Supporting young entrepreneurs and challenging discrimination

Young people with disabilities in Indonesia often find it extremely difficult to earn a living. They are routinely excluded from education and face many barriers to accessing training and financial services. Stereotypes and negative attitudes are common amongst peers, potential customers, suppliers, employees, and within institutions whose support young people need to start and maintain businesses.

Young people with disabilities also face assumptions that they are only capable of one or two livelihoods. They often find themselves channelled in very limited directions, denying them opportunities and wasting their potential. The COVID-19 pandemic made the situation even more challenging, with economic turbulence and social restrictions causing many small businesses to collapse.

With our partner Mien R Uno Foundation (MRUF), the Futuremakers project is delivering entrepreneurship training to groups of young people with and without disabilities together, to break down barriers and change attitudes amongst participants and the communities around them.

We are working in Jakarta to help young people whose livelihoods were disrupted by COVID-19 to rebuild their businesses, by:

• Delivering training in entrepreneurship, such as marketing and financial management. The project runs this training in accessible locations with appropriate adaptations for participants, such as sign language interpreters where needed.
• Supporting young people with running and developing their small businesses, such as bakeries and computer skills tutoring. The project offers expert help in developing sustainable business plans.
• Helping them access existing business networks, such as local government schemes or cooperatives.

This project is delivered by CBM and MRUF in partnership with the Standard Chartered Foundation. It is part of Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, a global initiative to tackle inequality by promoting economic inclusion for disadvantaged young people, including those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.