.dear DFIs/ sme dev agencies, look at the Decline "box" containing failed applications from startup/ small business entrepreneurs. It& #39;s time you purposely design & run investment readiness programs.

.gone are the days when upon rejection, entrepreneurs are just haphazardly referred to some other org with the hope they& #39;ll be a good fit there. also, soon or later all your rejections/declines should tell you something - most aren& #39;t too far from your asks.

.investment readiness means many things for different organizations with differing mandates. but big orgs in SA ought to build tailored programs that contribute very clearly to our collective drive to see increase in SMME & entrepreneurship activity, it + to SA& #39;s economic growth

.I always sit & wonder what happens to all the Rejected applications that SEFA, NEF, IDC, LandBank, commercial banks & all other corporate funded ESD programs. Oh this also applies to VCs too. Entrepreneurs & small business owners being sent from place to another

.I know the powers that be are reading this. The culture in SA leaders don& #39;t take kindly to constructive criticism. Very few note our thoughts for consideration. Anyway, next time we Reject/Decline an application from an entrepreneur, at a macro level, let& #39;s build a layer of help

.lastly, it& #39;s common cause that in entrepreneurship some ideas will be ahead of their times, from brown fields to green fields. If we went back to days of Mandisi Mpahlwa & cumulatively look @ Reject/Decline box to date, we& #39;ll realise we& #39;ve failed to build an enabling ecosystem