Junainah Junid, Rohana Ngah, Mohd Ali Bahari Abdul Kadir, Farahiyah Akmal Mat Nawi
This research explores the entrepreneurial landscape for persons with disabilities (PWDs), specifically focusing on Malaysia, a country facing a remarkable increase in its disabled population. It examines the varied challenges faced by PWDs and highlights the necessity for a welcoming and enabling ecosystem. By leveraging resilience theory and insights from existing research on entrepreneurial competencies, the study identifies the obstacles PWDs face and proposes strategies for overcoming these barriers. A key emphasis is placed on the dual necessity of handling systemic hurdles and psychosocial factors that affect the entrepreneurial journey of PWDs. The analysis includes psychological and social dimensions: societal attitudes, self-perception, motivation to become a PWD entrepreneur, and practicalities of support networks, all illustrating the intricate interplay in PWD entry into business ownership. Recognition of the necessity for psychosocial components to be incorporated into an integrated approach in order to deliver a biased-free ecosystem fostering entrepreneurship activities among PWDs is advocated by this paper. Building an individualised model to build entrepreneurship competencies in line with the PWDs requires implementing inclusive policies and supportive practices appropriate for them. In conclusion, this research promotes a collaborative initiative to develop an entrepreneurship ecosystem that actively remotes the challenges PWDs face. It seeks to create an environment that encourages participation and magnifies their contributions, benefiting the broader community.