Year 1, months 1–4

Stage 1 funding secured; site prepared, water connected, perimeter fenced and disposal pit dug; layer house one built; 500 point-of-lay pullets placed

Year 1, months 5–12

Daily production records begun; CIPC registration and tax compliance in place; farm gate and local trade established

End Year 1

Gate 1: mortality below 10%, hen-day above 74%, twelve months of records, registration complete

Year 2

Stage 2 drawn; house two built and 1 500 birds added; first employee hired; second-hand delivery vehicle acquired and the weekly round established

End Year 2

Gate 2: mortality below 8%, hen-day above 78%, reviewed financials, clean repayment record, three repeat trade customers

Year 3

Stage 3 drawn via the Blended Finance Scheme; house three, grading and packing room, borehole upgrade; shower point and vehicle dip commissioned

During Year 3

Break-even flock crossed: 3 900 average hens against a requirement of 3 205; EBITDA positive at R213 000

End Year 3

Gate 3: mortality below 7.5%, hen-day above 80%, two years of financials, scorecard of 20+, offtake covering half of output

Year 4

Stage 4 drawn; houses four and five, automated drinkers and feed lines, solar photovoltaic, cold room and refrigerated delivery vehicle

End Year 4

Gate 4: EBITDA positive for a full year at R1.52 million, food safety and traceability operating, retail or wholesale agreement signed

Year 5

Stage 5 drawn; houses six to eight, automated grading and packing, on-farm feed mill, standby generation

End Year 5

30 000 birds; 6.18 million eggs; revenue R18.46 million; EBITDA R5.06 million; debt service cover 5.42 times

Stage 1 funding secured

Everything

Founder cash committed before any application is lodged; it is the credibility test for every subsequent instrument

Land use rights and water

House construction

Confirmed before any capital is committed; a zoning refusal after construction is unrecoverable

Pullet delivery commitment

House occupancy and therefore revenue

Written commitment held before the house is completed; eighteen-week lead time governs the schedule

Twelve months of complete records

Gate 1 and every application thereafter

Recorded daily from day one; the single most valuable non-physical asset the business builds

Reviewed financial statements

Gate 2 and the Blended Finance application

Accountant appointed in Stage 1, not in Stage 2 when they are needed

Clean Stage 1 repayment record

Gate 2 and the SEDFA small enterprise loan

The Stage 1 facility is deliberately small enough to be serviced from a loss-making operation

Offtake covering half of output

Gate 3 and the Stage 4 tranche

Trade relationships built through Stage 2 and formalised in Stage 3

Grading to retail specification

The retail agreement and the Stage 5 facility

Grading and packing room built in Stage 3, two years before it is needed for retail

Management team beyond the founder

Gate 5 and the feed mill

Farm manager and sales appointed at Stage 4