An executive summary is a short introduction at the beginning of your business plan that explains your business, what you sell, who your customers are, and how much money you need. It is usually one or two pages long. Funders read this first to decide if they will look at the rest of your plan. Here is a simple sample of an executive summary for a South African business.
What goes into an executive summary
Keep it short and clear. You must include the most important facts about your business. If you leave out key details, the funder will close your plan and move to the next person. Your executive summary must have:
- Business name and location.
- The problem you are solving in your community.
- Your product or service.
- Your target market.
- Your financial goals.
- The funding amount you need and what you will use it for.
Sample executive summary for a South African business
Let us use a fictional business in Soweto that sells school uniforms. You can copy this structure and change the details to fit your own business.
Business Name: Soweto School Uniforms
Location: Diepkloof, Soweto, Gauteng
Owner: Thabo Mokoena
Soweto School Uniforms is a registered clothing retail business that provides affordable, high-quality school uniforms to parents in the Diepkloof area. Currently, parents must travel to the Johannesburg CBD to buy uniforms, which costs them time and taxi fare. We solve this problem by bringing the uniforms closer to them and offering flexible payment options.
We sell primary and high school uniforms for the five main schools in our area. Our products include shirts, trousers, skirts, and school blazers. We also offer an alteration service to ensure the uniforms fit the children perfectly. We have secured a supplier in the Johannesburg CBD that gives us a discount when we buy in bulk.
Our target market is the parents and guardians of the learners attending the five schools within a five-kilometre radius of our shop. We will market our business by distributing flyers at the schools, putting up posters at local spaza shops, and using local Facebook community groups. We will also offer a ten percent discount to parents who buy the full uniform set from us.
The owner, Thabo Mokoena, has five years of experience working in retail at a clothing store in Sandton. He understands how to manage stock, deal with suppliers, and serve customers. The business is registered with the CIPC as a private company and is tax compliant with SARS.
We started trading earlier this year and have made a small profit from our own savings. To meet the demand for the new school year, we need funding of R150,000. We will use this money to buy stock in bulk, buy two industrial sewing machines for alterations, and cover the shop rent for the first six months. We project that our monthly turnover will double within the first year of receiving this funding.
How to write your own executive summary
Do not write the executive summary until you have finished the rest of your business plan. You cannot summarise something you have not written yet. Write the market research, the operations plan, and the financial plan first. Then you will know exactly what to put in the summary.
Keep your language simple. Do not use big words to impress the funder. They want to understand your business quickly. If you confuse them, they will not fund you. Use short sentences and plain English.
Be honest about the numbers. If you need R150,000, say so and explain exactly how you will spend it. Funders check if your numbers make sense. If you say you will make a million rand in your first month selling vetkoek, they will not take you seriously. Your financial projections must match the money you are asking for.
Make sure your business is registered. Most funders in South Africa will not give money to an unregistered business. You need a CIPC registration number and a SARS tax clearance certificate. If you are applying for government tenders, you also need a CSD registration and a B-BBEE certificate. Mention your compliance status in the executive summary so the funder knows you are a real business.
Getting help from KAGO
Writing a business plan and an executive summary can be hard, especially if you are doing it for the first time. You might have a great business idea but struggle to put it on paper. KAGO can help you build a Complete Business Plan for a fixed price of R3,495. We write the plan, do the financial projections, and help you register your company with CIPC. We make your business funding-ready, but the funder always makes the final decision. If you need help, contact KAGO and we will guide you through the process.
Questions people also ask
How long should an executive summary be?
An executive summary should be one or two pages long. It must be short enough for a funder to read in a few minutes but detailed enough to explain your whole business.
Do I write the executive summary first or last?
You write the executive summary last. You can only summarise your business plan after you have finished writing all the other sections like the financial plan and market research.
Can I use this sample for my own business?
Yes, you can copy the structure of this sample and change the details to fit your own business. Make sure you use your real business name, location, and financial numbers.
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