Karoo Meridian — Implementation Roadmap
The phased implementation roadmap and the milestones from financial close through land acquisition, flock build and ramp.
Section 9 · Business Plan
Implementation Roadmap
The phased implementation roadmap and the milestones from financial close through land acquisition, flock build and ramp.
The programme is sequenced in three phases over 60 months from
financial close, with dependencies flowing from land transfer and water
infrastructure through flock establishment to export activation and
vertical integration. Critical-path items are financial close and land
transfer (months 0–6), water and fencing (months 2–10, precondition to
livestock arrival), foundation ewe procurement (months 4–12, timed to
the breeding season) and Halaal/export certification (months 14–24,
gating meat exports).
9.1 Phase milestones and dependencies
| Milestone | Target | Depends on | Gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial close | M0 | Capital stack fully committed (incl. R20m gap) | Board + funders |
| Land transfer & water rights | M6 | Close; conveyancing; water-use licence | Legal |
| Livestock arrival complete | M12 | Fencing, water, handling infrastructure | Ops readiness audit |
| First lambing season | M18–20 | Breeding season M12–14; ewe nutrition | ≥95% conception target |
| First wool clip sold | M20 | Shearing shed; classing team; broker contract | Clip quality report |
| Meat export activation | M22–24 | Halaal cert; abattoir accreditation; GCC registration | First export consignment |
| Stud auction platform | M28–40 | Breeding values published; reputation building | First production auction |
| Wool processing integration | M40–54 | Volume threshold; downstream partner/JV | Board investment decision |
The biological calendar is unforgiving: missing the Year 1 breeding
window by even two months defers the first lamb crop — and roughly R20m
of Year 2 revenue — by a full season. The land-transfer and
water-infrastructure critical path therefore carries the highest
schedule risk in the programme, and early-works funding at risk before
close should be considered.
9.2 Programme governance and the first 100 days
Execution risk in Phase 1 is concentrated in the first year, and
within it, the first hundred days. The Company will run the
establishment programme under formal project governance: a board
programme committee meeting fortnightly, an owner’s engineer for water
and infrastructure works, milestone-based drawdowns against
quantity-surveyor certification, and a livestock procurement committee
with veterinary sign-off on every foundation-flock purchase lot.
Days 1–30: transfer instructions lodged; water-use
licence confirmation; owner’s engineer appointed; fencing and borehole
contractors procured; CEO/Ops Director/CFO contracts executed; banking,
insurance and payroll operational.
Days 31–60: water and fencing works commence on
priority camps; shearing shed design frozen; foundation-ewe sourcing
visits across Karoo dispersal sales; RFID and farm-management systems
configured; lender reporting templates agreed.
Days 61–100: first livestock arrivals into completed
camps; veterinary induction protocols live; ram procurement at spring
sales; wool broker agreement signed; first monthly management accounts
issued to funders.
Drawdown discipline is the lender’s principal protection during this
window: the R245 million is not advanced as a lump sum but in five
tranches against certified milestones, with the livestock tranche (R42m)
split across a minimum of six purchase lots to avoid concentration in
any single dispersal sale or price window.
Confidential — this business plan is provided to prospective investors and lenders for evaluation purposes only and may not be reproduced or distributed without the written consent of Karoo Meridian Wool & Livestock (Pty) Ltd.