Our investment criteria

How to submit your project to us

A long-standing private equity player in West Africa since 1996, Cauris Management supports high-potential SMEs and industrial SMEs as they scale up. Discover our criteria and the step-by-step process to submit your funding project.

PME / PMI

High-potential targets

Minority

Equity stake

3–5 ans

Projection horizon

Why clear investment criteria?

An investment fund is not a bank. Our business is to strengthen the equity of selected companies, share their risk and create value over time.

Explicit criteria protect the entrepreneur as much as the investor: they avoid unsuitable applications, speed up the review of relevant cases and lay the foundations for an aligned partnership. Before any submission, we recommend that you familiarise yourself with our investment strategy.

• Benin

• Burkina Faso

• Senegal

• Côte d'Ivoire

• Togo

• Guinea-Bissau

• Mali

• Niger

Key takeaways

Cibles

SMEs and industrial SMEs with high growth potential

Zone

West Africa, regional openness

Key document

A 15-to-20-page business plan

Participation

Generally minority, long-term

Our investment criteria

We assess each opportunity against complementary criteria, combining the quality of the company, the quality of its team and the consistency of its growth project.

01

Company profile

  • SMEs / industrial SMEs with a proven or clearly demonstrable business model
  • Strong potential for growth and sustainable profitability
  • Regional openness towards West Africa, a decisive asset

02

Management and governance

  • An experienced, committed and transparent management team
  • Structured governance or a willingness to professionalise it
  • A clear vision of value creation over 3-5 years

03

Market and positioning

  • A buoyant market, identified demand, favourable trends
  • Articulated competitive advantage and added value
  • A consistent commercial strategy: offering, pricing, distribution

04

Form of participation

  • A generally minority equity stake
  • Strengthened equity for better access to bank financing
  • A privileged long-term partner, not merely a lender

What we finance

Our involvement adapts to the company’s development stage and strategic need, according to four investment rationales.

Venture capital

Create

  • Create a company that meets an identified market need.

Growth capital

Finance growth

  • Equipment, new products and services, setting up a subsidiary, acquiring a competitor or diversification.

Turnaround capital

Restructure

  • Put a struggling company back on a sound trajectory.

Buyout capital

Transfer your business

  • Support the sale of a minority stake or of control: reclassification, transfer or LBO.

How to submit your project, step by step

The process is deliberately structured so that each application is reviewed under the best conditions.

01

Check the fit

  • Check your project against our criteria and investment strategy before taking any steps.

02

Prepare your business plan

  • Write a methodical 15-to-20-page document addressing the four concerns detailed below.

03

Gather the documents

  • Articles of association, activity reports and financial statements, depending on your situation.

04

Submit your application

  • Submit your request via the dedicated form or the applicant area of the website.

05

Discussion and analysis

  • Our team reviews the application, then comes back to you to explore the key points in more depth.

06

Due diligence and decision

  • Selected projects undergo an in-depth analysis before any investment decision.

The structure of a convincing business plan

The process is deliberately structured so that each application is reviewed under the best conditions.

01

Knowledge of your company

  • History, legal form, capital and ownership
  • Presentation of senior executives
  • Business, added value and expertise
  • Products or services and supplies

02

Knowledge of your environment

  • Current and potential market, trends
  • Positioning, market share and ranking
  • Prix, communication, distribution
  • Competition and SWOT matrix

03

3-5 year projection

  • Targeted products and services
  • Targeted market share and strategy
  • Moyens humains, financiers, techniques
  • Organisational improvements

04

Due diligence and decision

  • Projected income statements
  • Projected cash flows
  • Projected balance sheets
  • Over a 3-to-5-year horizon

Checklist of documents to attach

  • All companies: articles of association; a structured 15-to-20-page business plan.
  • Existing companies: the last three activity reports; the last three balance sheets, income statements and supporting documents.
  • Development projects: projected financial statements over 3 to 5 years: income, cash flow and balance sheet.

Ready to submit your project to us?

If your company recognises itself in these criteria, we will give your application our full attention. Prepare your business plan, gather your documents, then send your request to our team.