Approach - Bahlam Capital

Antigua Guatemala - credit Jeison Higuita

Private capital, applied strategically, is vital to Central America’s development

The Opportunity

A Vastly Underserved Market

We view private capital as a better option to allocate development funds in the region. Growth capital in particular, offers an attractive risk-reward profile and is vastly underserved in Central America.

Our Approach

Building on Existing Scale

Scale is defensive and enables greater impact – medium enterprises can become engines of growth.

Facilitates exits: larger companies are more attractive to regional and foreign corporate buyers.

Lowers risk: companies with scale have shown they have a raison d’être and can operate in a challenging environment.

Pushing Commercial Frontiers

Countries grow by investing in incrementally more complex sectors that can support better jobs.

We find companies that are keen to move up the value-creation chain (e.g. specialize) or launch new products / enter new markets.

We have momentum: Bahlam has completed four investments to date, including three in 2024. We continue to review highly promising opportunities.

Upskilling the Workforce

We create more and higher paying jobs by growing the companies we invest in and by training & developing their workforce.

We measure our impact with (i) the number of jobs that we create and (ii) avg. monthly pay per employee.

Approach leads to higher employee satisfaction, higher retention rates, and higher customer satisfaction.

Situations We Look For

Domestic Leader, First-time Exporter

Wants or Needs:
– Distribution network
– Growth capital
– Operational prowess

Opportunities to unlock value:
– Distribution partnership
– Product portfolio optimization
– Operational excellence

Family Business Transformation

Wants or Needs:
– A succession plan
– Shareholder liquidity
– Often under-managed
– Often risk-averse

Opportunities to unlock value:
– Deepen and incentivize management team
– Operational excellence
– Optimize capital structure (often under-levered)
– Optimize product portfolio (often mis-aligned)

Entrepreneur Seeking Scale

Wants or Needs:
– Growth capital & growth road map
– Support team / partner
– Network access

Opportunities to unlock value:
– New product development / go-to market strategies
– Build-out systems to support “good growth”
– Professionalize and streamline organization
– Inorganic growth / M&A

Orphaned Business Unit / Carveout

Wants or Needs:
+ Focused strategy / a game plan
+ Stand-alone working capital

Opportunities to unlock value:
+ Revamped growth strategy
+ Customer segmentation / product portfolio optimization

Sectors We Serve

Manufacturing

Man holding steel frame while welding — Machinery
Transportation
Niche construction
Electronics
Chemical
Forestry
Textiles

Agro-Processing

Picture of corn stalks growing. — Agro Processing
Cocoa processing
Export niche commodities
Packaged food and beverage
Specialty snacks & drinks
Animal feed

Niche Services

man working with bricks in construction — Business Services
Logistics
Cold chain storage
Specialty retail
Specialty Grocery
Consumer Services
Contract Manufacturing