Disability, entrepreneurship and inclusive finance: reimagining livelihood pathways for young people in sub-Saharan Africa

Summary

This article puts together varied experiences and learning from disability-inclusive employment and entrepreneurship research work in Uganda, Bangladesh and Kenya. It focuses on the need for inclusive economic empowerment programmes for young people with disabilities that are comprehensive.

The article highlights how early exclusion in education is restrictive to gaining important skills in entrepreneurship, how exclusionary designs of mainstream financial systems have requirements that young people with disabilities may not meet and the social and psychological pressures that further create exclusion. It summarises that meaningful inclusion in employment and entrepreneurship requires recognising that financial access, social protection, psychological wellbeing and accessible infrastructure work together.

The article calls for integrating accessible financial services with supportive social systems to enable young people with disabilities to build sustainable enterprises and have stability in their livelihoods.