Creating Opportunities: Social Entrepreneurship and Disability Employment

Social entrepreneurship has been characterised as an innovative approach to alleviating poverty. However, there are few studies on the social entrepreneurship of poor people meant to generate income for themselves and simultaneously to help solve the problems of other poor people. This paper presents a significant study of eight cases of social entrepreneurship among people with disabilities in Vietnam, revealing how they have tried to solve the problems of their disabilities through the full use of their human capital. The results demonstrate that the matter of having a disability is merely a constrained element of human capital. Among the cases under study, entrepreneurial activities are based on exploring and developing other elements beyond the constrained element, such as developing particular skills and capabilities. Moreover, this paper conducts a practical comparative analysis of six additional cases of social entrepreneurship among non-disabled individuals in Japan. The research findings underscore the significant potential of social entrepreneurship, when adopted by any company, to create job opportunities for people with disabilities. These efforts, whether made through establishing inclusive work environments or through providing support tools, are designed to mitigate the impact of disabilities as constrained elements and foster the development of other elements less affected. The ultimate aim of the research is to facilitate the integration of individuals with disabilities into suitable jobs and working environments, as well as to encourage companies in the private sector to further commit to dealing with disabilities as simply one element of human capital.