové, CDC’s portfolio director for Africa, says: “Many SMEs in Francophone West Africa currently struggle to raise enough capital to grow because the local banking system does not yet provide the right type of finance for them. By growing businesses through a combination of investment and business advice the Fonds Cauris Croissance II will promote local entrepreneurship, economic development and job creation in a part of Africa that has traditionally seen little private equity investment.

“Our investment in FCC II has also given us the opportunity to work alongside BOAD (West African Development Bank), to make long term capital available for SMEs in the region.”

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