How tapping just 10% of India’s persons with disabilities can generate ₹4.5 trillion

Facilitating entrepreneurial ventures of just ten per cent of India’s one crore people with disabilities (PwDs) could generate ₹4.5 lakh crore annually.

This massive opportunity to empower PwDs in the employable age, who are left behind in the job market, is yet to be tapped, according to Thilakam Rajendran, the recipient of this year’s National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) Helen Keller Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Speaking on the occasion of World Disability Day, Rajendran pointed out that around 1.5 lakh Udyam-registered MSMEs run by PwDs generated a turnover of ₹1.35 lakh crore between July 2020 and July 2022, as per a government report.

Udyam is a government initiative that aims to help MSMEs avail of its benefits and schemes.

Excluding PwDs from the economy results in a 5-7% loss in global GDP, according to a World Bank report.

Untapped potential

To exploit the potential of this untapped opportunity, NEDAR Foundation, founded by Thilakam Rajendran, has launched India's first Virtual Incubator for PwD entrepreneurs. It provides holistic support via entrepreneurship development training, business mentoring, financial linkages, market access, and ecosystem engagement through virtual platforms.

The initiative aims to support nano-entrepreneurs among PwDs, who lack the knowledge, skills, financial support, and market access, to build sustainable businesses via a structured programme.

The initiative now operates in 19 states and has assisted over 4,000 PwDs on entrepreneurship as a viable livelihood option and trained over 850 individuals.

The virtual model ensures accessibility for women with disabilities, those with mobility challenges, and rural participants, as well as enabling existing entrepreneurs with disabilities to participate without disrupting their businesses.

NEDAR initiatives

The NEDAR Foundation also backs the first-ever business network for PwDs—NEDAR (Network of Entrepreneurs with Disabilities for Assistance and Rehabilitation)—with over 250 members across 18 states. NEDAR Members have generated about Rs. 14 crore of annual revenue, and 82 of them have created 400 jobs.

NEDAR plans to expand with industry-specific incubation initiatives in sectors like apparel and kirana, in collaboration with mainstream organisations.

The NEDAR initiative aims to create visibility to entrepreneurs with disabilities in the ecosystem.

The NCPEDP has been actively showcasing the invisible contributors in the disability sector for over a quarter of a century. It introduced the NCPEDP – Helen Keller Award for Role Model Entrepreneurs in 2021, enabling visibility to entrepreneurs with disabilities, in sync with the nation’s entrepreneurship push under Viksit Bharat and Make in India programmes.