Empowering Women with Disabilities Through Entrepreneurship: A Success Story

Chrissy Zimba’s journey as a disability rights officer started when she acquired an injury that left her living with a disability at the age of 11. Despite her challenges, she pursued a Bachelor of Science in Information and Communication Technology, followed by a Master’s degree in Public Reports and Government from Africa University in Zimbabwe.

Today, she is a Disability Rights Officer from Malawi, working with the Disability Rights Fund, an organization that grants funds to organizations of patients with disabilities. As someone living with a disability herself, Chrissy believes that people with disabilities can achieve whatever they want if given an opportunity.

Aside from her work at the Disability Rights Fund, Chrissy runs a social enterprise called Nyazi Poultry Farm, which aims to economically empower young women with disabilities in Malawi. She started the business in 2020 as a side hustle to supplement her income and provide for her family.

Initially, she kept chickens for consumption and to supplement her family’s diet. But when she saw how well her chickens were doing, she started producing on a large scale to sell to others. As her business grew, she decided to help other women with disabilities to start their own Poultry farms.

Despite the stiff competition from bigger companies, Chrissy continues to run her business with the aim of helping other young women become economically empowered. To make her business more successful, she sought training support from the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), a program that helps women entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.

Through AWE, Chrissy gained knowledge on market research, business planning, financial management, and networking, which helped her to improve her business operations. She also received funding from the program, which enabled her to buy more chickens and expand her business further.