The concept and founding of Enablecode came about by accident more than intended planning. In the early 2010s, a group of English expats, including Colin Blackwell and Paul Bapoo, wanted to give back to the community they lived and worked in. They talked to local non-governmental organisations and charities and realised the picture was much bigger than they had first imagined. They could do so much more than just volunteering a few hours of their time.

Colin has a background in human resources and often helped young locals write their CVs and get job placements. Constantly reviewing resumes, he noticed there were very few disabled people who had any form of academic training or qualification. One day he came across the CV of a disabled programmer and connected him with a friend who needed a website designed and built.

The project went well, and through their continued relationship Colin learned the programmer was part of a group of disabled people studying computing. He suggested that once they completed their studies they should start a company and work together, but the suggestion was met with expected nerves and uncertainty.

Believing in the abilities of the programmers, Colin and Paul decided to jump on board and in 2014 Enablecode was founded as a software company that employs computing experts with disabilities. Fast forward to 2017 and the team now provides high quality web and mobile app development, as well as digital marketing support to clients all over the world, all done by disabled coders in Vietnam.

Perhaps Enablecode’s biggest achievement is proving that disabled people can live independently and contribute productively to society. Typically seen as burdens to their families, Enablecode shows that given opportunity, disabled people can not only succeed but thrive and to contribute to their family’s wellbeing. Their vision sought to transform the way Vietnamese society perceives people with disabilities.

Once proven, they set about building the mechanisms needed to achieve their goal and build a successful business providing opportunity and income to people often marginalised by society. They found that through facing constant adversity in their everyday lives, the problem-solving abilities of their disabled team were beyond expectations. In a creative, collaborative environment they could provide clever, innovative solutions to their clients’ software development needs.

Now with 15 employees, Enablecode is a small company but the best in Vietnam at what they do. Future collaboration with UNICEF will bring further growth and a greater number of people offered employment. As they continue to expand, they look to partnerships with international companies operating in the IT space, offering further chances for training and mentoring and employment opportunities in large multi-nationals.

At Enablecode they believe “everything is possible” – this is the attitude their programmers apply to their work and their lives. Having overcome the challenges of their disabilities, the team relishes new technical challenges. This fresh thinking can give your website the competitive edge that you need.