Social Entrepreneur Series – A Barrier-Free School that Fosters Employment [Education and Learning]

Social Entrepreneur – Kristen Li

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are facing barriers to learning in general. Learning aids do exist but with the prevalent “one size fits all” philosophy they often cannot cope with specific needs of individuals. Ask the right question; devise the valid solution; solicit the proper support for implementation. This is how Kristen Li and her team put social innovation into practice and won the championship of a social enterprise competition.

Kristen saw the market need for custom-designed training and tapped the opportunity. Together with her colleagues, she set up the Barrier-Free School. They used what they had learnt in school and established an IT platform which provides PWDs with three-in-one "training - job matching - career support" service. Through tailor-designed training softwares, PWDs acquire the skills fit for employment with remunerations on par with able persons. The Barrier-Free School is contributing to social inclusion of the disabled in the long run.

Innovative Venture – Barrier-Free School

The innovative venture mentioned above is funded by the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund and assisted and supported by the Fund’s intermediaries in project implementation.  The details of the innovative venture are as follows:

Name of Organisation: Barrier-free Technology and Culture Limited

Service nature: Education and learning

Beneficiary group: Persons with disabilities

Project type: Prototype

Intermediary Programme: Good Seed

What is Social Entrepreneur Series?

Stories of how other social entrepreneurs aspired to start their own business might facilitate your social innovation and entrepreneurship exploration.

A series of social entrepreneur stories will be featured and categorised into six sub-series: Education and Learning, Job Training and Opportunities, Community Participation, Healthcare, Diet and Transport.  What you are going to read are stories of social entrepreneurs taking forward the startup projects that help themselves and others.