The Leading Business Plan Consultants in South Africa since 2006.

Since 2006, JTB Consulting has delivered professionally structured business plans for South African and international clients across multiple industries and funding contexts.

Our business plan consultants support both startups and established companies with investor-ready documentation aligned to bank, private equity, venture capital, and institutional funding requirements.

Below are some of the most frequently asked questions we receive from prospective clients considering our business plan services.

1. What makes JTB Consulting different from other business plan services?

JTB Consulting differentiates itself through depth of experience, analytical rigour, and a strict no-template policy. Since 2006, the firm has focused exclusively on producing professionally structured, investor-ready business plans aligned with real bank and investor decision criteria.

Each plan is developed from first principles based on the client’s industry, funding objective, and commercial risks. Unlike generic business plan services, JTB Consulting integrates detailed financial modelling, market logic, and valuation thinking into every engagement. This results in documentation that supports funding decisions, internal strategy, and due diligence rather than simply fulfilling a submission requirement.

2. How much experience does your team have with business plans and funding proposals?

JTB Consulting has been preparing business plans and funding proposals continuously since 2006. Over this period, the team has worked with startups, SMEs, and established businesses across a wide range of industries and funding scenarios. This experience spans bank finance, private investors, development finance institutions, and internal corporate decision-making.

The firm’s consultants combine backgrounds in business strategy, financial modelling, valuation, and market research, enabling plans to be structured to reflect how funding committees assess risk, viability, and execution capability in practice.

3. What is your funding success rate?

Based on independently reviewed client outcomes between 2014 and 2024, business plans compiled by JTB Consulting achieved an average funding approval rate of approximately 80%. This figure reflects approvals obtained by clients who submitted JTB-prepared plans to banks, investors, and funding institutions.

The data covers both startup and existing businesses operating in South Africa and internationally. While funding outcomes ultimately depend on factors beyond documentation alone, this long-term approval trend indicates consistent alignment between JTB Consulting’s planning methodology and real-world funding decision criteria.

4. Do you provide completely customised business plans or use templates?

JTB Consulting provides fully bespoke business plans for every client engagement. No pre-designed templates are used at any stage of the process. Each business plan is developed from the ground up, based on the client’s industry, operating model, funding objective, and risk profile.

This approach ensures that financial projections, market analysis, and strategic logic are internally consistent and defensible. Off-the-shelf or partially templated plans often fail to address investor-specific concerns, whereas a bespoke structure allows the document to reflect how the business will actually operate and scale.

5. Can JTB Consulting help with both local South African and international projects?

Yes. JTB Consulting regularly supports both local South African and international business planning engagements. Since 2006, the firm has worked with clients operating across more than 25 countries, adapting business plans to reflect local market dynamics while maintaining international funding standards.

This includes accommodating differences in regulatory environments, funding expectations, financial reporting norms, and approaches to assessing investor risk. The ability to balance local market insight with globally recognised planning standards allows JTB Consulting to produce business plans that remain credible across borders.

6. What industries and sectors do you have expertise in?

JTB Consulting has prepared business plans across a broad range of industries, including fintech, banking, mining, insurance, healthcare, retail, tourism, technology, logistics, manufacturing, agriculture, and professional services. This cross-sector exposure enables the firm to identify industry-specific risks, cost drivers, revenue dynamics, and funding sensitivities.

Rather than applying a generic framework, each plan is structured to reflect how the specific industry operates, how value is created, and how investors in that sector typically evaluate commercial viability.

7. Who will be working on my business plan, and what are their qualifications?

Each business plan is developed by a team comprising experienced business plan consultants, financial analysts, and market researchers, led by the firm’s founder. The leadership and consulting team hold advanced academic qualifications and professional certifications in business management, financial modelling, valuation, and strategic analysis.

This multidisciplinary approach ensures that plans are commercially sound, financially robust, and clearly articulated. Clients work directly with senior consultants throughout the engagement, rather than being handed off to junior or administrative staff.

8. Do you help startups secure investor funding, and what success have clients achieved?

JTB Consulting assists startups by preparing investor-ready business plans that clearly articulate the venture’s commercial opportunity, execution strategy, and financial viability. These plans have supported successful funding outcomes for startups across a wide range of industries, including early-stage equity raises and structured debt funding.

While funding decisions ultimately rest with investors, clients frequently cite improved strategic clarity, greater financial credibility, and more effective engagement with investors as key outcomes of working with JTB Consulting.

9. What support is offered after the delivery of the business plan?

JTB Consulting provides ongoing support after delivery to ensure clients can confidently use their business plan. This includes telephonic and email assistance, clarification of assumptions, and guidance on revisions required by investors or financiers.

Follow-up consultations are available for additional financial modelling, valuation work, or pitch preparation where required. The firm’s approach is relationship-driven rather than transactional, supporting clients beyond initial delivery as funding discussions and strategic decisions evolve.

10. Is my project information kept confidential and secure?

Yes. Confidentiality is treated as a core professional obligation. JTB Consulting maintains strict discretion throughout every engagement and has formal non-disclosure arrangements in place to protect client information.

All business data, financial information, and strategic details are handled securely and shared only with authorised parties involved in the project. This approach ensures clients can engage openly and confidently when discussing commercially sensitive information.

11. How do you ensure the business plan meets investor or bank requirements?

Business plans are structured around the actual evaluation criteria used by banks and investors, including financial viability, risk assessment, market positioning, and execution capability.

JTB Consulting’s methodology integrates detailed financial modelling, realistic assumptions, and clear strategic logic. Plans are reviewed internally for structural coherence and funding alignment before delivery, reducing the likelihood of rejection due to format, logic, or credibility issues.

12. Can you explain the timeline and process for developing a business plan with JTB Consulting?

The process begins with a detailed consultation to understand the client’s business model, objectives, and funding requirements. This is followed by research, financial modelling, and structured drafting.

Most business plans are completed within four to six weeks, depending on complexity and the availability of information. Clients receive progress updates at defined milestones and have opportunities to review and refine assumptions during development.

13. Are there any value-added services, like pitch deck preparation or market research, available?

Yes. In addition to business plan preparation, JTB Consulting provides complementary services including investor pitch deck development, market research, financial modelling, business valuation, and feasibility studies.

These services are often integrated into a single engagement to ensure consistency across documents and presentations. The objective is to strengthen the overall funding and decision-making case rather than treating each deliverable in isolation.