Which programme should I do next? I keep losing on buyer pitches.
Supplier Readiness Sprint. It targets your buyer-readiness blocker, and you’ll come out with a proposal pack, pricing sheet, and follow-up log.
PLATFORM / PROGRAMME ENGINE
Run SME programmes around measurable business movement.
Design programmes by target stage, issue cluster, lever, evidence output, and expected outcome. Then prove what changed. Attendance is not the metric.
One of six engines in the Mothusi platform. All connected to the same growth record.
Keep the programme simple. Let MGS do the measurement.
A programme stage is the support journey an institution designs. An MGS tier is the business maturity Mothusi measures underneath. Programmes stay simple - five stages, three gate checks each - while MGS carries the citable evidence that proves what changed. An SME can be in Stage 4 of a programme while still being Operating in MGS. That separation keeps delivery flexible and reporting comparable.
- 01
Baseline
Understand where each SME is starting from.
- 02
Build the Record
Get the core business record into shape.
- 03
Close the Gap
Target the main blocker (intervention).
- 04
Unlock Opportunity
Turn progress into readiness.
- 05
Prove Progress
Show what changed.
MGS measurement layer underneath. Programme stages describe the support journey. MGS tiers (Forming, Operating, Established, Scaling, Institutional) measure the business maturity that moves beneath every stage.
STAGE 3 OF 5
Close the Gap
Bankability Gap
Books are weak, no rolling monthly close, bank evidence incomplete.
Connect bank feed and close out cash forecast.
Moves bank evidence to live-data verification and clears the final gate item.
- Books document-verified
- Bank feed connected to live data
- Cash forecast signed off by mentor
Schedule a 30-minute working-capital readiness review with the finance mentor this week. After the cash forecast is signed off, the SME exits Stage 3 and Mothusi will assemble a draft funding pack for the Bankability pathway.
AUTOMATED INTERVENTION PLAN
Bonolo Logistics - Bankability Gap
Books quality is weak; no rolling monthly close; lender keeps declining on financial discipline.
- 1Reinstate monthly close with bookkeeper; reconcile prior 3 months.
- 2Connect open-banking feed to move revenue evidence to live-data verification.
- 3Produce 6-month rolling cash forecast and runway view.
Last 6 months of bank statements; latest management accounts; signed Northam contract.
Working-capital readiness review with finance specialist; close out cash-forecast gate item.
ABOUT THIS ENGINE
Why it exists, and how it operates.
A programme is designed at the start: which tier transition it produces, which issue clusters it targets, which levers it aims to move, which score range it accepts, what evidence outputs it expects, and what outcome it commits to. These criteria are declared, not inferred.
Eligible operators are matched automatically. Operators whose MGS state matches the programme criteria see the programme as a match; operators outside the criteria see a clear "not yet" explanation. Application intake is by Instant Apply: a single tap sends the operator's MGScard. Programme officers stop reading forms and start reviewing pre-qualified evidence.
Interventions are delivered through Mothusi, training, mentors, field visits, and capital pathways. Every interaction lands in the operator's growth record.
In a mixed cohort, not every business has the same blocker. The programme stage stays common across the cohort while Mothusi assigns each business its own priority issue cluster and intervention plan, so every operator moves through the same journey while working on the gap that actually holds them back.
At each programme milestone the evidence is verified. The impact report is not "X operators attended Y workshops". It is "tier movement, lever change, evidence created, finance readiness improvement, issue clusters resolved".
What Programme Management does.
- 01
Stage-gated programme design
Programmes are designed around five simple stages (Baseline, Build the Record, Close the Gap, Unlock Opportunity, Prove Progress), with three evidence-graded gate checks per stage. The stages describe the support journey; MGS measures the business maturity underneath. Delivery stays simple, measurement stays comparable.
- 02
Tier, cluster, and score-range targeting
Programme criteria are declared up front: target tier transition, target issue clusters, accepted score range. Mothusi enforces these as intake filters.
- 03
Instant Apply intake
Eligible operators apply with a single tap. Their MGScard, signed evidence manifest, and growth record snapshot arrive instead of a blank form. Programme officers review evidence, not assertions.
- 04
Cohort diagnostics
See cohort patterns across tiers, issue clusters, and lever positions before intervention design begins.
- 05
Target lever specification
The specific MGS levers the programme is designed to improve, with expected magnitude per milestone.
- 06
Evidence output planning
Documents, reports, contracts, forecasts, mentor reviews, verified data, farm visit reports.
- 07
Movement tracked per operator
Tier movement, readiness movement, evidence confidence improvement, issue cluster resolution.
- 08
Impact reporting beyond attendance
Tier and lever change, evidence created, finance readiness change, issue clusters resolved, funding packs generated per cohort.
FOR THE AUDIENCE
See the Programmes Solution and toolkit Built for governments, donors, DFIs, and programme operators?
This page describes the engine: how programmes are designed around stage transition, issue clusters, target levers, and proof of movement. For the institutional deployment - live cohort measurement, targeted intake, field verification, minister-ready impact dashboards, and the full programme operator toolkit - see the Governments and Programmes Solution page.
Different audiences. Same engine output.
| Audience | Value delivered |
|---|---|
| Programme officers | A design framework that produces measurable, defensible outcomes. |
| Donors and funders | Outcome reporting that survives external audit and stakeholder challenge. |
| Governments | Sector-development outcomes visible across regions, cohorts, and intervention paths. |
| SMEs | Interventions matched to actual blockers, not generic curriculum. |
GET STARTED
Deploy this engine in your programme.
Whether your programme needs AI guidance, evidence-grade scoring, capital readiness, structured programmes, lever-mapped learning, or a relationship engine, this engine plugs into the same growth record as every other Mothusi capability.
From business support to measurable enterprise development. Across sectors, countries, and real operating environments.