An executive summary is a one or two page document placed at the very beginning of your business plan, but you must write it last. It summarises your entire business so that a bank, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), or the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) can decide quickly if they want to read the rest of your plan. Below is a sample executive summary for a business plan, followed by steps on how to write your own for a South African audience.
Sample Executive Summary for a Business Plan
Company Name: Buhle Cleaning Solutions (Pty) Ltd
Location: Tembisa, Gauteng
Registration: Registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) as a private company. We are B-BBEE Level 1.
Business Description: Buhle Cleaning Solutions provides professional office cleaning services to small and medium businesses in the East Rand. We use locally manufactured, eco-friendly cleaning products.
The Problem: Many small businesses in our area struggle to find reliable cleaning services that show up on time and use safe chemicals. Large corporate cleaning companies are too expensive for a small business.
The Solution: We offer flexible, affordable cleaning contracts tailored to small businesses. We train local youth from Tembisa to do the work, which creates jobs and keeps our costs reasonable.
Target Market: Our main customers are medical centres, retail shops, and small corporate parks in Kempton Park and Tembisa.
Competitive Advantage: We are closer to our clients than big city firms, so our travel costs are lower. We also hold a valid B-BBEE certificate, which helps our clients improve their own B-BBEE scorecards.
Financial Highlights: In our first year, we project a monthly turnover of R45,000. By year three, we expect to reach R120,000 per month as we add more clients.
Funding Requirement: We are requesting R150,000 from SEFA. We will use this money to buy two industrial vacuum cleaners, a steam cleaner, a bakkie for transport, and to cover three months of working capital.
Management Team: The founder, Buhle, holds a certificate in Business Management and has three years of experience working as a supervisor for a large hotel group.
How to Write Your Own Executive Summary
Now that you have seen the sample, here is how you write your own.
- Finish your business plan first. You cannot summarise a plan you have not finished. Write your market research, marketing programme, and financial plan first. The executive summary simply pulls the most important facts from those sections.
- Keep it to one or two pages. Funders at banks and government agencies read hundreds of plans every month. If your summary is too long, they will stop reading. Use short paragraphs and plain English.
- State exactly what you need. Do not be vague. If you need R50,000 for equipment, say so. If you need R500,000 for working capital, say so. Tell the funder exactly how you will spend the money.
- Explain how you will pay it back. A funder wants to know how your business makes money. Briefly explain your pricing and your expected sales. Remember, KAGO can help you build a financial plan that makes these numbers clear, but the funder always makes the final decision.
- Highlight your compliance status. In South Africa, funders want to see that you are a legal entity. Mention your CIPC registration number. State that your tax affairs are in order with SARS. If you have a B-BBEE certificate, mention your level. If you are applying for a tender, mention your Central Supplier Database (CSD) registration.
- Sell yourself. Funders invest in people as much as they invest in ideas. Write one or two sentences about why you are the right person to run this business. Mention your experience, your qualifications, or your knowledge of the local market.
What South African Funders Look For
When you submit your business plan to the NYDA, SEFA, or a commercial bank, they look for specific things in your executive summary.
Viability: They want to see that your business can actually make a profit. If your summary shows that your expenses are higher than your income, you will not get funding.
Clear use of funds: If you ask for R100,000 but do not list what you are buying, the funder will reject it. Be specific about the equipment or stock you need.
Local relevance: Funders like businesses that solve local problems and create local jobs. If your business will hire people from your township, mention it in the summary.
Compliance readiness: You do not need to have everything perfect before you apply, but you must show you understand the rules. Mention that you are registered with CIPC or that you are in the process of registering with the CSD. You may also need a specific business licence from your local municipality.
How KAGO Can Help
Writing an executive summary is hard because you have to take a big idea and make it small. If you are struggling to to write your business plan or put your financial numbers together, KAGO can do it for you.
Our Complete Business Plan costs R3,495. It includes a full written plan and a financial plan. We write the executive summary for you based on the information you give us. We make sure your plan is ready for funders, but we never promise that you will get the money. The funder always decides.
If you only need a financial plan to attach to your own executive summary, our Financial Plan costs R1,895. This gives you the exact numbers and charts you need to show a bank or SEFA that your business can work.
Questions people also ask
How long should an executive summary be?
It should be one to two pages long. Anything longer will make the funder lose interest before they even read your full business plan.
Do I need a CIPC registration before I write my executive summary?
You can write a draft without it, but you should register your company before you submit the plan to a funder. Funders want to see your registration details in the summary.
Can I use the sample executive summary for my own business?
You can use the structure, but you must change the details to match your actual business. Funders will reject a plan that looks copied from another business.
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