Our Approach
Our Investment Thesis
We focus on mid-market companies in sectors we understand deeply, technology, healthcare, industrials, financial services, and consumer businesses. Our ideal investment is a business generating between USD 2 million and USD 20 million in annual revenue, with a clear path to doubling that revenue over our holding period through a combination of organic growth, geographic expansion, and where appropriate, bolt-on acquisitions. We are not passive investors. We bring board representation, strategic support, and our network of advisers, customers, and co-investors to every business we back. Our value-add is most impactful in companies making the transition from founder-led to institutionally-governed, a transition we have navigated with many management teams across our portfolio.
Our Commitment
What We Look For
We assess potential investments against four key criteria: market leadership or a credible path to it in a defined niche; a management team with the capability and ambition to execute a growth plan; a business model with demonstrated unit economics and scalability; and a clear exit pathway within our four-to-seven-year holding period. We are sector-agnostic within our defined focus areas but are particularly interested in businesses operating in sectors experiencing structural tailwinds, digitisation, healthcare formalisation, financial inclusion, and energy transition are all areas where we see sustained investment opportunity across emerging and frontier markets.
Investment Criteria
What We Back
Revenue Track Record
Minimum two years of audited revenue history demonstrating a clear growth trajectory. We are particularly interested in businesses with recurring or contracted revenue streams that provide visibility on future cash generation.
Scalable Business Model
A business model that can scale without proportional increases in cost. We look for businesses where additional revenue can be generated with manageable capital expenditure, strong unit margin, and a defensible customer acquisition model.
Management Alignment
Management teams who remain invested alongside us and are committed to the value creation plan we develop together. We believe that management incentive alignment is one of the most important determinants of investment success and structure our investments accordingly.
FAQ
Common Questions
Does Polinvest invest in loss-making businesses?
We consider growth-stage businesses that may be investing in growth ahead of profitability, but we require a clear and credible path to break-even and sustainable profitability within our holding period. We do not invest in businesses with structural losses or those requiring turnaround intervention.
What governance rights does Polinvest require?
We require board representation, typically one or two seats depending on our ownership stake, and information rights including quarterly management accounts, annual audited financials, and advance notice of significant transactions. We do not seek operational control of businesses but do expect to be consulted on major strategic decisions.
What is Polinvest's typical hold period?
Our target hold period is four to seven years. We begin planning exit options from the point of investment and will pursue exit when the business has achieved its value creation targets and market conditions are favourable. We do not impose a rigid exit timeline but seek to return capital to investors efficiently.
What returns does Polinvest target in private equity?
We target gross returns of 2.5x to 4x invested capital across our private equity portfolio, which translates to IRRs in the range of 20% to 35% depending on hold period. Actual returns vary by investment and market conditions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Private Equity in Practice
How We Create Value in Portfolio Companies
Value creation in private equity requires more than capital. The businesses we back receive access to our network of advisers, commercial partners, potential customers, and debt providers, resources that are often as valuable as the equity itself. We take a practical approach to value creation: we identify two or three specific initiatives at the outset of each investment that we believe will drive the majority of the value improvement over our holding period, and we resource and monitor those initiatives actively rather than waiting to see what happens.
Governance improvement is a consistent theme across our private equity portfolio. Many of the businesses we invest in are at the transition point between founder control and institutional governance, a transition that is often challenging for management teams accustomed to operating without formal board oversight. We approach this transition collaboratively, working with founders and management to design governance structures that provide adequate investor oversight while preserving the agility and entrepreneurial culture that made the business successful in the first place.
Exit planning begins at investment. Before we close any transaction, we have a clear view of the likely exit routes available, whether a strategic trade sale, a secondary sale to another financial investor, or a public listing, and a thesis for why those routes will be available to us at the end of our holding period. During the holding period, we actively cultivate relationships with potential acquirers and secondary investors, so that when we are ready to exit, we can move quickly and achieve competitive pricing without a prolonged process that creates uncertainty for management.
Portfolio Management
How We Support Growth in Our Portfolio Companies
Board representation is the primary mechanism through which we create value in our private equity portfolio. We approach board membership as a genuine contribution to the governance and strategic direction of the business, not as passive oversight. Our board representatives bring sector knowledge, financial discipline, and network access to every board discussion, and they take personal accountability for the quality of the governance they provide. We seek management teams who welcome this contribution and who see their board as a resource rather than an obstacle.
Working capital management is often the single most significant operational improvement opportunity in the businesses we back. Many mid-market companies in emerging markets carry significantly more inventory, accept longer payment terms from customers, and delay payment to suppliers more than their financial position justifies. Systematic working capital improvement, faster collections, better inventory control, optimised supplier terms, can free significant cash from the balance sheet without any revenue growth. We work with management teams to implement working capital improvement programmes as a standard part of our value creation agenda.
Internationalisation is a growth lever that many of our portfolio companies have not fully exploited at the point of our investment. Our geographic network and transaction pipeline give us visibility into markets and opportunities that management teams focused on their home market may not see. We actively support portfolio companies in assessing and pursuing international expansion opportunities where we believe the market dynamics justify the investment, and we leverage our in-country relationships to smooth the entry process.
Polinvest Capital
Submit Your Project Today
New, existing, and stalled projects are all considered. Our team reviews every submission and responds within five business days.
All projects considered
New, existing, or stalled, we evaluate every submission on merit.
5-day response commitment
Our origination desk responds to every submission within five business days.
$500M– $3.5B available
Active capital across syndicated, project finance, equity, and infrastructure facilities.