Social Entrepreneurship for People with Disabilities: Barriers and Facilitators to Business Start-Up

This thesis aims to explore the barriers and facilitators to social enterprise start-up for people with disabilities. People with disabilities as a group tend to be self-employed more frequently than people without disabilities, yet relevant research in the field still lacks attentions from the public. This thesis applies systematic literature review and integrates topics and methods from interdisciplinary fields, including disability studies, employment policy, and business related studies, in order to provide greater insights and understanding about social entrepreneurship for people with disabilities. The research found that social entrepreneurs with disabilities have to deal with particular barriers, such as environmental and attitudinal barriers, that entrepreneurs without disabilities do not have to deal with. These barriers create additional obstacles that prevent people with disabilities from participating in the labor market on an equal basis to others.This research offers suggestions for ways to address these barriers and points to the need for further research in this area.