The six-month acceleration programme is specifically designed to meet the needs of business owners with disabilities and will include startups from all over Pakistan.
Sightsavers and DeafTawk are proud to announce the beginning of their ground-breaking programme, Innovation Challenge Futuremakers (ICF), which aims to empower people with disabilities.
Through their innovative ventures, entrepreneurs with disabilities can break down barriers and have a significant social and economic impact thanks to this fast-track acceleration programme.
The ICF programme is the outcome of a strategic alliance between DeafTawk, a Pakistani startup committed to enhancing the lives of deaf people, and Sightsavers, an international organisation dedicated to preventing preventable blindness and promoting disability inclusion. The charity arm of Standard Chartered Bank, the Standard Chartered Foundation, provides funding for the initiative.
The six-month acceleration programme is specifically designed to meet the needs of business owners with disabilities and will include startups from all over Pakistan. It provides a hybrid experience that combines online engagement with beneficial offline interactions.
The chosen candidates will have access to a variety of benefits, such as a specially created curriculum, industry expert mentoring, networking opportunities, access to grants and investments, PR and marketing assistance, free entrepreneurship toolkits, and website development services.
Aspiring entrepreneurs will be able to unleash their creativity, innovate, and grow their businesses to new heights with the help of this all-encompassing support.
Sightsavers is pleased to be a part of this programme, said Munazza Gillani, Country Director of Sightsavers Pakistan Office. Sightsavers is a strong supporter of disability inclusion.
She continued, “We think that entrepreneurship has the potential to stimulate both social and economic change. People with disabilities will have opportunities thanks to Innovation Challenge Futuremakers, allowing them to contribute to the growth of a more inclusive society.”
DeafTawk’s CEO, Ali Shabbar, expressed his enthusiasm for the project by saying, “With the launch of Innovation Challenge Futuremakers, we are thrilled to offer a game-changing platform that enables businesspeople with disabilities to realise their full potential.”
“We have a deep understanding of the special difficulties this community faces because we are a startup run by people with disabilities. Our goal is to dismantle barriers in order to promote an inclusive and equitable business environment that values diversity and gives aspiring entrepreneurs with disabilities more power.”
The 23rd of May 2023 is the application deadline for the ICFM 2023’s first cohort. Pakistani entrepreneurs with disabilities are urged to visit https://bit.ly/ICFM2023 for more information. This chance may enable them to realise their entrepreneurial goals to a greater extent.