NovaBank SA — Implementation Roadmap & Gantt Chart
The phased implementation roadmap and Gantt chart, with key milestones from licensing and platform build to launch and national scale.
Section 10 · Business Plan
Implementation Roadmap & Gantt Chart
The phased implementation roadmap and Gantt chart, with key milestones from licensing and platform build to launch and national scale.
The implementation plan is organised into three sequential and
partially overlapping phases over a 60-month horizon. Each phase has
clearly defined entry and exit criteria, milestone ownership, and
dependency management. The Gantt chart below provides a workstream-level
view of the critical path.
10.1 Phase Overview
| Phase | Duration | Primary Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 — Setup & Licensing | Months 0 – 12 | Section 13 licence granted; core platform live; pilot branch open; soft-launch complete |
| Phase 2 — Public Launch & Foundational Scaling | Months 12 – 24 | Public launch; 1.4m customers; full credit & savings products live; 75 sites operational |
| Phase 3 — Scale & Diversification | Months 24 – 60 | 6.5m customers; 280 sites; bancassurance; SME lending; profitability and ROE > 30% |
10.2 Gantt Chart — Critical Workstreams
10.3 Critical Milestones
| # | Milestone | Target Month | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | Section 13 Application Filed with SARB | Month 0 | Founding CEO |
| M2 | Tranche 1 Capital (R1.5bn) Closed | Month 6 | CEO + IB Advisor |
| M3 | Banking Licence Granted (Section 13) | Month 8 | CEO + Legal |
| M4 | Core Banking Platform Live (Production) | Month 12 | CTO |
| M5 | Risk, Compliance & AML Frameworks Approved by SARB | Month 13 | CRO + CCO |
| M6 | Pilot Soft-Launch (Friends & Family, 5,000 users) | Month 14 | COO |
| M7 | Public Commercial Launch | Month 17 | CEO |
| M8 | Tranche 2 Capital (R2.0bn) Closed | Month 22 | CEO + CFO |
| M9 | Unsecured Lending Product Live | Month 22 | CCRO |
| M10 | First Profitable Quarter | Month 30 | CFO |
| M11 | Annual Net Profit Positive (Break-even Year) | Month 36 | CFO |
| M12 | Achievement of 3 million Customers | Month 38 | CMO |
| M13 | Investment-Grade Issuer Rating Achieved | Month 48 | CFO + Treasury |
| M14 | 6.5m Customers, ROE > 30%, Year-5 Plan Targets Met | Month 60 | Board |
Table 10.1 — Critical milestones, target months, and accountable
executives.
10.4 Critical Dependencies & Risks
The critical path is dominated by three dependencies, each of which
has a documented mitigation plan:
- SARB Section 13 Approval (Month 8): Risk of
delay; mitigated by pre-application engagement, fit-and-proper
pre-clearances, and a parallel “controlled bank” interim model. - Core Banking Platform Implementation (Month 12):
Mitigated by selecting a vendor with proven SA bank deployments and a
fixed-price implementation contract. - Tranche 2 Capital Raise (Month 22): Mitigated by
structuring with anchor investor commitments and Tier 2 backstop
facility.
The single biggest cause of failure for new banks globally is not
strategy or capital — it is execution discipline. NovaBank’s operating
cadence will include: weekly executive leadership team meetings, monthly
Board operating reviews, quarterly strategic reviews with shareholders,
and a fully resourced Programme Management Office reporting directly to
the CEO from Month 0.
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 NovaBank SA (Pty) Ltd.