Project Proposal on an Internet Cafe

1. Executive Summary Cheetahs’ Internet cafe With fast appreciation of technology amongst the people of Zimbabwe, an insatiable need for access to internet has spread out across all societies in Zimbabwe. This has seen mushrooming of internet cafes in different parts of the nation. It is this mismatch between vast demand for internet services and few players in the market that has attracted me into seeking lines of credit in order to fill in the gap.Researches have arrived at a conclusion that implies that existing internet cafes are providing shoddy services; hence it is the prerogative of Cheetahs Internet cafe to provide quality services that clients deserve. To complement this, the cafe will provide, in addition to internet surfing, photocopying, printing, typing, laminating, scanning, graphic designs and software installations to make it a one stop shop. 1. 1 Objectives †¢Attain consistent profitability, thus laying the basis for sustainability. Create access to the information, learning opportunities, and communications media of the Internet, within the host community. †¢Grow community members’ familiarity with abstract computing and Internet concepts. †¢Give community members the opportunity to self-teach specialized skills such as academic research techniques, email and instant messaging, and usage of word processor and spreadsheet software. †¢Create a physical space for future development projects in the community. †¢Enrich communication between residents of Bulawayo and the South African diaspora by delivering access to affordable voice calls through Skype services. Generate sufficient revenue to allow physical expansion, offering the potential to replicate the same development objectives in surrounding areas. 1. 2Keys to success The internet cafe will be a great success because there are very few internet cafes which provide a one-stop shop,(exact number remains unknown) in the area and therefore the Cheetahs Ca fe will have its own monopoly as far as provision of high profile service is concerned. 1. 3 Missions The mission of our internet-cafe is to make the internet available to a greater population.In such a way that people will have access to all the sources which can be found on the internet. Thereby the cafe is supposed to be a place where people of all ages will come to enjoy the unique, upscale, educational, and innovative environment that the internet-cafe provides. 1. 4 Risks The main risks in establishing any business at all is always the demand. Will there be enough demand for my product, will there be enough interest in it? Won't we go bankrupt due to lack of interest? These risks are also present in the soon to come internet cafe, the population may not be interested in spending money to go online.Also, will the popularity of the internet sustain, in order for the people to maintain their interests in the internet and the internet cafe. And foremost, will there be a profit? 2 Company The internet-cafe which will be realized will offer the community of Bulawayo easy and affordable access to the internet. The internet-cafe will appeal to individuals of all ages and backgrounds. The instructional internet classes, and the staff that the internet-cafe provides, will appeal to the audience that does not associate themselves with the computer age.This educational aspect will attract younger and elderly members of the community who are rapidly gaining interest in the unique resources that online communications have to offer. 2. 1 Company Ownership The company will be registered as a Private corporation, which requires a minimum of 3 directors and a maximum of 20. A colleague of mine, Farai Mazanhi who has a photocopier and a Printer will be the second Director after me and Prince Hwenjere who has the technical knowhow of running a cafe will be the third Director. 2. 2 Start-up Summary The projected initial (start-up) cash outflows: Cash outflow from purchasing equipment Desktops @ $400 each. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Till operating computer set. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Furniture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Commercial Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photocopier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Commercial scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cash outflow from auxiliary services Software installations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Internet installations and router. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stationery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Labor for setting up the shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Air conditioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marketing material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cash outflow from compliance Company registrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leasing premises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total cash outflow required to start the project. . . . . . . . . . . . $ 3 200 400 600 120 2 800 100 50 1 200 50 300 800 500 150 1 500 $ 7 220 2 900 1 650 11 770 2. 3 Company Locations and Facilities The site where the internet-cafe will be located was already decided before the making of this business plan. The location will be along Main street, Bulawayo CDB, between Stanbic bank and CBZ bank, Opposite Barclays bank. Currently the premises are leased to â€Å"The Bed shop† which is running a notice of 3 months from October, which makes it up to December.Communications have already been done with the lessor and our application has be en considered. A small space which fits office desk and a chair has been secured for a Commissioner of Oaths to sub-lease from at a noble monthly rental $100. Other than providing a subsidy to our monthly lease payments, Commissioner of Oaths will blend into our quest to provide a one-stop-shop. 3. Services Ultimately the internet-cafe will grant the customers access to the internet and World Wide Web. Other secondary services will include scanning, photocopying, typing, commissioner of oaths, printing and graphic designs . 1 Competitive comparison The direct competitors within the sphere of influence for Cheetahs cafe is Twitters cafe located at Bulawayo centre and Kwiknet, corner 5th and Main Street. Cheetahs’ cafe will have a better competitive leverage because it has â€Å"All services under one roof†. 3. 2 Service description The internet-cafe will provide its customers with full access to the Internet and common computer software and hardware. Some of the Interne t and computing services available to the future internet-cafe customers are listed below: – Access to external email accounts. – Photocopying – Scanning. Access to printing. – Typing services and graphic designs. . 3. 3 Fulfilment The internet-cafe will obtain its computer hardware from local stores which can be found in or around Bulawayo, particular interest has been in First Pack. The installation of the internet will also be provided by the local resources and consideration has been granted to Liquid Communications. 3. 4 Technology The internet-cafe will be providing its customers with computers which will be up to date with today’s system requirements. Hp is the suggested brand for computers, scanner and Printer, Minolta is the brand for a photocopier.The computers will be able to provide the customers with a variety of application to serve their needs. These applications will mainly be the mainly used ones which everyone will be familiar wit h such as Microsoft Office. 3. 5 Future services In the future the internet-cafe will be able to expand or improve its services. When expanding the needed amount of hardware should be purchased however what should be kept in mind is how far the internet cafe will be able to expand. The location may not be big enough to provide an excessive expansion of hardware.The improvement of service however could be made possible by providing the customer with additional services. A drink- and/or snack machine could be purchased for satisfying the customer, which would attract more customers and which could make the current customers stay longer. Under consideration is also provision of services such as games and wireless internet services. 3. 6 Market segmentation Since our internet cafe is situated in the CBD of Bulawayo, The most preferred sector that Cheetahs cafe intend to serve is the working class. The cafe will take advantage of the offices and banks surrounding the cafe. . Strategy and Implementation Summary 4. 1 Attracting customers To attract the intended customers the internet-cafe will use the budget allocation of $500 to suspend a big metal banner at the upper front of the entry. Posters will cheaply using internal resources and abilities of the shop assistants to cut on costs. These posters could be placed around places where the adolescents would mainly be present such as Bulawayo centre, supermarkets, movie house and strategic streets. Places like game-halls and sports clubs would be perfect for advertising.Another way of attracting the customer is to advertise in the local newspaper. By advertising in the local newspaper the households would get notice of the new internet-cafe. This would result in attracting the parents of the adolescents and the middle-aged inhabitants of Bulawayo residents who frequent town. These ways of advertising will be stopped after two years. This is because over such a period of time most inhabitants will have noticed the inte rnet cafe and/or heard about it. 4. 2 SWOT analysis This section will focus on the SWOT analysis.The SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. SWOT is an abbreviation for: Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats. Strengths The strength that the internet-cafe will have is its dominant position in the local internet availability, strategic location and one-stop shop facility. Secondly, the internet-cafe should have strength in staying up-to-date with the latest computer software. By keeping the hardware updated with the needed software the customers will enjoy working with the computers.Staying updated with the newest software is also a cheap ‘investment’ which again would benefit to the success of the internet-cafe Weaknesses Besides the strengths each company/business has its weaknesses. Weakness can lead to a decrease of a company's success and development. The weakness of an internet-cafe in general is the risk of virus infection and uneven availability of internet. Staying updated with the latest hardware is not only an expensive investment it is an investment which does not sincerely pays off its prices immediately. Over a period of years such an investment should be needed however it remains expensive.Opportunities As any other organization an internet-cafe has its opportunities. Having certain opportunities offers an organization a possibility to expand their turnover. An opportunity of an internet-cafe is that the global population which is requiring access to the World Wide Web is slowly increasing. This increase of internet users should offer the internet-cafe a chance to expand the business. Another opportunity from which the internet-cafe might benefit is the possibility of a rising demand in the market. This raise would be the outcome of the growing popularity under the inhabitants.Once one is familiar with the World Wide Web one may introduce his or her social environment to the internet. Thereby the popularity of the internet will keep on growing and finally this will reflect in an increasing number of customers for the internet-cafe. Threats One of the threats the cafe will face is the continuous accessibility to internet by the general populace through smart phones. Stiff competition also forces prices down. However this has been cushioned against through diversity of the portfolio. Failure of one service will be evened out by the boom of other services. 5. Staff complementAn internet-cafe itself does not require a lot of employees. The employees should have at least 5 O’ Levels, be computer literate and A ‘Level would be an added advantage. 5. 1 Personnel plan The internet-cafe requires just a handful of employees in order to function. In total the internet-cafe will count a staff of a least 3 persons. One will be the till operator, his duties would be to accept payments for all services to be rendered and making payments for operational expenses. The second would be photocopying and binding; the third will be doing graphic designs and printing. Personnel plan Monthly salaryTill operator$ 200. 00 Graphic designer$160. 00 Photocopy assistant$150. 00 TOTAL $510. 00 6. Financial plan The following sections lay out the details of the financial plan for the future years. 6. 1 Start-up funding The internet cafe seeks to secure a loan of $11 770 to be precise from the bank according to the initial cash flow statement above marked 2. 2. Repayment Plan The management of Cheetahs’ internet cafe pledges to repay the loan in a space of two years. The repayments will be made on a month-to month basis. Assuming an interest of 10% per annum, monthly repayment amount would thus be estimated at $668.Proposed security I, being one of the directors will pledge the title deeds for a house which is valued at $15 000. The details of which are as follows: Stand no. 4875 Budiriro 4 Harare ?If need be, the title deeds shall be provided upon request 6. 2 Projected profit and loss YEAR 1YEAR 2 Sales51 00065 000 Add rent income from sub-leasing 1 200 1 200 Expenses(32 679)(34 809) Salaries(6 120)(6 120) Marketing ( 500)( 300) Machinery and equipment maintenance( 600)( 450) Internet subscriptions(12 000)(14 000) Rent(9 600)(9 600) Transport costs(720)( 720) Stationery(1 020)(1 500)Loan interest @ 18% p. a(2 119)(2 119) Net Profit before tax and after interest19 52131 391 Less tax(2 928)(5489) Net Profit after interest and tax16 95325 902 Cheetahs Internet cafe 6. 3Statement of the Financial Position for two years YEAR1YEAR 2 $$ Non-Current Assets Computers3 2003 200 Photocopier2 8002 800 Printer120 120 Furniture600 600 Commercial scanner100 100 TOTAL 6 8206 820 Current Assets Bank24 00024 000 Cash422 1 582 Debtors100 300 31 34240 702 Equity and Liabilities Loan [email  protected]%13 889 – Profit for the year16 95325 902 Owner’s equi ty14 000Current Liabilities Creditors 500800 31 34240 702 A CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR CHEETAHS’ INTERNET CAFE FOR TWO YEARS Cash inflow from operating activities Cash received from sales Receipts from Debtors Payments to creditors Payment of expenses Cash flow from investing activities Purchase of equipment Sale of machinery Cash flow from financing activities Loan Interest payment Net cash flow Beginning cash balance Ending cash balance Year 1 14 771 50 900 100 (500) (35 729) (6 800) – 11 770 (2 119) 24 422 – 24 422 Year 2 29 391 64 700 300 (800) (34 809) – – – (4 238) 25 153 24 422 49 575