Alternatives to tender process due to pressure to appoint community based suppliers

Our company operates across a large landholding in the Forestry industry and therefore have a large impact on local communities. We have undergone a modernization process in operations which resulted in 60% reduction in labour infield. There is now pressure to forego the tender process in favour of SMME development. the challenge is whilst the community is operationally skilled they lack business acumen and a long term sustainable plan. How do we go about adapting policy to include the SMME (Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises) component whilst not increasing risk in operations.