An executive summary is a one to two page overview of your entire business plan. It sits at the front of the document, but you write it last because it pulls the most important points from every section. Below is a full sample you can copy and adapt for your own South African business.
Sample Executive Summary
Here is a sample for a fictional business called Thabo Maintenance Solutions (Pty) Ltd, a property maintenance company based in Soweto. Your summary should follow the same structure but use your own details.
Business name: Thabo Maintenance Solutions (Pty) Ltd
CIPC registration number: 2024/XXXXXX/07
Physical address: [Your street address], Soweto, Johannesburg
Owner and director: Thabo Molefe
Contact: [Phone number] / [Email address]
The Business
Thabo Maintenance Solutions is a registered property maintenance company based in Soweto, Johannesburg. We provide plumbing, electrical, painting and general repair services to residential complexes, small businesses and municipal properties in the southern Johannesburg area.
The company was registered with CIPC and holds a valid tax clearance certificate with SARS. We are in the process of applying for a CIDB grading to qualify for government maintenance contracts.
The Problem
Many property managers and body corporates in Soweto and surrounding areas struggle to find reliable maintenance contractors who respond quickly and complete work to standard. Large contractors ignore small jobs, and informal handymen cannot provide the compliance documents that body corporates and municipalities require.
The Solution
Thabo Maintenance Solutions fills this gap by offering professional maintenance services at a scale that suits small to medium properties. We are CIPC registered, SARS compliant and able to provide all the documents that tender boards and body corporates require, including COIDA letters of good standing and B-BBEE affidavits.
The Market
Our target market includes body corporates managing residential complexes, small business owners and municipal property managers in Soweto, Diepkloof, Pimville and surrounding areas. There are many residential complexes in our service area that require ongoing maintenance, and most currently rely on contractors from outside the area.
The Competition
Our main competitors are large maintenance companies that charge premium rates and informal handymen who cannot provide compliance documents. We sit between these two groups, offering professional service at competitive rates with full compliance.
Revenue and Pricing
We charge per job based on a standard rate card. Typical jobs range from minor plumbing repairs to full repainting of units. Our average job value is in the range of a few thousand rand. We expect to complete a steady number of jobs per month in the first year of trading, growing as we build relationships with more body corporates.
Funding Requirement
We are seeking funding to purchase tools and equipment, buy a second-hand bakkie for transport, and cover operating costs for the first three months. The funder will decide based on the full business plan and financial statements attached to this document.
Future Plans
In the first year, we aim to establish a steady client base of regular complexes and businesses in our immediate area. In year two, we plan to hire two additional technicians and expand our service area to include the rest of southern Johannesburg.
What Every Executive Summary Must Include
Your executive summary must cover these sections, even if you keep them short:
- Business details: Name, registration number, location and owner.
- What you do: One or two sentences describing your product or service.
- The problem: What gap in the market are you filling?
- Your solution: How does your business solve that problem?
- Target market: Who are your customers and where are they?
- Competition: Who else is doing this and why are you different?
- Revenue model: How do you make money and what do you charge?
- Funding requirement: How much do you need and what will you spend it on?
- Future plans: Where do you see the business in one to three years?
How to Write Your Own
Follow these steps to write your executive summary:
- Finish your full business plan first. The summary pulls from every section, so you cannot write it until the rest is done.
- Keep it to one or two pages. Funders and investors do not want to read a long summary.
- Write in plain English. Avoid jargon and technical terms that a non-specialist will not understand.
- Be honest about your numbers. Do not inflate your expected revenue or understate your costs. Funders check these things.
- State your funding need clearly. Say how much you need and exactly what you will spend it on.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Many entrepreneurs make these errors in their executive summaries:
- Writing it first. If you write the summary before the plan, you will have to rewrite it when the details change.
- Making it too long. Anything over two pages is no longer a summary.
- Hiding the funding ask. Some entrepreneurs are shy about stating how much money they need. Be direct.
- Copying someone else's plan. Funders can tell. Your executive summary must reflect your actual business.
- Forgetting compliance. In South Africa, funders want to see that you are CIPC registered, SARS compliant and have your B-BBEE documents in order. Mention these in your summary.
How KAGO Can Help
If you need a full business plan with a professional executive summary, KAGO offers a Complete Business Plan at R3,495. This includes the executive summary, company overview, market analysis, operational plan and financial plan. We also offer a Financial Plan separately at R1,895 if you already have a written plan but need the numbers done properly.
KAGO makes your business funding ready, but the funder always makes the final decision. We cannot promise funding, but we can make sure your plan looks professional and covers everything a funder will ask for.
Questions people also ask
How long should an executive summary be for a South African business plan?
An executive summary should be one to two pages at most. Funders like SEFA, NYDA and commercial banks read hundreds of plans, so they want a summary that fits on a single page if possible. Anything longer is no longer a summary.
Do I write the executive summary before or after the rest of the business plan?
You write it last. The executive summary pulls the most important points from every other section of your plan, so you cannot write it until those sections are finished. If you write it first, you will have to rewrite it when your details change.
Can I use the sample above for my own business plan?
Yes, you can use the structure and adapt it with your own business details. Do not copy the wording directly because funders can tell when a plan is not original. Replace every detail with your real business information, numbers and market facts.
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