The necessity of ensuring Africa’s growing digital economy includes everyone stood at the center of discussions during the 7th Inclusive Africa Conference in Nairobi, bringing together government officials, tech firms, development agencies, disability rights activists, and innovators to promote digital accessibility throughout Africa.
inABLE organized the conference, uniting stakeholders from across the continent to examine how technology, digital services, and emerging innovations like Artificial Intelligence can be created and implemented to foster inclusion for people with disabilities.
In her keynote address, inABLE Founder and Executive Director Irene Kirika urged governments, businesses, and technology developers to address a crucial question in Africa’s digital transformation: is the continent developing a digital economy that serves all citizens or excluding the more than 80 million Africans living with disabilities?
Kirika welcomed conference attendees and thanked development partners and corporate supporters, including the Mastercard Foundation, Google, Microsoft, Mastercard, GIZ, Meta, Uber, Salesforce, Safaricom, NCBA, Kenya Airways, UNDP, and numerous African organizations that have backed the digital inclusion effort.
She also recognized the contributions of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), emphasizing that inABLE and its partners have built upon the decades-long advocacy of disability rights organizations across Africa.
A notable moment in her address was the acknowledgment of Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy William Kabogo for his persistent advocacy for people with disabilities throughout his political career. Kirika commended Kabogo’s leadership during the recent Connected Africa Summit, where a ministerial roundtable discussed Africa’s Digital Accessibility Standard.
‘The political will exists across this continent,’ she stated, pointing out that governments are increasingly seeing accessibility as a fundamental aspect of digital progress.
Kirika announced that inABLE had been named to the Forbes Accessibility 100 List for the second year in a row, calling the recognition confirmation of the organization’s work to create systemic change in digital inclusion.
She also revealed that inABLE, working with the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) and GIZ, is leading the creation of Africa’s Harmonized Digital Accessibility Standard for ICT Products and Services. The project will likely take about two years and seeks to establish uniform accessibility standards throughout the continent.
The inABLE Executive Director demonstrated the difficulties experienced by people with disabilities through personal stories collected during her work across Africa.
She described a visit to the Johannesburg School for Autism in South Africa, where devoted teachers continue to provide quality education without having digital learning tools available. This experience, she explained, highlighted the need for more investment in accessible educational technologies.
Kirika also emphasized the obstacles encountered by visually impaired individuals when accessing financial services. Citing an accessibility assessment by Technoprise Global on the websites of Africa’s ten largest banks, she revealed that every institution evaluated showed significant accessibility problems, including ineffective keyboard navigation, insufficient color contrast, and inaccessible non-text content.
‘That is the magnitude of the gap we are striving to eliminate,’ she stated.
She stressed that digital accessibility is not just a human rights matter but also an economic necessity. Based on World Bank figures mentioned at the conference, excluding people with disabilities from economic activity costs countries between three and seven percent of their Gross Domestic Product, while the global purchasing power of people with disabilities and their families surpasses 18 trillion US dollars each year.
Artificial Intelligence was a major focus of discussions throughout the conference. Kirika observed that while AI raises concerns about safety, authenticity, and employment, it also provides extraordinary chances to improve accessibility through innovations like real-time sign language translation, AI-powered navigation for visually impaired individuals, and automated captioning technologies.
However, she cautioned that many AI products are still being created without adequate consideration for people with disabilities, which could create new digital barriers and increase inequalities.
‘Accessibility must be incorporated from the beginning in every AI product, every policy, and every procurement decision,’ she said.
In her closing remarks, Kirika called for greater investment in locally produced assistive technologies, pointing out that most assistive devices used in Africa are currently imported. She encouraged governments, investors, and innovators to support African-developed solutions that can create jobs while addressing local accessibility requirements.
She also emphasized the importance of equipping young people with disabilities with digital and AI skills and called for stronger partnerships between educational institutions and industry to ensure graduates are ready for the changing job market.
‘The business case is clear. Digital accessibility is not an issue of charity or corporate social responsibility; it is a strategic necessity,’ she said.
In his keynote address, Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to ensuring that digital transformation and digital inclusion progress together.
He commended inABLE for creating one of Africa’s foremost platforms focused on digital accessibility and inclusion, stating that accessibility can no longer be seen as a specialized issue but must be considered a fundamental requirement for inclusive development.
‘Kenya’s position is clear. Digital transformation and digital inclusion must advance together,’ Kabogo stated. ‘We cannot talk about a successful digital economy if parts of our population cannot access the opportunities that technology creates.’
The Cabinet Secretary highlighted several government efforts aimed at expanding digital access. These include the Digital Superhighway Programme, which has installed over 30,000 kilometers of public fiber infrastructure connecting schools, hospitals, government institutions, and communities across the country.
He also mentioned the Jitume Digital Hubs Programme, which has set up more than 270 active hubs with over 17,700 devices. Among these facilities are specialized centers serving blind, deaf, and hard-of-hearing learners, including institutions in Machakos and Kasipul.
Kabogo further noted that more than 23,000 government services are now available through the eCitizen platform, stressing that accessibility must continue to be a core design requirement as digital public services expand.
‘A public service that a citizen with a disability cannot use is not yet a complete public service,’ he remarked.
The Cabinet Secretary praised the partnership between the Kenya Bureau of Standards, inABLE, and other stakeholders in developing KS 2952:2022, Kenya’s accessibility standard for ICT products and services, calling it a milestone in advancing inclusive digital development.
Regarding emerging technologies, Kabogo emphasized the need to ensure that Artificial Intelligence remains inclusive. He highlighted Kenya’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, which includes accessibility and equity as guiding principles in AI development and implementation.
Looking beyond Kenya, Kabogo stressed the value of continental cooperation in advancing accessibility, especially under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework.
He supported ongoing efforts to create a unified African standard for accessible ICT products and services, arguing that common standards would allow innovators to expand accessible solutions across multiple countries while offering more certainty for investors and equal opportunities for people with disabilities.
As the conference officially began, both leaders delivered a consistent message: accessibility must become a standard part of Africa’s digital transformation journey rather than an afterthought.
The conference continues for three days, bringing together policymakers, technology experts, entrepreneurs, educators, disability advocates, and development partners to find practical solutions for creating a more accessible and inclusive digital future.
Participants expressed hope that the discussions and partnerships emerging from the conference will speed progress toward an Africa where every citizen, regardless of ability, can fully engage in the opportunities created by the digital economy.
‘The measure of digital transformation is not the sophistication of the technology we deploy,’ Kabogo concluded. ‘It is whether every citizen can benefit from it.’
The article Digital Accessibility Drives Africa’s Inclusive Digital Future first appeared on Kiambu Observer.