Towards Inclusive Access: Navigating Gender and Disability Barriers in Entrepreneurship Support and Financing

This project was funded by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) with Impact Hub Dhaka, Impact Hub Phnom Penh as our regional partners. This partnership was to ensure that entrepreneurship support in Asia is accessible and inclusive for women with disabilities, with a specific focus on addressing the financing disparity and the underlying infrastructure that contributes to existing inequalities and barriers to access. The partnership aimed to bring together different stakeholders from Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal, including disability-focused associations, to co-develop a methodology for disability-inclusive entrepreneurship.

The project conducted initial research and mapping of best practices from the Impact Hub Network and Community Partners, including Impact Hubs and their partners already working with women, gender minorities, and people with disabilities. This was achieved through in-depth interviews with women entrepreneurs with disabilities, the establishment of a local Community of Practice (LCoP), and a regional Community of Practice (RCoP) to facilitate mutual learning and knowledge exchange between 3 different Impact Hubs in Asia and other Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) in the region with disability support experience.