Where Confidence, Skills, and Opportunity Begin
Every woman carries ability. But for many young women with disabilities, that ability is too often hidden behind barriers they did not create — inaccessible opportunities, limited support, low expectations, financial exclusion, and social attitudes that make it harder to be seen as leaders, entrepreneurs, workers, or innovators.
She Wins was Empower To Thrive Development Initiative’s early women’s empowerment and mentorship initiative, and the pilot that helped shape what later became the French Embassy-supported Empower Her Ability programme. It was created around a simple but powerful belief: when young women with disabilities receive the right support, they do not only participate — they lead, build, earn, influence, and thrive.
The initiative supported young women with disabilities to strengthen their confidence, develop practical life and enterprise skills, access mentorship, and begin to see themselves differently — not through the lens of limitation, but through the lens of possibility. For many participants, She Wins created a safe and encouraging space to learn, speak, connect with other women, and take steps toward economic independence.
She Wins focused on the whole woman. It was not only about training participants to start or improve a business. It was also about self-belief, visibility, dignity, leadership, peer encouragement, and practical preparation for life and livelihood. Through mentoring, business guidance, personal development, and community engagement, the programme helped participants build the confidence to pursue income-generating activities, enter markets, and take ownership of their future.
The lessons from She Wins became an important foundation for ETTDI’s disability-inclusive women’s economic empowerment work. The experience showed that young women with disabilities need more than motivation. They need accessible training, patient mentorship, practical tools, market linkages, financial guidance, and systems that recognise their contribution. This learning directly informed the design and growth of Empower Her Ability, which expanded the model into a more intensive accelerator combining entrepreneurship training, mentorship, bootcamp learning, accessibility support, starter capital, policy dialogue, and public awareness.
Across She Wins and Empower Her Ability, ETTDI has trained and mentored more than 50 young women with disabilities, supporting business creation, market access, and wider benefits for their households and communities. These efforts contributed to stronger confidence, improved enterprise readiness, greater visibility for women with disabilities, and a growing body of experience on how to make women’s economic empowerment more inclusive.
She Wins matters because it changed the starting point. It helped young women who are often excluded from mainstream skills and livelihood programmes to see that their ideas, businesses, voices, and ambitions matter. It also helped ETTDI refine an approach that combines individual empowerment with broader advocacy for inclusion.
Today, She Wins remains part of ETTDI’s story of learning, growth, and commitment to women with disabilities. It represents the seed from which a stronger disability-inclusive economic empowerment model has grown — one that continues to challenge stereotypes, open doors, and demonstrate that when women with disabilities are supported to thrive, families, communities, and economies benefit.
Why It Matters
Women with disabilities are often left out of programmes designed for women, youth, entrepreneurs, or jobseekers. She Wins helped ETTDI respond to that gap by creating a targeted platform where young women with disabilities could be seen, supported, and equipped.
The programme showed that inclusion is not achieved by simply inviting women with disabilities into existing spaces. Inclusion requires intentional design, accessible delivery, mentorship, practical support, and a belief in the leadership and economic potential of every participant.
From She Wins to Empower Her Ability
She Wins laid the groundwork for Empower Her Ability, ETTDI’s French Embassy-supported disability-inclusive women’s economic empowerment programme. Building on the pilot’s lessons, Empower Her Ability expanded the approach to include structured entrepreneurship training, a physical bootcamp, six months of mentorship, accessibility support, starter packs, policy dialogue, and media advocacy.
This progression reflects ETTDI’s learning journey: from supporting confidence and skills among young women with disabilities, to building a more comprehensive model that links training to income growth, business development, market access, and systems-level advocacy.
Our Vision
A future where young women with disabilities are not treated as invisible or dependent, but recognised as entrepreneurs, leaders, creators, workers, and changemakers with the ability to shape their own lives and contribute meaningfully to society.
