I think it's got to the stage now that Jolla are so late with everything, and so many developers have been alienated, that a new focus on the software ecosystem (monetisation, less strictures on Jolla Store apps, dev outreach etc) would actually be counterproductive. The number of people that you'd bring back, or the amount of fresh blood that would appear, would be so miniscule as to make it a complete waste of time.

They'd be better off concentrating on fixing up the OS, adding basic features, making the core apps fit for purpose, removing bugs and making it a hell of a lot faster, given how slow it is relative to the alternatives. Then maybe, just maybe, the "Sailfish Alliance" will actually mean something, with some OEMs considering it a viable alt.OS ... rather than Autumn '12 > MWC '14 > MWC '15 > MWC '16 > MWC '17 > MWC '18 "Jolla would like to announce that Sailfish is ready for licensing."

Without backers it's never going to go anywhere anyway, and the basic state of the OS will influence potential backers much more than the total lack of software ecosystem.