Disability Tech Is A Game Changer For 2023 And Beyond

People with disabilities are entering a new world of opportunity as they rely increasingly on advances in technology — including mobility devices as well as hardware, software, and peripherals — all geared to addressing their needs.

This sea change is evident in the conversation shift about disability from cost to value, from liability to innovation potential. There are several exciting trends driving this change:

● For the first time in history, there is a nexus of rising societal expectations, rapidly advancing technological innovation and significant capital earmarked for diversity, equity and inclusion to build an inclusive economy.

● Until now, disability tech has been an overlooked multi-trillion-dollar global market, bigger than China. Disability is a throughline for the entire global population. As people age and the rate of non-communicable diseases rises, the global disability community is expected to increase from 1.5 to 3.5 billion people, that’s 130%, by 2050.

● The demand for disability assistive products and services is enormous and growing. The disabled population currently experiences crisis-level unemployment and a lack of capital investing in early-stage solutions.

Regina “Gina” Kline, Founder and Managing Partner of Enable Ventures and its partner program SmartJob, and Bernard Chiira, Director of Global Disability Innovation Hub’s (GDI Hub’s) Innovate Now, are collaborators who recognized these trends and are now leaders at the intersection of the disability and technology communities. Kline established Enable Ventures as the first impact venture fund dedicated to closing the disability wealth gap while achieving competitive, market-rate returns. Chiira leads Innovate Now accelerator, a major force behind building Kenya’s ecosystem for disability technology.

This past fall, Enable Ventures and SmartJob launched the Moonshot Disability Accelerator Initiative as a part of the Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The Moonshot Initiative provides support for ten 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.

Kline was a civil rights lawyer and former member of the Obama administration who turned entrepreneur to establish and lead her company. Enable Ventures invests in solutions that break through persistent barriers, place resources in the hands of entrepreneurs with disabilities and empower early-stage companies with solutions that will improve the lives of people with disabilities. This first-of-its-kind fund is part of the Sorenson Platform of Funds, an initiative led by world-renowned business leader Jim Sorenson, president and founder of Sorenson Impact Group.

As for Chiira, he first ventured into the world of start-ups in 2014 while working at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya. “ ’Disability innovation.’ When I heard that phrase, I found my calling,” says Chiira, a charismatic leader with a disability in the African Startup ecosystem. Innovate Now is Africa’s first accelerator for disability technology startups. Based in Nairobi, Innovate Now is a partnership between GDI Hub, Kilimanjaro Blind Trust, Norad and ICT Norway, built on the foundations of the UK aid-funded AT2030 program. The accelerator coaches AT entrepreneurs on how to build the foundations of entrepreneurial success while driving social change. Entering its third year, the accelerator has 37 assistive technology Startups in different growth phases, all aiming to access capital to grow. One of those companies is Hope Tech Plus, which aims to eliminate barriers for the visually impaired by using their proprietary wearable AI computer vision and haptics technology. Chiira believes people with disabilities are rising across the world to join the innovation economy.

Chiira and Kline are all in on leading the charge to help disability technology builders — who are designing with all of us in mind — become part of the core economy. After all, the disability community already has its fingerprints on tech innovation with digital tools like SMS texting, audiobooks, and virtual systems to work from home. Given this duo’s passion and drive, it could be just a matter of time before we see disability at the center of tech design innovation.

You can listen to the entire interview of Chiira and Kline conducted for this post here. Both Chiira and Kline have been nominated for the 2023 Compassionate Leaders Circle Awards for their inspiring work. Submit your nomination to highlight the people that inspire you.

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