Disability-Specific Activities

The barriers faced by persons with disabilities such as discrimination, accessibility difficulties and exclusionary policies result in low confidence and self-esteem, limited voice and agency, fewer choices for career and employment opportunities, and a sense of despair around their hopes and ambitions.  

• Core life skills training could offer an effective foundation, enabling them to start addressing self-limiting beliefs, learn critical self-advocacy and communication skills, as well as set actionable job and career goals. 
• Additionally, Job Readiness programs that factor in concerns specific to their experience in the workplace (such as disability disclosure, how to negotiate reasonable accommodations with employers, fitting into a mainstream workplace) support a smoother transition to work. 

For some women and men with disabilities, policies and attitude barriers prevent them from accessing financial services like getting a loan or saving.  This limits their abilities to start or grow businesses and achieve long-term financial goals. 

For some women and men with disabilities, policies and attitude barriers prevent them from accessing financial services like getting a loan or saving.  This limits their abilities to start or grow businesses and achieve long-term financial goals.  

Developing access to finance activities for young women men with disabilities can combat these barriers and increase successful outcomes of entrepreneurship programs. These activities may include:

• Working with financial institutions and program partners to create financial products that cater to the needs of program participants with disabilities.
• Extending technical support on disability inclusion to financial partners to address barriers that may exist in their policies and systems

Youth with disabilities face several barriers that limit their participation in agriculture. These barriers include limited access to assistive technologies and adaptive equipment, which are essential for performing agricultural tasks. Additionally, inadequate training and education opportunities tailored to their needs hinder their ability to acquire necessary skills. Social stigma and discrimination further exacerbate their exclusion, as they often face negative attitudes and misconceptions about their capabilities. Policy and infrastructure gaps also fail to provide the necessary support and accommodations, making it challenging for them to engage in agricultural activities effectively.

Addressing these barriers through disability-specific activities integrated in a mainstream agricultural value chain development program may include:

• Allocating funding for assistive technologies and adaptive agricultural technologies to enhance participation.

• ‘Agri-labs’: Funding for innovation spaces within the program that could explore new locally produced assistive technologies to inclusion in a specific value chain node. Read more about “Agri-labs” here

• Allocating resources to mindset change communication campaigns in targeted communities on participation of youth with disabilities in agriculture. This could include highlighting role models and their engagement in these activities.’

General participation of African youth, with and without disabilities, in the digital economy is hindered by access to digital tools such as smartphones, laptops, and reliable internet. However, for youth with disabilities, there is an additional barrier created by limited knowledge on existing accessibility features on these tools, as well as additional open-source assistive software and apps. Some of these software also have additional costs that may make them unaffordable. 

In relation to access to digital training, additional barriers depending on the disability type of an individual exist: Some persons with visual impairments with limited prior access to digital tools may need additional basic foundational training on computer layouts and shortcuts before joining a mainstream digital skills training program. Sign language users may need additional sessions with interpreters and training staff to identify suitable signs and gestures for key IT terms that may not have existing standard terms in the language. 

As such, disability-specific activities in relation to digital economy programs may include:

• Budgeting to avail digital tools, or assistive software and apps that create better access to available digital tools.
• Co-creation sessions involving sign language users, trainers and interpreters to establish standard gestures to use for IT terms. As well as brainstorm solutions to additional challenges specific to their experience and participation in the training. Some solutions identified may require funding.
• A foundational bridging program for participants with visual impairments to cover digital fundamentals or additional training on using accessibility features on digital tools. Source support from experts on digital access for Blind people to cater to this need.

The learning experience of students with disabilities may be hindered by educators having limited knowledge on how to support students with disabilities in their classrooms/training, social stigma and discrimination from the institutional community, and limited access to assistive technologies and specialized learning materials.

Disability-specific activities in an educational setting/ program may include:

• Disability awareness training for teaching and support staff at an institution as well as other awareness events that engage students and the wider institutional community. Learn more about how institutional capacity on disability inclusion can be increased through training existing staff and student leaders as disability champions or ‘Master Trainers’ here
• Funds to support access to assistive technology (or additional support to an existing disability resource center based on identified needs), and the conversion of key learning materials into easy-reads and digital formats that can be accessed through screen reader software.
• Bridging programs for prospective/ new students with disabilities to support orientation to the campus environment or filling in gaps on key student activities that they will be expected to participate in as part of their learning journey.
• Additional “Transition to Work” sessions with inclusive employment experts and/ or role models with disabilities/ successful alumni, specific to the experience of students with disabilities. Read more under the Job Readiness section above.