LocationsUNDP conducts Entrepreneurship Development and Business Management Training in Zambia to empower persons with disabilities to achieve self-reliance and socio-economic inclusion
Equipping Entrepreneurs with Disabilities to Attain Economic Independence
April 9, 2024
Attendees at the Entrepreneurship and Business Development Skills Training for Persons with Disabilities in Kabwe, Central Province
Image captured by: Vanessa Wematu Akibate/UNDP Zambia
Around 2 million Zambians are persons with disabilities. They represent a significant portion of the population with untapped potential to accelerate development efforts in the country. However, persons with disabilities in the country find it difficult to access employment, with very few industries and companies offering employment for job-seeking persons with disabilities.
“Employment is quite scarce to persons with disabilities because majority of the employment that we see in Zambia is just about teaching. We would like [persons with disabilities] to also explore other areas”, shares Clement Chanda, the Provincial Disability Focal Point for Central Province.
Many persons with disabilities face an increased risk of experiencing poverty as a result of the limited career options open to them in Zambia.
Mendoza Chaunda, an attendee at the Entrepreneurship Training for Persons with Disabilities in Central Province
Image captured by: Vanessa Wematu Akibate/UNDP Zambia
To enhance economic independence amongst persons with disabilities, UNDP – through the GRZ-UN Joint Programme on Social Protection – partnered with the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA), National Trust Fund for Persons with Disabilities (NTD), Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities (ZAPD), the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) and the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, to implement a training programme that aims to equip persons with disabilities with the skills needed to create their own income-generating initiatives.
The first Entrepreneurship Development and Business Management Training for Persons with Disabilities was held in Kabwe from the 18th to the 22nd of March 2024, attracting 53 representatives from various organisations for persons with disabilities (OPDs) from every district in Central Province. The participants engaged in a participatory training programme that covered a wide range of topics from financial management and accounting to marketing, social responsibility, and business planning.
The training empowers persons with disabilities to achieve self-reliance and enhances their professional skills and knowledge base to overcome the barriers and challenges they face in the labour market such as discrimination, stigma, and a lack of access.
Several participants expressed their eagerness to share the skills and knowledge they had gained from the training with their peers in their district. Olivier Nachulondo, a member of the Tonka Twende for Persons with Disabilities group in Chisamba district, shared, “We are going to turn the clock the other way around, because whatever I have learnt here, I will definitely have to go and disseminate to my friends so that they can also know that even though we have the same type of business as other people, we can add value on our produce so we can sell and thrive on the market.”
With nine more provinces to go, the UNDP Resident Representative, James Wakiaga, is optimistic that the training programme will have life-changing impact for persons with disabilities across the country, noting:
“UNDP has a clear mandate to advance the core principles of the UN Charter and support disability inclusive development through the twin complementary frameworks of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are mutually inclusive. As the development arm of the UN system, UNDP is spearheading a paradigm shift from a welfarist perception of disability to promoting economic empowerment and self-reliance”.
He adds, “Skilling persons with disabilities in Entrepreneurship Development and Business Management is one critical way that enhances their access to development opportunities and benefits. UNDP is therefore committed to work with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities and related stakeholders to fulfill the human rights obligations under the CRPD and the 2030 Agenda”.
Disability Inclusion is one of the major mandates for UNDP within the Government of the Republic of Zambia-United Nations Joint Programme of Social Protection (GRZ-UNJPSP). Through this project, UNDP leverages its expertise and comparative advantage in disability inclusive development to enhance the capacity of duty bearers and rights holders, contributing to the socio-economic inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities in Zambia. In that way, we can tap into the potential and perspectives for persons with disabilities to ensure that Zambia achieves sustainable development that #LeavesNoOneBehind.
