THRIVING AGAINST ALL ODDS

See the passion in my eyes lol!

Hey guys!

So a few weeks ago I was invited to speak at an event organized by Faecare Foundation for female entrepreneurs living with disability find out more about the event Here. 

Looking through the room, I saw women who are hungry for more. Hungry for a better life, hungry to be seen as business women who are hard working and enterprising. The question on my mind is; will women and girls living with various forms of disability ever be given a platform to showcase their talents, wares and expertise in the business world? Will these women be given the opportunity to compete and earn a decent living without being judged for looking different? Will there creativity, talent, personality and passion be seen by the public before their disability?

Women and girls living with one disability or the other have been held back over the years by a number of things ranging from lack of access to education, inclusion and participation, limited opportunities to access funds and training's, barriers thrown at them by society and not being taken seriously to mention a few.

According to world bank, women in business are stock in productivity track. Those in small businesses can't get the capital they need to expand and those in Micro businesses can't grow out of them. The odds here aren't just against disabled female entrepreneurs but against female entrepreneurs in general.

Will female entrepreneurs living with one form of disability or the other in this part of the world ever get a shot in the entrepreneurial world? Let's not forget that disabled female entrepreneurs don't just go into businesses to please themselves. They go into business to create economic empowerment for themselves, earn a decent living, pay some bills and help take care of their dependants. 

It is hard enough living with a disability not to talk about setting up a business and making a living in an unfriendly environment such as ours where we have loads of physical, environmental, financial and attitudinal barriers we deal with on a daily basis. 

With little or no support from government, institutions both private and public, groups as well as individuals females with disability continue to thrive against all odds in the world of work and business. 

At the end of the day, I encouraged the women present not to underestimate themselves because they feel devalued by others. I charged them to aim higher and keep an open mind. You will always have to prove yourself as an entrepreneur disabled or not.

So guys if you find someone living with a disability doing one business or the other, do well to patronise and encourage them.   

Sharonxx