Chibuike Maduforo speaking at the Disability and Employment Conference last month

Earlier this year we interviewed Chibuike Maduforo, an inspiring young entrepreneur and one of the Intuit 100Up, to find out about his business and how his mentor has supported him since he attended our first Meet A Mentor event at the MADE Festival last September.

As a result of that story, Chibuike was invited to speak recently at the Disability & Employment Conference about the benefits of mentoring and his experience of business start up. We caught up with Chibuike to find out how he found speaking at the conference alongside the high profile line up, including the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable MP, and his plans for his business in the coming months.

Chibuike Maduforo talks with real passion about disability issues, in fact it's what has driven his business idea over the last year. Chibuike plans to create an online platform for the disability community, to include a social networking site, a facility for people with disabilities to search for jobs, educational opportunities or local amenities and services, and finally a hub for collaboration with an emphasis on the welfare of the disability community.

"I see it as being a virtual place that can benefit everyone from jobseekers, to product and service providers, to policy makers", says Chibuike.

"I want to help shape society better for disabled people, this would be an online base which enables the disability community to be more reckoned with in society and will improve opportunity and recognition for disabled people. On the platform Universities, employers, and others will compete to attract talented and committed people with disabilities".

The opportunity to speak at the conference was therefore ideal. Its objective was to bring together business and government to discuss how businesses can create more opportunities for disabled people. It also saw the launch of a two year campaign to help all employers become 'disability confident'. Chibuike says:

"It was an amazing feeling to be at a conference that was so forward looking and ambitious for the disability community’s advancement and recognition in society. At the event I was amazed at the various companies that were able to help disabled people in terms of their employment. I went around the exhibition, got networking, and was really impressed by the support available".

"I spoke at the conference about mentoring, what it's done for me, and why it's important to seek help and support. Two heads are certainly better than one. With mentoring you can gain support from someone who is more experienced to bounce off new ideas and approaches. You gain an outsider’s perspective which is very helpful".

Indeed, Chibuike is still in contact with David Thornton, the mentor he met at the MADE Festival last year, he says:

"I email David to keep me up to date with my business plans and we have some meetings coming up. The business is still in conceptual stage and David is really useful in helping me shape the ideas. He's encouraged me to pick other brains too, so in the near future i want to also have support from a mentor with a highly technical background as well, combining it with the Business and financial spheres of expertise from David"

Chibuike is now keen to connect with someone that may be able to support as a technical mentor and a partner that might be interested in collaborating on the development of the disability platform, as well as others with an interest in disability issues. With this in mind Chibuike has set up a new group in the IOEE called ' Strongly Positioning Disability in Society' which IOEE members can join the group by logging in to the IOEE and searching 'Groups'.

Chibuike now has ambitious plans for the future of his business, he says:

"The possibilities with my venture are enormous and endless, I believe once implemented,  it can shake up the world in which we live in, both in societal thinking and perceptions when it comes to disability, and very importantly, in getting disabled people to feel more better about themselves in facing this world. I truly believe the key here, is building and providing that facility that can allow the disability world to open up its exploratory horizons with dynamism".         

We wish Chibuike every success with his venture and are delighted to have helped him to connect with a mentor and a speaking opportunity. We look forward to seeing the IOEE Group develop in the coming months.