Advise. Structure. Fund.
We institutionalise African businesses.
We turn founder led companies into governed, investable, exit ready institutions, and back the ones we believe in with capital.
Our singular promise
From founder led to institution grade.
Most African businesses plateau because they were never built to be institutions. We rebuild the strategy, structure, governance and capital base, so the business can scale beyond its founder.
COII™ · The framework behind the work
Diagnose your business in under 2 minutes.
Every engagement runs through COII™, the Crimson Oak Institutionalisation Index, a proprietary framework we've built and refined over years of advising founder led African companies. Eight dimensions. Thirty two institutional signals. One score that tells us, and the founder, exactly where the business stands.
It is how we price a mandate, sequence the work, and know when a business is ready for outside capital. It is not a product. It is the lens.
Eight dimensions
32 signals
- 01Strategy & Vision
- 02Governance
- 03Financial Discipline
- 04Operating Model
- 05People & Talent
- 06Systems & Data
- 07Risk & Compliance
- 08Capital Readiness
Output
A single score. A tier. A structural gap map.
COII™ score
How we institutionalise
Three levers. One institution grade outcome.
Strategy
A plan investors believe
Corporate strategy, market positioning and growth roadmaps that turn the business into a defensible, fundable thesis.
ExploreStructure
An institution, not a personality
Org design, governance, finance, HR and tech systems, the institutional scaffolding that lets the business outgrow its founder.
ExploreCapital
Capital that compounds
Fundraise structuring, transaction support and direct structured products. Capital introduced only once the business can absorb it.
ExploreOur focus
Sectors we
play in.
We are sector agnostic. But we play hardest in seven verticals where institutionalisation unlocks the most structural impact across the continent.
Agnostic in principle. Deliberate in practice.
How we tailor per sectorCrimson Oak Capital
We match capital to opportunity.
Beyond advisory, we deploy private capital through structured placements and project, asset and green finance. Intelligent, measurable, built on local conviction.
Structured Products
Custom built investment instruments.
Principal protected notes, asset backed placements, currency hedged options and tiered investment strategies, structured around the risk, liquidity and yield profile each client needs.
- Principal protected notes
- Asset backed placements
- Currency hedged options
- Tiered investment strategies
Financing Solutions
Capital deployed into high impact ventures.
We originate and execute bespoke financing transactions across the real economy, matching private capital to opportunities that are bankable, structured and ready to scale.
- Asset finance for vehicles, equipment and productive assets
- Project finance across real estate, infrastructure, energy and logistics
- Green finance for renewable energy and climate aligned projects
- Receivables finance, invoice discounting and factoring
Who we serve
Institutional investors, corporates, family offices and high net worth entities seeking capital allocation strategies that balance risk, liquidity and yield across Africa.
COII™ · Readiness in practice
How we decide when a business can absorb capital.
COII™ places every business we work with on a four tier readiness ladder. Click a tier to see the state, the capital verdict, and what the work looks like in practice.
The business
Value sits in one person. Systems are informal, governance is thin, numbers are unaudited.
Capital verdict
Capital would break it. We refuse the raise.
What we do
Diagnose. Rebuild the operating spine.
In practice
A profitable founder led business raising a Series A on a pitch deck and a WhatsApp bookkeeping habit. We decline the mandate to raise, and take a mandate to institutionalise instead.
The business
Governance is in place, financials close on time, roles exist beyond the founder. Gaps are known.
Capital verdict
Capital would strain it. We hold the line.
What we do
Close the structural gaps. Prove the model at scale.
In practice
A regulated asset manager with a board, audited accounts, and a real management team, but no institutional HR spine. We build the missing systems before we open a conversation with LPs.
The business
The business can be owned by someone other than the founder. Data, controls, and reporting stand up to diligence.
Capital verdict
The business can absorb capital. We introduce it.
What we do
Structure the round. Run the process. Place the capital.
In practice
A growth stage operator with clean books, tested controls, and a credible three year plan. We structure the raise, run the process, and place capital with investors who match the thesis.
The business
Institutional discipline, credible growth thesis, a management team investors will back without the founder in the room.
Capital verdict
Capital compounds. We back it with our own.
What we do
Direct participation through Crimson Oak structured products.
In practice
A category leader with institutional reporting, a bench two deep in every function, and a growth thesis we underwrite. Crimson Oak participates directly through a structured product alongside external capital.
Capital is introduced only once the business can absorb it. That is not a slogan. It is the line COII™ draws between Tier II and Tier III, and we hold it, even when the founder is ready to raise and we are not ready to let them.
By the numbers
Institutional outcomes, drawn, not declared.
Featured thinking
Ideas from inside the firm.
Case Study
Operational foundation for a growth stage Nigerian asset manager
Case Study
HR systems built from scratch for a regulated asset manager
Case Study
When a pandemic pivot outlived the pandemic
Portfolio
Operators we've advised, structured and funded.
10+ companies · 6 sectors
“
Crimson Oak didn't just advise us. They rolled up their sleeves, restructured the business and helped us close the round. Rare combination.
For founders and investors
Ready to be institutionalised, or to back one that is?
Founders: we'll sharpen the strategy, build the structure and bring the capital. Investors: we'll show you the businesses we've made institution-ready.