The role of integrated microfinance in capacity building for disabled entrepreneurs in Nepal

In third-world countries such as Nepal, a significant number of vulnerable people continue to live in poor isolated communities with no effective support or treatment for their physical and mental disabilities. Many of these vulnerable groups have made unsuccessful attempts to use microfinance to support entrepreneurial activities designed to sustain their families and communities. Our study provides an empirically grounded narrative about the lived realities of these disabled communities and enabled us to develop a grounded theory of the intersectional nature of vulnerability dimensions of poverty. Our findings reflect the complex interwoven dimensions of discrimination and exclusion relating to caste, physical and mental disabilities, low incomes, lack of land ownership, little or no education, and social exclusion that are still in existence in Nepal. Our findings highlight how an intersectional approach is valuable in understanding how multiple forms of discrimination interact to create complex and unique barriers for individuals and groups. Using grounded theory and the Gioia approach to data analysis, our findings reveal that microfinance services when integrated into a model that includes health care, basic education, training, and microfinance education, community capacity building can effectively support their overall well-being and enable sustainable community development solutions.