IWF Grant Business Plan

An IWF Grant business plan is the first step towards starting a new, expanding your current, or buying an existing business.

The IWF Grant is managed by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) on behalf of the DTI through a development fund manager. IDF Managers is an SME financier, aimed at supporting the creation of self-sustaining black and women owned businesses in South Africa by providing primarily financial and non-financial support to our investee companies.

The business plan is the most essential element of the early planning stage of your business. Most business strategists agree that planning is one of the most important parts of running a business. There’s the common known saying that “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” and no matter whether it is a large multinational corporation trying to plan an expansion or a small business launching an exciting new product, a well-executed business plan is of utmost importance. Our developments are used regularly to create a vision, secure funding, secure non-repayable business grants, attract team members and/or manage the company.

Elements of a well-structured IWF Grant Business Plan include:

•Legal entity: Your executive summary should include copies of all registration documents, the income tax, and VAT certificates of the business entity.

•Shareholders and management: Add detailed CV’s of all directors, members, and key personnel to motivate that management has the necessary experience to manage the operational, administrative, human resources, marketing and financial aspects of the business. A Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) rating and organogram must be included.

•Capital expenditure: Include copies of recent quotations for land and buildings, equipment, and soft assets (computers, etc).

•Development: Provide a copy of the development and layout. Include a detailed bill of the infrastructure required, with recent quotations for all material costs. Describe the key staff involved in the development and a transfer of skills plan.

•Staffing: This section defines the cost to company of all salaried, waged, part-time, and contract employees (historical and going forward). It should be ensured that all salaries are market-related and not below the minimum wage guidelines for the industry. Outline the process for identifying and hiring new staff.

•Market analysis: Projected turnover levels need to be based on secured contracts, letters of intent, and/or detailed market research. Include copies of these documents and/or write-ups of the research conducted. Draw up and implement a general and specific marketing strategy to detail how the business will attract market share and achieve projected turnover levels.

Areas that the market research should focus on include:

•Competitors’ analysis;

•Competitive edge of the business;

•Demand versus supply;

•Sustainability of the business;

•Future developments (technological, new market entrants, alternate products, etc);

•Contracts with clients;

•Letters of intent from potential clients;

•Other networks and potential relationships that might have been created; and

•Strategic location of the business.

•For acquisitions: Obtain the past three years’ historical financial statements and the latest management accounts for the current year. The valuation will be based on the Discounted Cash Flow Method (its income-generating potential, based on historical and projected future performance), and not necessarily the value of the assets.

•Financial projections: This includes eight documents that comprise of the management account, income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, cash forecast, break even analysis, loan amortisation schedule, and fixed asset schedule with all the necessary ratios, graphs, and calculations.

•Annexes: Statutory information needed by funders in an application (contact us for the complete list).

At DTC, we understand the complexities of the various requirements and criteria for a customised, accurate business plan. If using the document to raise funding and/or non-repayable business grants, we guide you through the process and provide access to our vast network of venture capital companies, private equity companies, angel investors, banks, Government B-BBEE initiatives, Silicon Cape investment organisations, rent to own asset funding companies, crowd funds, and more for you to meet your objectives.