Business Planning

A Business Plan is a clear summary of the mission and objectives of your institution, its strategies for achieving them, the resources required for doing so and the projected financial performance.

A Business Plan tells you:

• Where you are today
• Where you want to go (in the next 1- 3 or 5 years)
• How you will get there

Why write a Business Plan?

The Business Plan serves important purposes:

• To make institutions think through and plan their operations in a structured way.
• To convince financial institutions and potential donors that your institution is worthy of their support.
• To facilitate negotiations with partner organizations (e.g. universities, private sector organizations).
• To guide staff and stakeholders in their daily activities in terms of strategies, focus, resource utilisation, etc.

Who should write the Business Plan?

• The management team of your institution
• Involve people holding key positions within your institution or important partners
• Look for outside technical assistance, if required

While writing your Business Plan keep in mind that …

• a Business Plan is not to be considered a final piece of work to be filed away and forgotten
• the Business Plan is a dynamic working document that should be constantly reviewed and revised as your institution acquires more experience, data and feedback from the market.