Field research in Gaza Strip on enterprises managed by Women with Disabilities

From January the 21st to February the 3rd, ARCO was again on the field in Palestine for the sustainability assessment of 15 enterprises managed by women with disabilities. The research was implemented in Gaza Strip in the domain a of the international cooperation project WE WORK led by the Italian NGO Educaid and funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The aim of the research was to assess the potentialities, the resources and the limits of the enterprises and to identify possible strategies to upgrade them. The research was implemented through the application of a tailored sustainability assessment methodology based on semi-structured interviews to the entrepreneurs.

Besides the support of EducAid, the research was conducted in partnership with SEC- Small Enterprise Center (a consultancy based in Gaza) who supported our researcher Carmela Nitti during the fieldwork.

The entrepreneurs have to face many challenges connected to the situation in the Gaza Strip (mainly lack of access to basic facilities, restriction in the movement of people and merchandise) but also connected to the discrimination against women with disabilities.
That’s why it is important to elaborate sound upgrade strategies based on high quality data collection. The support to this kind of productive activities represents an important opportunity for the inclusion of women with disabilities in the society.