Betty Koech

Empowering women through sports and entrepreneurship in East Africa

Kenyan para-athlete Betty Koech is a two-time Paralympic medalist and founder of Women in Sport Africa, an organization breaking barriers for disabled female athletes. Despite losing her right leg in a car accident at 16, Koech became the first African woman to win a Paralympic medal in wheelchair tennis (2020 Tokyo). She uses her platform to launch microfinance programs for 5,000+ women through her foundation, combining sports training with business education.

In 2022, Koech pioneered the Africa Adaptive Sports Initiative, creating accessible facilities in 8 countries. Her documentary 《Beyond the Court》 (2023) chronicles her journey and inspired 10,000+ youth applications to sports programs. Recent innovations include solar-powered training centers and partnerships with Nike for adaptive gear development. Koech's 2024 book 《Unbreakable: My Journey from Broken Dreams to Olympic Gold》 shares strategies for overcoming systemic barriers. Her work has reduced gender participation gaps in African sports by 18% since 2020.