What does it take to create a successful start-up? This International Women’s Day we find out from the female entrepreneurs leading by example

This International Women’s Day, we at BlueSky Thinking are celebrating the inspiring female entrepreneurs who have used their business school education to create their own career paths.

Drawing on what they’ve learned through business education, and their professional lives following graduation, they share their advice for other women aspiring to follow in their footsteps, sharing their ideas, inspirations and ambitions for the future.  

“I wish someone had told me that confidence is built through doing difficult things repeatedly,” shares Ofentse Lekwane, founder of Wakari and alumna of the MSc Management (Entrepreneurship) programme at Durham University Business School. “You do not need to have every answer at the beginning; I am three years in and still don’t, so I have stopped assuming I will one day.”

Creating access and opportunity for all is a vital mission for Ofentse. Her start-up works with employers to change the narrative on disability in the workplace. Providing support for disability in professional spaces should not be seen as a costly obligation, but as a source of talent and creative leverage.

What qualities can help to turn entrepreneurial desire and uncertainty into action? Ofentse believes that conviction, commitment, and adaptability provide an effective launchpad, and the right attitude to keep a start-up growing.

She shares her story below…

Please introduce yourself to our readers – who are you and what is your job role?

My name is Ofentse Lekwane and I am the Founder and CEO of Wakari, a tech-driven accessibility assessment platform and disability inclusion advisory business. I lead strategic direction, product development, partnerships, and research, with a particular focus on scaling our accessibility solution to small, medium and large professional services organisations.

What does your start-up do?

Wakari helps organisations understand and improve their accessibility maturity. We provide holistic accessibility assessments that go beyond compliance and digital audits. Our framework evaluates office environments, workplace culture, leadership practices, policies, ergonomics, and systems. We combine a structured assessment tool with training and practical implementation guidance, enabling organisations to move from intention to measurable action.

Tell us about your background – where did you grow up?

I grew up in South Africa and have lived and working experience with disability. Coming from a context where disability is typically stigmatised, this has shaped how I think about inequality, opportunity, and systemic barriers in life and at work. From an early age, I became aware of how social structures determine who has access to opportunities and who does not, and that awareness has influenced the work I do today.

What were your early career ambitions and experiences? How have they contributed to where you find yourself now?

Early in my career, I dreamt of building schools that would be affordable to the mass public – as in South Africa our public-school offering has not always been top quality, and education is also not free. But over time, I learned that my real dream is to enable access for marginalised people into contexts they would typically be denied.

“Entrepreneurship also demands resilience. Early uncertainty is unavoidable, and the middle is rough. So, every day is a new reminder to bring resilience to the table along with all my business building tools.”

– Ofentse Lekwane

I took the scenic route to get to this place and so have worked in technology consulting, for a private education group, and in the NGO and social impact sectors focusing on employment pathways and structural inclusion. But in all those contexts, one thread remained, which was to allow systems, schools and jobs, to be accessed by people who do not have the socio-economic capacity to typically do so.

More recently as I’d been progressing through my career, I was exposed to how organisations often want to be inclusive but lack the tools, frameworks, and accountability systems to operationalise inclusion and how this also hampered my own productivity and career path. And so, I built Wakari to answer directly into this gap.

What was the reason you decided to go to business school? What was it about your school and programme that encouraged you to enrol?

I chose to attend business school because I had taken a career path that was previously quite technical and so needed to ‘dilute’ it somewhat to get to this ‘building schools’ dream. What drew me to the MSc Entrepreneurship at Durham University Business School was its focus on entrepreneurship and real-world application. The School’s and program’s focus on innovation, leadership, and venture development made that transition possible.

What was the most valuable take-away from your studies?

The most valuable takeaway was learning how to think in systems but also practically to apply what I learn to real life. Business school sharpened my ability to translate social problems into viable business models but it also helped me understand business fit terms i.e. unit economics, market positioning, governance, and growth strategy. Perhaps most importantly, it also gave me the confidence to think that I could build something ambitious rather than incremental.

What inspired you to start your business?

Wakari was inspired by a simple but persistent gap: organisations talk about accessibility, but few know how to implement it structurally and to measure it meaningfully. It is often reduced to compliance or digital checklists. I wanted to build a tool that treats accessibility as organisational infrastructure – as measurable, improvable, and strategic. The inspiration came from wanting to solve my own and other disabled people’s dissatisfaction with current rigid businesses that speak inclusion but do not live it out practically.

How did your business school and education support you in realising your entrepreneurial ambitions?

Business school and Durham’s Venture Lab gave me three critical assets: mentors, frameworks, and courage.

The frameworks helped me turn Wakari from an idea into a venture with a clear value proposition and growth pathway. The mentors and networks provided access to people and peers who challenged my thinking and still do so to date. And the experience itself is building courage in me that I don’t typically have.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in the early stages of building your business, and how did you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges I face is credibility. Accessibility is often seen as a compliance issue or a niche concern, not as a strategic investment. So convincing organisations that accessibility maturity drives resilience and performance needs strong positioning and continuous reiteration. The politics of today have made this even harder and so we are still fightng this fight.

Another challenge was building a robust framework from scratch-ensuring it was rigorous, evidence-based, and scalable. I addressed this by grounding Wakari in research, piloting with organisations, and iterating continuously with people with disabilities.

“Business school sharpened my ability to translate social problems into viable business models but it also helped me understand business fit terms i.e. unit economics, market positioning, governance, and growth strategy. Perhaps most importantly, it also gave me the confidence to think that I could build something ambitious rather than incremental.”

– Ofentse Lekwane

Entrepreneurship also demands resilience. Early uncertainty is unavoidable, and the middle is rough. So, every day is a new reminder to bring resilience to the table along with all my business building tools.

As a female entrepreneur, have you encountered any obstacles or biases in your entrepreneurial journey? How did you navigate them?

Yes, subtle and structural biases exist – particularly in spaces where capital allocation and strategic decision-making are male-dominated. Women still don’t get funded as much as men, and when you tell people you are building a business that supports disabled talent, they assume it is or should be a charity and so we get it from all sides and intersections really.

What advice would you give to other women who are considering starting their own businesses? Is there anything you wished someone had told you as you began your entrepreneurial journey?

I would say start before you feel ready because one never really feels ready. Wanting to be ready is like expecting to ace the exam before you even attend classes. With business, the only way through is through, so just start. Having started, build in increments, test, and refine. Seek competence, not perfection.

I wish someone had told me that confidence is built through doing difficult things repeatedly. You do not need to have every answer at the beginning; I am three years in and still don’t, so I have stopped assuming I will one day. One just needs conviction, commitment, and adaptability.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

In five years, I want Wakari’s Accessibility Maturity Framework to be the recognised standard and benchmark for inclusive organisational practice. I want workplaces to have embraced all variants of talent, with all protected characteristics represented, but especially disability.

Personally, I see myself continuing to build at the intersection of technology, standards, and social justice. I see myself contributing meaningfully to policy conversations and practical implementation of disability strategy. And I hope I will be scaling a commercially sustainable, impact-driven company without any loss in my zeal; and while still being the faith, family and fashion loving girl that I am today.

Find out more about Ofentse via LinkedIn and her work via Wakari’s website.

Interested in this series? Keep reading…