Nairobi — In Nairobi this week, a gathering of global voices marked a turning point in how the world views disability and technology.
The Kenyan capital hosted the 2025 Global Assistive Technologies (AT) Day, drawing international attention to a growing call for inclusive tech that works for everyone especially the over 1.3 billion people globally living with disabilities.
At the heart of the event was the 6th Inclusive Africa Conference, where representatives from government, the private sector, and advocacy groups urged action not just awareness.
“Accessibility is Good Business”
In her keynote speech, Maxine Williams, Meta’s Vice President of Accessibility and Engagement, set the tone. “Accessibility is not charity it’s smart economics,” she said. “When we build with accessibility in mind, we unlock opportunity. We invest in people, and people build economies.”
Williams spotlighted Meta’s open-source AI tools like Llama and the Massively Multilingual Speech (MMS) system, which supports over 1,100 languages, including African dialects long excluded from digital tools.
These platforms, she said, are already in use across the continent from Jacaranda Health’s maternal care assistant in Kenya to HelpMum’s vaccine chatbot in Nigeria, and Twiga’s AI learning support in Tanzania.
Meta has also made updates to its major platforms. WhatsApp now transcribes voice messages, while Facebook and Instagram feature better screen reader compatibility and AI-generated image descriptions developed in partnership with people with disabilities.
“Real accessibility happens when those most impacted help design the solutions,” Williams said.
The IFC Pushes the Business Case
Also present was Nathalie Kouassi Akon, Global Director of Gender & Economic Inclusion at the International Finance Corporation (IFC). She emphasised the economic urgency behind inclusive tech investments.
“There’s a clear business case here,” Akon said, referencing Regina, a Nairobi entrepreneur whose small business grew after receiving a smartphone through a local digital finance initiative.
Yet she noted the challenges that remain. “Nearly 80% of rural Kenyans with disabilities still lack access to basic technology or financial services,” she said, calling the gap both a market failure and a moral concern.
Akon pointed to the MOSAIC initiative, a collaboration between IFC and ATscale, as a blueprint for change. The programme focuses on building local skills and manufacturing capacity to meet Africa’s growing demand for assistive devices.
With the global AT market projected to reach USD 60 billion by 2030, Akon said, “Africa must not be left behind.”
A Shift in Mindset
More than just a conference, this year’s Global AT Day marked a shift from treating disability as a charity issue to seeing it as a core part of innovation.
From mobility aids and screen readers to AI-powered virtual assistants, assistive technology is fast becoming essential to learning, employment, and independence. Yet, only one in ten people globally currently have access to the tools they need, according to international estimates.
As Kenya steps into a leadership role on the continent, both Meta and IFC’s presence signalled that accessibility may no longer be a side conversation but the main event.
