Disabled entrepreneurs need a Paralympic-style platform of visibility and support

Governments have historically seen disability as a welfare issue, missing huge opportunities to support disabled entrepreneurs, writes Michelle Ovens

Diverse group of qualified businesspeople (Getty Images)

If you are disabled in the UK today, you are disproportionately more likely to start your own business. You are also disproportionately more likely to face obstacles and lack support and recognition.

This is just not good enough. It’s not only a disservice to these incredible businesspeople, but a loss for the UK. The more we continue to have a fixed, stereotypical view of who we see as entrepreneurs today, the more we shut down the growth opportunity that comes from diversity.

This clearly needs to change. And the pandemic has given us a much overdue chance to address this. For all the unfair burdens Covid-19 placed on those with disabilities, its digital revolution has transformed accessibility, and is a seismic shift we can build on.