Bernard Kiira, Director of Innovate Now, Africa’s first disability technology accelerator… [+] Startups
Innovate now
People with disabilities are increasingly reliant on technological advances to address their needs, including mobility devices, hardware, software and peripherals, and are entering a new world of opportunity.
This seismic shift is evident as the conversation around disability shifts from cost to value, from liability to innovation opportunity. There are several exciting trends driving this change:
● For the first time in history, we are seeing a combination of rising societal expectations, rapid technological innovation, and significant capital dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion to build an inclusive economy.
● Disability tech has been overlooked as a multi-trillion dollar global market, bigger than China. Disability is a global problem. As populations age and non-communicable disease rates rise, the global disability community is expected to grow 130% by 2050, from 1.5 billion to 3.5 billion.
● The demand for disability support products and services is huge and growing. The disability population currently faces crisis levels of unemployment and a lack of funding to invest in early stage solutions.
Regina “Gina” Kline, founder and managing partner of Enable Ventures and its partner program SmartJob, and Bernard Chiira, director of Innovate Now at the Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub), are collaborators who recognized these trends and are now leaders at the intersection of the disability and tech communities. Kline founded Enable Ventures as the first impact venture fund dedicated to closing the disability wealth gap while achieving competitive market-level returns. Chiira leads the Innovate Now accelerator, a major driver of building a disability tech ecosystem in Kenya.
Last fall, Enable Ventures and SmartJob launched the Moonshot Disability Accelerator Initiative as part of the Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The Moonshot Initiative will support 10 global accelerators (including Innovate Now) that work with early-stage entrepreneurs innovating at the intersection of disability and technology to prepare them for investment by Enable Ventures and other venture funds.
Klein is a civil rights attorney and former member of the Obama Administration turned entrepreneur who founded and runs his own company. Enable Ventures invests in solutions that break down persistent barriers, provide resources to entrepreneurs with disabilities and empower early-stage companies with solutions that improve the lives of people with disabilities. This inaugural fund is part of the Sorenson Platform of Funds, an initiative led by Jim Sorenson, world-renowned business leader and president and founder of Sorenson Impact Group.
Regina “Gina” Kline, founder and managing partner at Enable Ventures, and Jim Sorenson, president of Enable Ventures. [+] Founder, Sorenson Impact Group, Remarkable Tech Summit (San Francisco, October 2022)
Michael O’Donnell, ShinyRedPhoto
Chiira first stepped into the startup world in 2014 while working at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya. “When I heard the words ‘disability innovation,’ I found my calling,” says Chiira, a charismatic disabled leader in the African startup ecosystem. Innovate Now is Africa’s first disability tech startup accelerator. Based in Nairobi, Innovate Now is a partnership between GDI Hub, Kilimanjaro Blind Trust, Norad, and ICT Norway, and builds on the UK aid-funded AT2030 program. The accelerator mentors disability-assist entrepreneurs on how to build a foundation for entrepreneurial success while driving social change. Now in its third year, the accelerator has 37 assistive technology startups at various stages of growth, all looking to raise capital to grow. One of them is Hope Tech Plus, which aims to eliminate barriers for the visually impaired using its unique wearable AI computer vision and haptics technology. Kiira believes that all over the world, people with disabilities are beginning to participate in the innovation economy.
Chiira and his colleagues in Nairobi, Kenya
Innovate now
Chiira and Klein are leading the charge to help developers of disability-friendly technology that designs with all of us in mind become part of the core of our economy. After all, the disability community is already influencing tech innovation with digital tools like SMS text messaging, audiobooks, and virtual systems for working from home. Given their passion and drive, it may only be a matter of time before people with disabilities are at the center of tech design innovation.
You can listen to the full interview with Chiira and Kline conducted for this article here. In recognition of their incredible work, Chiira and Kline have been nominated for the Compassionate Leaders Circle Awards in 2023. Please submit your nomination to help us highlight the people who inspire you.