The Women with Disabilities Entrepreneur Network is where ideas that have been in the dark, go to dream. And dreams are nurtured to reality.
WDEN is a space for women with disabilities to start and build their careers as entrepreneurs.
About Us
Equal dreams, equitable opportunities.
The Women with Disabilities Entrepreneur Network (WDEN) nurtures Australia’s ecosystem of Entrepreneurs with Disabilities (EwD). We bring together entrepreneurs, amplify existing companies, start new ones, connect partners, mentors, supply chains and consumers.
The disposable income of the disability market is $13 trillion. Entrepreneurs with Disabilities (EwD), barely get a share. It is time we shift power, and support EwD to generate sustainable incomes from the money their community spends.
You may know that people with disabilities have very high unemployment rates (52%), but did you know that we are 43% more likely to be entrepreneurs than non-disabled Australians. However the success of EwD is not highly researched or reported, and income levels for PwD remain lower than the general population.
Creating equitable opportunities for some of Australia’s greatest, but most unrecognised and unseen talent is our priority. Living in an environment that is often inaccessible has built people with disabilities into some of the greatest innovators, and our lived experience is our competitive advantage.
In 2024, we plan to launch a startup studio for entrepreneurs with disabilities to bring a team of partners together to nurture ideas to impact.
The way we work
Our Guiding Principles
By, not for: Ableism has led some of society to believe we (people with disabilities) aren’t capable of building businesses, products, services or solutions. We want to change that, and shift power through a ‘by not for’ approach. We want to enable people with disabilities to lead, through partnerships that are empowering and allow equitable participation, rather than take away our power.
A part, not apart: We want to build on synergies, opportunities and grow partnerships that we all benefit from together. There is too much siloing, gatekeeping and competition in impact. We want to unite changemaking efforts, and work towards a shared goal as a collective.
Our Vision
An equitable business ecosystem where people with disabilities are empowered to succeed.
- Consumers can purchase products from disability-owned/led businesses, every day
- Boardrooms reflect the makeup of the community (21% Disability)
- Services about disability, include disability-owned/led businesses in design and delivery
- Increased funding and opportunities for disability-owned/led businesses
- Increased representation of EwD in media
- Governments and businesses have specific targets and procurement processes that create true equity for disability-led businesses
OUR APPROACH
From Dreams to Reality – Creating Change through our 5Cs
We don’t just provide connections and platforms for dreams, we start and grow them through our WDEN companies and our 2024 startup studio. We adopt a 5C philosophy to maximise success, sustainability and skills development:
Confidence
Each entrepreneur is matched with an experienced business leader to partner with them across their entrepreneurial journey. Through mentorship and strategic advice from industry leaders, WDEN entrepreneurs will be supported to build confidence, and be strong advocates for themselves and their business.
Capability
Socially-conscious and ethical capability partner/s are identified to manufacture and distribute our products. The EwD is supported through the product development, negotiation, supply chain and distribution agreements, KPIs and quality assurance procedures.
Connections
WDEN entrepreneurs are provided access through WDEN to established sales channels, including B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer), for their products.
Capacity
WDEN entrepreneurs are provided access to ecosystem enablers (Partners). These vetted partners provide the essential infrastructure to facilitate the operation of their business from startup to maturity, including finance, legal, branding, web development, social media and marketing.
Continuity
WDEN provides business continuity support to ensure the business ultimately reaches maturity and is self-sustaining. Through our lived experience, we recognise a fundamental requirement to ensure the success of a disability led business is to ensure business continuity during times when disability or chronic illness impacts the ability to perform business activities.