AHADI Foundation

AHADI Foundation – Empowering Women with Disabilities Through Leadership

Founded in 2023 by Deza Nguembock—a disabled woman, social entrepreneur, and changemaker originally from Cameroon and now based in France—the AHADI Foundation is committed to transforming the leadership landscape for women with disabilities around the world.

Born from Deza’s lived experience of facing ableism, racism, and sexism, AHADI envisions a world where women with disabilities are seen, heard, and empowered to lead. Our mission: to break the cycle of invisibility by equipping 1,000 women with disabilities to rise as leaders and to build a global network of 20,000 emerging changemakers by 2030, in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

💬 Why Your Support Matters

AHADI is not just a foundation—it’s a movement reshaping inclusion through leadership and visibility for women with disabilities around the world. An area that is still largely underfunded. Too often, organizations focus solely on inclusion without progressing to leadership, which is a crucial step for the empowerment of women with disabilities. We are now launching our first fundraising campaign, your support is essential.

💛 Every donation helps us fund:

• AHADI Leadership
• AHADI Community
• AHADI Data & Research
• AHADI Art for Change

You're not just giving—you’re investing in a future where every woman with a disability can lead with pride, power, and purpose.

🔍 Why This Matters

Women with disabilities face systemic, compounded barriers every day:

• 2 to 3 times more likely to experience violence than non-disabled women
• 3 times more likely to be illiterate than non-disabled men
• 2 times more likely to be unemployed
• Almost invisible in decision-making roles—only 2.3% held positions as legislators, senior executives, or managers in 19 countries (UN Women, 2017)

They are routinely excluded from economic and political life due to overlapping gender and disability discrimination. At AHADI, we are actively changing this—through leadership training, advocacy, visibility campaigns, and a strong, global sisterhood.

🎯 Our Key Programs

💼 Leadership Program
A 10-month hybrid initiative combining 4 months of intensive training with 6 months of personalized coaching. It empowers established women leaders with disabilities to lead advocacy efforts, claim media space, and mentor the next generation.

🤝 Community Program
Guides women at the start of their leadership journey by offering personal development tools, well-being sessions, and inspiring encounters—co-facilitated by alumnae of the Leadership Program.

🎨 AHADI Arts & Culture
Through immersive art installations and exhibitions, we challenge stereotypes and amplify the voices and visibility of women with disabilities.

📊 AHADI Data & Research
We collect and share key data to inform public policies and measure impact. Our upcoming 2030 Observatory will track government commitments to four key articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

✨ Key achievements

• March 2024: Launched our first pan-European study on the visibility of people with disabilities in social, professional, media, and political spheres.
• 2024–2025: Our leadership pilot program launched in France and expanded to Africa. To date, 77 remarkable women from 15 countries have joined the movement.
• March 2025: Launched "Les Objets", our first global awareness campaign—aired in prime time on CNN in North America and EMEA. Coming soon on France Télévisions and in 500+ cinemas across France.
• 2025 (in progress): Our first art installation, Aparté. Confidences. Liberté, explores the intersection of perception, desire, and societal imagination surrounding disabled women.