Disabled entrepreneurs need a Paralympic-style platform of visibility and support

If you are disabled in the UK today, you are disproportionately more likely to start your own business. Disabled entrepreneurs are a phenomenal group, who often develop key entrepreneurial skills like tenacity, problem-solving and flexibility. Governments have historically seen disability as a welfare issue, missing a huge opportunity to support disabled entrepreneurs. A report by the Innovation Caucus with Professor Tim Vorley found huge barriers in place for disabled entrepreneurs – inequalities in support, bias from business advisors or educational settings, and a much higher likelihood of entrepreneurs coming from a background of poverty or unemployment. Small Business Britain’s own research found only 15 per cent of disabled entrepreneurs have access to peer-to-peer support, and more than a third feel limited by confidence.