If you are pitching a project to a Senegalese, Ivorian or Cameroonian bank, you'll be asked for an OHADA-compliant business plan. This article explains what this means in practice, why generic Excel templates won't work, and how to build a plan that gets approved.
What is OHADA and why it matters
OHADA stands for the Organisation pour l'Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires — a regional treaty harmonizing business law across 17 French-speaking African countries: Senegal, C\xF4te d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Congo, CAR, Comoros, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and DRC.
OHADA imposes a unique accounting framework called SYSCOHADA Revised, in force since January 2018. Any business plan submitted to OHADA-zone banks must comply with this framework — generic French (PCG) or IFRS templates will be systematically rejected.
The 7 mandatory sections of a SYSCOHADA business plan
1. Executive summary (1-2 pages)
A credit committee gives this section under 90 seconds. Include: project name, founders, total funding requested, capital structure, target markets, year-3 KPIs.
2. Founders and legal structure
OHADA legal forms: SA (S.A.), SARL, SAS-OHADA, GIE. Detail equity contribution, governance, board.
3. Market study (must be data-backed)
Cite verifiable sources: ANSD (Senegal), INS (C\xF4te d'Ivoire), BCEAO (regional), UN Comtrade. Identify 5+ competitors with comparative analysis.
4. Operational and financial model
CAPEX by SYSCOHADA class (21-27), OPEX by class (60-67), workforce, suppliers chain.
5. Financial statements (SYSCOHADA format)
Three documents required for 3-5 years:
- SYSCOHADA Balance Sheet structured by classes 1-5
- SYSCOHADA Income Statement with intermediate management balances (SIG)
- TAFIRE — Tableau Financier des Ressources et Emplois (mandatory, OHADA-specific)
6. Funding plan and equity contribution
Banks monitor these ratios in 2026:
- Equity contribution / Total investment \u2265 25-30% (private banks)
- Repayment capacity / Annuity \u2265 1.3
- Debt / Equity \u2264 1.5
- EBITDA / Financial charges \u2265 3
7. Risk analysis (3 scenarios)
Optimistic, baseline, pessimistic. Even in the pessimistic case, repayment capacity must remain positive.
West African banks and their specific requirements
- Senegalese banks: CBAO Attijariwafa, BNDE (development), BSIC, Ecobank Senegal, SGBS
- Ivorian banks: SGCI, BICICI, NSIA, Banque Atlantique
- Regional: BOAD (concessional, projects > 500M FCFA), BIDC (cross-border ECOWAS)
5 critical errors to avoid in 2026
- Using French PCG or IFRS instead of OHADA accounting plan
- Missing or incorrect TAFIRE
- Underestimating local social charges (Senegal: 22-24% employer contributions)
- Unrealistic commercial assumptions (year-1 revenue too high)
- Equity contribution under 25% or undocumented
Need help building your OHADA business plan?
Cabinet Carr\xE9e supports entrepreneurs and investors with bankable business plans tailored to West African banks. Typical engagement: 4-6 weeks, 1.5-4M FCFA.
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