Queenrides CEO Iim Fahima.

Some entrepreneurs believe that even if their main goal is to sell products and services, they do not have to lose their sense of humanity. For these entrepreneurs, inclusivity is also an important concept, in that everyone deserves to be on the same table and empower themselves.

One of these entrepreneurs is Queenrides chief executive officer Iim Fahima.

When talking about entrepreneurship, Iim said the most important capital needed was not money but ideas.

“So far, I have built seven companies, and none of them started with money, but ideas. These ideas come from our own lives; the more problems there are, the more opportunity that we have,” Iim said in a recent panel discussion at @america.

Iim founded Queenrides in 2016 as an initiative to instill riding safety for women. With over 200,000 members, the start-up gave way to an active community focused on riding, helped by a slew of workshops as well as a virtual quiz on theoretical questions generally used when taking a driver’s test.

According to Iim, inclusivity is bred through a mindset that does not differentiate and discriminate but rather one that seeks to include everyone under a common cause of the business.

“To be that neutral, we should not be judgmental. This is really a challenge that we all have right now, what with the political division and all.”

Inclusivity can also come from accommodating those with disabilities. One such example is Jambi-based social enterprise Specialpreneur.

Specialpreneur founder Siti Maidina “Dina” Herdiyanti said the enterprise, founded in 2017, was born out of a visit to Kuala Tungkal’s school for the disabled (SLB), where she saw that the students’ handicrafts were not sold to the public while the students themselves did not work after graduating.

“We found that the low productivity was due to a lack of facilities. Moreover, the students’ basic skills are adequate, but not enough to ensure their independence in society,” she said.

“We also have an issue in unemployment rates, with 12 million people with disabilities being unemployed in 2016. There are around 17,000 people with disabilities in Jambi, and most of them are unemployed as well.”

To that end, Specialpreneur provides sewing and embroidery training courses along with business units for SLB students. These units range from beauty salon to coconut handcrafts, which the students run with guidance.

Making it: Chintia Rahmadhanti (left) is one of the fashion designers who collaborates with Specialpreneur, an enterprise that helps people with disabilities sell their crafts.

Other social enterprises include Precious One, which empowers people with hearing impairments by providing them with training to create handicrafts.

Founded by Ratnawati Sutedjo in 2004, Precious One has created various merchandise and products made by its mostly hearing-impaired employees, ranging from tote bags to hand puppets. A number of Precious One’s clients are major corporations, but its most famous one was arguably the 2018 Asian Games.

Ratnawati noted that during the company’s beginnings, she had met several hearing-impaired individuals who had low self-esteem, which was caused by discrimination.

“I always say to them, don’t let others think lowly of you just because of your physical limitations, but make them see your talents through what you can create,” she said.

Ratnawati also stressed the need for quality and innovation, creating Precious One with a tagline of being proud to wear something made by someone with a disability so that people wouldn’t buy their products just out of pity.

While empowerment through creative skills is definitely beneficial, some would say that opening doors in the working force can also show that people with disabilities can be on the same playing field as everyone else.

Fanny Evrita, project executive of Thisable Enterprise, said the challenge lay in convincing employers that people with disabilities could be a good fit for their company.

Founded in 2011 by Angkie Yudis, Thisable Enterprise works to encourage financial independence for those with disabilities in the workforce.

In 2017, the social enterprise worked with ride hailing company Gojek for their Go-Life services, providing training and matching them with the appropriate section according to their condition.

“We at Thisable Enterprise often become the bridge between the jobseeker and the employer, as there are frequent miscommunications when those with disabilities apply directly to companies.

“When we meet with the company, we never highlight the disability part as that would encourage a charity-based approach like Ratnawati said. We instead tell them that the product or service has a social impact, so they not only fulfill a need but also support an ecosystem for those with disabilities,” Fanny said.

Recalling her own experience of being fired for her own disability, Fanny said financial independence did not have to mean working an office job.

“The one thing they’ll have to take into account is determining what field they can excel in. Training courses can be a good way to gain some skills; just enter anything you can find because you won’t know until you try.”

Come and buy: An exhibition of crafts made by disabled people who collaborate with Specialpreneur.

— Photos courtesy of Specialpreneur