Francophone Africa focused investor Cauris has received a €5million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for its Cauris Croissance II fund (FCC II).
The fund is targeting €60m at final close and as of end of 2010 had raised €45million. FCC II’s current backers include the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC), which has committed €8million. The vehicle will back companies in the West Africa Economic and Monetary Union region which has about 93 million people and a combined GDP of €37billion. Focus will be on Burkina Faso, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
Cauris is primarily looking to finance companies that operate in the financial services, manufacturing, information technology, and infrastructure sectors. FCC II is looking for 15 companies across the region and plans to commit between €2m and €5m in to each deal.
Cauris Management is based in Lomé, Togo and headed by Noël Eklo.
