Part 5 of 15 · Writing every section
Part 5: Team, SWOT, PESTLE, Risk, Implementation, Growth, Exit and the Ask
The back half of the plan is where experienced readers go first. The team section tells them whether it can be delivered; the risk section tells them whether you can be trusted; the funding request tells them whether you have thought about their side of the table at all.
Chapter 26Management Team
For early-stage businesses this is the most important section in the plan. Investors routinely say they back people over ideas; what they mean is that they back demonstrated relevant capability, which is a much narrower thing than character.
For each key person, provide: role, years of directly relevant experience, one or two specific achievements with numbers, qualifications, and time commitment (full-time or not — be honest, they will ask).
Weak — what gets declined
“Thabo Mahlangu — Managing Director. Thabo is a seasoned business professional with extensive experience in various industries and a passion for entrepreneurship. He holds a BCom degree and is a natural leader.”
Strong — what gets funded
“Thabo Mahlangu — Managing Director (full-time). Eleven years in cold-chain logistics: six as depot manager at a national distributor, running a 42-vehicle fleet and a R94m annual cost centre; five as operations director at a regional carrier where he cut cost per kilometre by 18% and lifted on-time delivery from 87% to 96%. BCom (Logistics), UJ. Holds the client relationship with two of the three prospects in our pipeline.”
Addressing gaps
Every SME team has gaps. Pretending otherwise fails; naming them with a plan succeeds. State the gap, how it is covered now, and when it will be filled — with the salary in the model at that date.
| Capability | Current cover | Risk | Plan and date | Cost in model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial management | Outsourced bookkeeper, monthly | No real-time cash visibility | Appoint FM at R2.4m revenue (Q3 2027) | R38,000/month from Jul 2027 |
| Formal sales function | Founder-led | Founder capacity ceiling at ~R400k/month | Sales rep from month 7 | R18,000 + 3% commission |
| Technical / SHEQ compliance | Part-time consultant | Audit failure risk | Retain consultant; certify supervisor by Q2 2027 | R9,500/month + R42,000 training |
Chapter 27Human Resources and Organisational Design
Include an organogram for today and for year three; a headcount schedule that ties to the payroll line in the model; and a compliance statement covering the BCEA, sectoral determinations or bargaining council rates where applicable, UIF, COIDA, skills development levy, and employment equity obligations if you cross the threshold.
| Role | Yr 1 | Yr 2 | Yr 3 | Cost each (monthly) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managing Director | 1 | 1 | 1 | R45,000 | Founder; salary from month 4 |
| Operations supervisor | 1 | 2 | 3 | R22,000 | One per 12 field staff |
| Field staff | 12 | 22 | 34 | R7,400 | Sectoral determination minimum + 12% |
| Admin / payroll | 1 | 1 | 2 | R16,000 | — |
| Sales | 0 | 1 | 2 | R18,000 + comm. | From month 7 |
| Total headcount | 15 | 27 | 42 | — | Employer contributions at 8.5% added in model |
Chapter 28SWOT Analysis
SWOT is the most abused framework in business planning. Done properly it is a decision tool; done badly it is a list of adjectives. Three rules make it credible.
- Strengths and weaknesses are internal and comparative. ‘Good service’ is not a strength. ‘Four-hour escalation response versus the incumbent’s 48 hours, contractually committed’ is.
- Opportunities and threats are external and outside your control. ‘We could open a second branch’ is a strategy, not an opportunity.
- Every quadrant entry must generate an action. Add a fifth column: what we are doing about it.
| Quadrant | Entry | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | Level 1 B-BBEE with 51% black women ownership | Target the four corporates whose ESD scorecards weight women-owned suppliers |
| Weakness | Customer concentration: top client is 41% of revenue | Cap any client at 30% by year 3; two new anchor accounts budgeted in the sales plan |
| Opportunity | Three competitor contracts in our catchment expire within 12 months | Named pursuit plan with dates; R60k tender-preparation budget allocated |
| Threat | Municipal tariff increases of 12–15% p.a. on a power-intensive process | Solar PV phase 1 in year 2 capex; 9% of load hedged; escalation clause in client contracts |
Chapter 29PESTLE Analysis
Use PESTLE where policy, regulation or macro conditions materially affect the business — which in South Africa is most sectors. Keep each factor to one line of fact and one line of consequence.
| Factor | What to cover | Typical consequence to state |
|---|---|---|
| Political | Policy stability, procurement reform, local government capacity, sector master plans | Public-sector demand timing; payment risk |
| Economic | GDP and sector growth, prime and repo, inflation, rand, unemployment, consumer credit | Interest cost, input escalation, demand elasticity |
| Social | Urbanisation, income distribution, informal economy, language, health trends | Segment size, channel choice, product mix |
| Technological | Digital payments, e-commerce adoption, automation, connectivity | Cost structure, competitive threat, capex |
| Legal | Companies Act, B-BBEE codes, POPIA, NCA, Consumer Protection Act, sector licensing, labour law | Compliance cost, contracting terms, liability |
| Environmental | Water security, energy transition, waste regulation, carbon tax, EIA requirements | Operating constraints, capex, access to green finance |
Chapter 30Risk Analysis
A proper risk register does more for your credibility than any other single section, because it is the one place where you demonstrate that you have thought like the funder. Score each risk on likelihood and impact, then state a specific mitigation and a residual rating.
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Gross | Mitigation | Residual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss of anchor client (41% of revenue) | Medium | Severe | High | 3-year contract signed Mar 2026 with 6-month notice; two new anchors targeted by Q4 2027; concentration capped at 30% by year 3 | Medium |
| Extended grid outage | High | Moderate | High | 220kVA generator installed (R480k in capex); 6 hours diesel on site; force majeure clause in client SLAs | Low |
| Key person (MD) unavailable | Low | Severe | Medium | Key-person cover R3.5m ceded to lender; operations manual documented; deputy identified and in handover | Low |
| Debtor days extending beyond 60 | Medium | High | High | Credit vetting on all new accounts; 2% settlement discount at 15 days; invoice discounting facility of R750k arranged as standby | Medium |
| Input cost inflation above 10% | Medium | Moderate | Medium | Annual CPI+2% escalation clause in all contracts; 60-day forward stock cover on two key inputs | Low |
| Regulatory: licence renewal refused | Low | Severe | Medium | Renewal lodged 90 days early; compliance consultant retained; no adverse findings in last 3 inspections | Low |
Chapter 31Implementation Plan
Convert the strategy into a dated, resourced sequence. The implementation plan proves that the funding request has a purpose beyond “growth”, and it becomes the drawdown schedule the funder will hold you to.
| Phase | Months | Key activities | Funding drawn | Milestone / trigger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobilisation | 1–2 | Lease signed, licences lodged, key hires, supplier contracts | R620,000 | Premises occupied; licence receipt issued |
| Build and install | 3–5 | Equipment delivery and commissioning, backup power, systems setup | R2,480,000 | Commissioning certificate; first production run |
| Launch | 6–8 | First contracts activated, staff to full complement, quality certification | R540,000 | Revenue run-rate R240k/month |
| Stabilise | 9–12 | Process optimisation, second shift, debtor discipline | R310,000 | Gross margin at 33%; DSCR above 1.3x |
| Scale | 13–18 | Second machine, expansion into second catchment | R250,000 | Revenue run-rate R520k/month |
Chapter 32Growth Strategy
State the growth vector explicitly rather than implying it. There are only five: sell more to existing customers, win new customers in the same market, enter a new geography, add a new product line, or acquire. Each carries a different risk profile and a different funding need.
| Vector | Risk | Typical funding need | Evidence required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deeper penetration of existing customers | Lowest | Working capital | Current share of customer wallet |
| New customers, same market | Low | Working capital + sales capacity | Pipeline and CAC |
| New geography | Medium | Capex + working capital + setup | Catchment analysis for the new area; local partner or manager |
| New product line | Medium-high | Capex + development + inventory | Validation evidence for the new line, not the old one |
| Acquisition | High | Acquisition finance | Target identified, valued and diligenced — not aspirational |
Chapter 33Exit Strategy
Debt funders care about repayment, not exit. Equity funders care about nothing more. If you are raising equity and your plan has no exit section, it will not be taken seriously by a professional fund.
- Trade sale. The dominant route in South Africa. Name plausible acquirer categories — strategic consolidators, listed groups, multinationals seeking local presence — and cite recent comparable transactions in your sector if any are public.
- Private equity secondary. A later-stage fund buys out the early investor. Requires scale, typically R50m+ of EBITDA-generating revenue.
- Management buy-out. Credible for stable, cash-generative businesses; usually debt-funded and therefore lower-multiple.
- Listing. JSE main board or AltX. Rare for SMEs and expensive to maintain; mention only where genuinely plausible.
- Dividend recapitalisation or structured buy-back. Increasingly used where a trade sale is unlikely; agree the mechanism upfront.
Chapter 34The Funding Request
This is the section most often written badly, and it is the one the funder turns to first after the executive summary. It must be precise, and it must show that you understand the instrument you are asking for.
| Item | Amount | % of total | Source | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production equipment (2 units) | R2,180,000 | 45.4% | Term loan | Month 3 |
| Delivery vehicles (2 x LDV) | R690,000 | 14.4% | Asset finance | Month 3 |
| Backup power (220kVA + install) | R480,000 | 10.0% | Term loan | Month 4 |
| Premises deposit and fit-out | R420,000 | 8.8% | Owner contribution | Month 1 |
| Initial inventory | R560,000 | 11.7% | Revolving facility | Month 5 |
| Working capital buffer (3 months) | R370,000 | 7.7% | Owner contribution | Month 1 |
| Professional fees and licensing | R100,000 | 2.1% | Owner contribution | Month 1 |
| Total project cost | R4,800,000 | 100% | — | — |
| Of which: funding requested | R3,910,000 | 81.5% | — | — |
| Of which: owner contribution | R890,000 | 18.5% | — | — |
State the terms you are proposing
Do not wait to be told. Propose: amount, instrument, term, expected rate (prime plus a margin you can justify), repayment profile, moratorium if needed, and the security offered. If you are raising equity, state the amount, the percentage offered, the pre-money valuation and its basis.
Chapter 35Appendices
Appendices carry the evidence. A plan with a thin appendix pack is a plan that has not been diligenced by its own author.
Standard South African appendix pack
- CIPC registration documents and latest annual return confirmation
- Certified ID copies and CVs of all directors and key management
- SARS tax compliance status pin and VAT registration certificate
- B-BBEE certificate or sworn affidavit (EME/QSE)
- Twelve months of bank statements for all business accounts
- Latest annual financial statements and year-to-date management accounts
- Full financial model — three statements, monthly for year 1, annually to year 5
- Signed contracts, purchase orders, letters of intent
- Three dated quotations for every major capital item
- Lease agreement or offer to lease; zoning confirmation
- All licences, permits, accreditations and their renewal dates
- Insurance schedule including key-person and public liability cover
- Asset register with valuations for any assets offered as security
- Personal statement of assets and liabilities for each surety
- Organogram (current and year 3)
The appendix is not filler. In credit, it is the difference between an assertion and a fact.
Standard practice across SA lenders
