I think surviving the pandemic was a challenge for everybody, and the accessibility of some of the tools put in place by the federal government for businesses during the pandemic may not have applied to indigenous businesses.
I'm not saying this is the blanket reason, but look at the tremendous amount of resources that go into responding to an RFP. It's an opportunity cost. As an entrepreneur, where are you going to put your time and resources? If you put them into responding to an RFP and you're not successful, and not even getting feedback as to why you're not successful, are you going to apply again? You need to determine where the best investment of time and energy is. Perhaps it's not in the procurement strategy, as it exists today.
Thank you.