Press statement

The Competitiveness and Financial Inclusion (CAFI) Project is aware of the recent allegations made in a radio interview by Ms. Majabulane Tjopi, who was one of the 100 entrepreneurs who pitched her business for financial and incubation support under the Entrepreneurship Hub and Seed Financing Facility (LEHSFF).
In an interview on Tsenolo FM on Tuesday Ms. Tjopi, who owns Denolsy Creations, said she had failed to make it to the final list because the selection process lacked transparency and was unfair.
CAFI Project wishes to categorically state that these allegations are false and malicious.
Ms. Tjopi is one of the 20 entrepreneurs who pitched their businesses to Johane Garments, an Enterprise Support Organisation (ESO) under the hub (LEHSFF).
Johane’s call for applications stated that they were looking for both startups and established businesses. Ms. Tjopi was ranked 16th out of the 20 applicants. This was after a thorough assessment made by a panel of five officials from the ESO. As per the rules communicated to all the pitching entrepreneurs during the information session, Johane Garments conducted due diligence on the ranked top ten. Should they have found any enterprise in the ranked top 10 not befitting, the next best enterprises would then be considered for due diligence.
The due diligence was meant to confirm what the entrepreneurs had stated in their initial applications and pitching session.  
Ms. Tjopi first approached the LEHSFF to complain about the results and was referred to Johane Garments, which explained the process thoroughly to her.
She later wrote a letter of complaint to the CAFI Project but at the same time gave an interview to Tsenolo FM before meeting the CAFI Project management to discuss the letter or getting a response from CAFI Project.
The selection process was explained to her in a subsequent meeting with the CAFI Project management, but she remained adamant that she deserved to be selected.
CAFI Project is convinced that due process was transparently followed in the selection process and that each entrepreneur was treated fairly. Johane Garments, the ESO that conducted the pitching sessions, went through a thorough selection process that was followed with intense capacity building to prepare them to diligently deliver on their mandate. The US$52.5 million CAFI project is funded by the World Bank and the Lesotho Government.
CAFI Project is founded on three mutually reinforcing pillars: Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Resilience of MSMEs, Scaling Support for Entrepreneurship and MSMEs, and Project Management Support.