The entrepreneurial investment landscape in South Africa is skewed towards established businesses. The majority of funding sources - both commercial and institutional investors - tend to be dedicated to businesses that are already established, instead of ventures at much earlier stages. This is logical, because of the lower risk profile and higher scalability potential associated with proven business models.But, as a result, there is a funding gap for new entrepreneurs - some of whom could be producing game-changing innovations that have the potential to solve big problems. Their ideas might never see the light of day if things stay the way they are.It gives me hope, therefore, to see organisations such as the Awethu Project in Johannesburg, which invests its funding in new ventures which are under-served by the investment community. I sincerely hope other investment organisations follow suit.The Awethu Project was founded more than six years ago by CEO Yusuf Randera Rees, a South African Rhodes scholar with an honours from Harvard and a master's from Oxford. He believes that opportunity should exist for everyone, regardless of background, so starting an organisation to empower those marginalised by the investment community was a logical step. His team calls this process "democratising opportunity".There are not many South African organisations that have made the investment to get these sorts of start-ups on to the same playing field as those who come from more privileged positions. Awethu has interacted with more than 800 entrepreneurs in Gauteng, funding some of them and helping with the development of skills needed to run a business and create jobs.full_story_image_hleft1On visiting their campus at the old women's prison on Constitution Hill a few years ago, I was moved to realise that Awethu is supporting the kinds of entrepreneurs to whom other investors would not normally open their doors. The investment company is proof that people who do not have extensive business experience and do not come from a privileged background can still have talent.This sentiment is echoed in a statement by one of the entrepreneurs Awethu worked with. It read: "I am not from a previously underprivileged environment; I am from a previously unexplored market."I also admire the fact that Awethu's approach to funding goes beyond money. It has focused on eliminating the "pain points" that deflect potential entrepreneurs from their entrepreneurial journey. For example, the project's application process has been streamlined to take a maximum of 30 days - provided the applicant has already prepared his case to prove the viability of the business concept. Therefore, if the application is approved, funds could be in the entrepreneur's bank account within a month.Then there is the "pain point" of a lack of skills. The limited opportunities for quality education and training mean many people do not have the necessary business capabilities. So Awethu provides customised training programmes for entrepreneurs.It has also built a solid foundation of business support functions that are of as good a quality as those in the corporate arena. This means the entrepreneurs can get marketing, human resources and legal aid expertise should they need it.There is a lot of noise in the entrepreneurial incubator space at the moment, with many players coming on board to support entrepreneurs. Although I admire and encourage their efforts, I do hope they lean towards providing support that is adequate and consistent.story_article_right1Quality is important. If we do not give the proper support, we might get more entrepreneurs in the short term, but few will last long enough to reach a stage where they can have real long-term impact.Entrepreneurship should be one of the highest priorities on our national agenda.Our entrepreneurship numbers remain low - and unemployment remains high. If the National Development Plan is serious about having 90% of new jobs coming from small, medium and micro businesses by 2030, then we all have serious work to do.I am inspired by Randera Rees's belief that we should be using entrepreneurship to build a society that we can all live in.The more we support those who are making an effort to explore the entrepreneurship route, the more leaders we can develop who will deliver the change we need in this country.ziphosikhakhane@gmail.comSikhakhane advises and funds African entrepreneurs. She is a retail expert, writer and motivational speaker with an honours degree in business science from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from Stanford..