Feasibility
Feasibility studies for projects in South Africa
A feasibility study is the document a funder reads first and trusts least when it is written to justify a decision already taken. 36M Capital prepares and coordinates feasibility work so the conclusion follows the evidence.
Why funding stalls before it starts
Most projects that stall in funding conversations do have a feasibility study. The problem is rarely its absence — it is the gap between what the study asserts and what it evidences.
Funders separate the pre-feasibility question (is this worth studying properly?) from the bankable feasibility question (can capital be committed against this?). Confusing the two wastes months, because a concept-level study is submitted into a process that expects engineering, permitting and offtake certainty.
We establish which level of study the project actually needs, coordinate the independent specialists who produce it, and integrate the outputs into a single file where the technical, legal, commercial and financial views agree with one another.
Sources of capital
Levels of study and what each is for
- Concept and scoping study
- Order-of-magnitude cost and revenue, site and market screening, fatal-flaw identification before spend escalates.
- Pre-feasibility study
- Options narrowed to a preferred case, preliminary engineering, indicative capex and opex, early permitting path.
- Bankable feasibility study
- Defined engineering, quantified cost estimate, permitting status, contracting strategy and a model funders can stress.
- Technical and independent review
- A lender's technical adviser or independent expert testing the study before or during credit assessment.
- Specialist inputs
- Geotechnical, environmental, water, traffic, agronomic, resource and market work commissioned to defensible standards.
What funders test
What makes a feasibility study bankable
- Stated basis and accuracy class
- The study says what class of estimate it is, what contingency it carries and what remains unresolved.
- Independent authorship
- Technical, environmental and market sections signed by competent independent parties, not by the sponsor alone.
- Traceable assumptions
- Every material input in the model traces to a source document, quotation, study or contract rather than to judgement.
- Consistency across disciplines
- Programme, capex, permitting timeline and revenue ramp in the model match the engineering and legal sections.
- Sensitivity and downside
- Cost overrun, delay, price and volume cases tested, with the effect on cover ratios shown honestly.
- Permitting and approvals status
- Approvals obtained, applied for and outstanding, each with a realistic timeline and a named responsible party.
36M HIP™
How 36M Capital prepares the project
We do not replace specialist consultants. We define the scope of work, coordinate the independent experts, test their outputs against what funders will ask, and assemble the study into a file that reads as one document.
- 01
Identify
Define commercially relevant opportunities.
- 02
Screen
Assess strategic fit, commercial potential and sponsor capability.
- 03
Shape
Develop the commercial model and delivery strategy.
- 04
Prepare
Coordinate governance, documentation, partnerships and readiness.
- 05
Validate
Assess preparedness for institutional engagement.
- 06
Transition
Introduce mature opportunities into formal capital structuring and transaction processes.
Commissioning or reviewing a feasibility study
Whether you are about to commission a study or already hold one that has not moved a funder, bring it as it stands. We begin with a mutual non-disclosure agreement and a structured screening against the evidence funders test.