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Some worrying statistics have emerged from the whole exercise. 
About 95 percent of the applications were rejected and one of the main reasons was that they had proposed unbankable projects that did not carry any prospects at all. 
One of the key requirements for the applications was a business plan on which the decision to fund or not to fund the venture rested.
Considering the hype and excitement associated with the announcement of the facility, it appeared to be the catholicon to the country’s high unemployment statistics.
As hundreds ballooning into thousands of applications were turned down, it became apparent that something was not right. 
Having a business idea is one thing, but turning it into reality is another. While some brilliant ideas emerged, a yawning gap still existed in some of the presentations.
Eventually there was some political intervention which brought together the financial institutions and the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment and both parties agreed that there was need to build capacity among the youths. 
This has been achieved through a series of training programmes that are being carried around the country and our expectation is that the sticking areas will be addressed.
It is not my intention to go into details of how the unsuccessful applications failed to make the grade, but I would like to highlight some of the key areas that differentiate the serious entrepreneurs from those just trying their luck. 
I had a chance to browse through some of the business plans that some of the aspiring entrepreneurs submitted and I must admit that some of them left a lot to be desired.
A business plan is a description of your proposed or existing business and should include information on the business’ products or services, markets, marketing strategies, manufacturing procedures, ownership, management structure, needs (organisational, personnel and financial) and projections.
A well-prepared business plan serves two important functions.
It is a basic management tool that helps guide the future direction of your company and it is a mandatory document if you plan to seek business financing.
From my own evaluation most of the plans did not reflect a serious commitment to venture into business and some of them clearly lacked direction on how businesses operate.
How much detail should your business plan contain and in what order? What will help make it effective in communicating your proposed or existing company’s strengths and potential?
Not all business plans should be the same as we are emerging from different backgrounds governed by different circumstances.
A well-written business plan executive summary allows prospective lenders and investors to quickly decide if they want to examine the entire plan in detail.
Therefore, your objective in the executive summary is to convince them to study the plan further.
Although an executive summary appears first, it should be the last part you write.
The summary should briefly highlight the key elements of your business plan and include the following points:
l A brief history of your business or business concept;
l A description of your products or services with emphasis on their distinguishing features, the market needs they will meet, the market potential and assessment of the competition:
l How the products will be made, or services performed;
l An outline of your management team’s experience and talent;
l A summary of your financial projections; and
l How much money you are seeking, in what form, for what purpose and how it will be repaid.
I have previously done some detailed pieces on how to draft a business plan and I will not labour the outline again but the above pointers should guide you. 
The Zimbabwe Youth Council has on its website a template of how a business plan should be projected and it will be useful to pay them a visit.
By following these guidelines, you should be able to describe your company and its market niche, your operations strategy and future goals and objectives. Your business plan will also be able to provide a prospective investor or lender with information about your company that is well prepared and persuasive in portraying the potential of your company.
You will notice from the classified advertisement sections that a lot of people are now offering the services of drafting project proposals and business plans, but personally I believe that the best person to do it is yourself. You can do it!
As always, let’s make money.

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