What a Mauritius Bank Actually Wants to See in a Business Plan

A business plan composed to describe the business, and one composed to secure a loan, are not the same document. A lender reads for specific and particular things, and a plan that omits them may be elegantly written and still be declined.

Realistic, defensible assumptions

Every projection rests upon a set of assumptions: sales volume, pricing, cost structure, timing. A lending officer will interrogate several of these directly, and a plan capable of substantiating each figure is regarded altogether differently from one that cannot.

Cash flow before profit

Profit, as recorded, does not service debt; cash does. A lender's foremost concern is whether the enterprise generates sufficient liquidity, month on month, to meet its repayment obligations, which is why a monthly cash flow forecast typically carries greater weight than an annual profit figure.

The business plan a bank sanctions is seldom the most ambitious. It is the one that continues to withstand interrogation.

Owner contribution and collateral

Lenders seek evidence of genuine commitment on the part of the owner, whether through capital already deployed or personal risk assumed. Equally, whatever is offered as security, and its true value, ought to be stated explicitly rather than implied.

Sensitivity to a downside case

A single, optimistic projection seldom withstands scrutiny. A plan that also demonstrates continued debt serviceability under a lower-revenue scenario is considerably more persuasive.