AT4D

Disabled entrepreneurs across Africa join AT4D's accelerator to develop assistive technology ventures in a region where the WHO estimates only 1 in 10 people who need assistive products have access to them.

ENABLE Model location

• Builder-side Interventions → Design Accessible Experiences
• Builder-side Interventions → Develop Accessible Implementations

What it is

AT4D (Assistive Technologies for Disability Trust) is a Kenyan-based not-for-profit and organization of persons with disabilities (OPD) that runs Africa's first assistive technology accelerator. Bernard Chiira, who grew up with scoliosis, founded AT4D in 2023 after leading the Innovate Now accelerator since its launch in 2019.¹² Chiira's career spans startup ecosystem development, entrepreneurship training, and venture capital. He has written on science and disability innovation for SciDev.Net, served on the drafting committee for Kenya's ICT Accessibility Standard, and sits on the Government of Kenya's Disability Inter-agency Committee.³⁴

The accelerator has delivered 10 cohorts, supporting over 90 ventures led by more than 100 entrepreneurs across 11 countries in Africa, the UK, and the US.⁵ The free program combines mentorship, workshops, guest lectures, and hands-on disability expertise to help startups reach product-market fit.⁵ AT4D describes itself as combining "disability-lived experience with startup ecosystem expertise."⁶

AT4D operates three programs: the Innovate Now accelerator, the Momentous Pilot Fund (a $500,000 early-stage investment fund launched in March 2026 with the Judith Neilson Foundation), and a community network connecting innovators, funders, and policymakers.⁶⁷ Chiira has described the Momentous Fund as "the first fund on the continent dedicated to investing in emerging assistive technology start-ups," targeting up to five ventures with investment, technical assistance, and strategic partnerships.⁷

AT4D works within a broader ecosystem. The Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub), based at University College London, coordinates the AT2030 programme, a UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)-funded initiative to improve assistive technology access globally. AT4D is a partner in this ecosystem. The Innovate Now accelerator was originally established by GDI Hub, implemented by Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa and AT4D, and funded by NORAD.⁸⁹

The structural context is stark. Nearly 200 million people in Africa require at least one assistive product, yet only 1 in 10 can access what they need.⁷ Chiira has framed the challenge in terms of three interconnected barriers: accessibility, equity, and affordability.² He has also argued that "regulation must meet the needs of innovation" to deliver technology effectively, suggesting current regulatory frameworks in many African countries hinder rather than help AT distribution.²

Why it matters

The ENABLE Model observes AT4D as a builder-side intervention that attempts to create the infrastructure for assistive technology in a region where that infrastructure largely does not exist.

The accelerator model is disability-led. AT4D is an OPD. Its founder is disabled. Its first cohort winner, Lincoln Wamae of Lincell Technology, developed electric wheelchairs engineered for African terrain. Judges noted that "all the projects had a strong user-centred approach to their product development."⁹ This distinguishes AT4D from accelerators where disability is the market thesis but not the leadership. The disability dongles page documents what happens when non-disabled designers build for disabled people without them. AT4D's structure places disabled people in the builder role, not the beneficiary role.

Named startups have produced measurable outcomes. Signvrse, founded in 2023 by 24-year-old Elly Savatia, uses AI and 3D avatars to translate speech and text into real-time sign language. The app, Terp 360, draws from a dataset of more than 2,300 locally recorded signs captured through motion sensors from real Kenyan Sign Language interpreters.¹⁰ Signvrse went through Innovate Now and has since won a Presidential Innovation Award, joined Google.org's Accelerator on Generative AI, won $25,000 as a global finalist at Microsoft's Imagine Cup, and earned Savatia a Mandela Washington Fellowship.¹¹¹⁰ Lincell Technology, founded by Lincoln Wamae in Githurai, Nairobi, won the first Innovate Now prize (USD $20,000) and has sold over a dozen electric wheelchairs. Wamae sources frames and components from junkyards and secondhand dealers and takes lithium-ion batteries from old laptops to power the chairs, importing only what he cannot find locally.⁹¹² Deaftronics, a Botswana-based startup in Cohort 7, developed the first solar-powered rechargeable hearing aid battery compatible with 80% of hearing aids. Revenue grew from $250,000 in 2020 to $750,000 in 2023, with 7,500 units sold.¹³ These are concrete products reaching disabled users, not reports or convenings.

The gap between the accelerator and the user remains wide. AT4D operates at the builder-side design and development stages. It equips entrepreneurs to build assistive technology. Whether those products reach the 200 million Africans who need them depends on supply chains, manufacturing capacity, distribution networks, regulatory frameworks, and purchasing power that no accelerator controls. A 2024 network analysis of Kenya's assistive technology ecosystem found that innovation training organizations are "not yet well integrated into the network" of government, service delivery, and disability organizations that distribute AT to users.¹⁴ AT4D's $500,000 fund is meaningful for early-stage ventures. It is a fraction of what the AT access gap in Africa requires. The question the ENABLE Model asks is not whether AT4D's work is valuable -- it clearly is -- but whether the accelerator model can bridge the distance between a viable prototype and a disabled person who needs the product.

The funding ecosystem shapes what gets built. AT4D's accelerator is free to participants and funded by international development partners (FCDO, NORAD, Judith Neilson Foundation). This means the program's priorities are shaped by funder mandates as well as by disabled users' needs. Chiira has positioned assistive technology as "a viable entrepreneurial sector rather than purely charitable work."² This framing is strategic: it attracts investment capital. Whether investment logic and disabled people's needs align is the tension the ENABLE Model observes across all builder-side market-building interventions.

The policy connection is real. Kenya's Persons with Disabilities Act (2025) replaced the 2003 legislation with a rights-based framework aligned with the UN CRPD. The Act addresses disability as "a human rights and development issue" rather than a welfare concern, mandates 5% disability representation in public service, and enforces accessibility standards. OPDs drove the reform.¹⁵ The June 2025 Nairobi convening discussed implementation pathways, and AT4D co-hosted the event.⁸ This is requirement-setting at the national level. Chiira served on the drafting committee for Kenya's ICT Accessibility Standard.⁴ Innovate Now's board included Senator Isaac Mwaura.⁹ AT4D's proximity to this policy process positions the organization to influence whether Kenya's AT recognition translates into procurement, standards, and access.

Real-world examples

In the news

Kenya Nonprofit Launches $500,000 Fund for Assistive Tech Startups (March 2026)
-- John Adoyi, TechCabal

• AT4D and the Judith Neilson Foundation launched the Momentous Pilot Fund, a $500,000 initiative to support early-stage assistive technology startups across Africa. Bernard Chiira described it as "the first fund on the continent dedicated to investing in emerging assistive technology start-ups." The fund targets digital solutions for mobility, communication, inclusive education, independent living, and digital accessibility. Coverage framed AT as a viable investment sector, not charity.⁷

Innovate Now Announces KES 2M Prize for First Winner
-- Global Disability Innovation Hub

• Lincell Technology, founded by Lincoln Wamae, won the first Innovate Now accelerator prize: USD $20,000 and three months of dedicated support. Lincell developed electric wheelchairs for African terrain that are also suitable for indoor use. The company had already sold over a dozen units in Kenya. The first cohort consisted of five finalists who completed a six-month acceleration program.⁹

• Signvrse started with $10,000 each from UNICEF and the We Are Family Foundation, participated in Innovate Now, and subsequently won a Presidential Innovation Award, joined the Google.org Accelerator on Generative AI, won $25,000 at Microsoft's Imagine Cup, and earned founder Elly Savatia a Mandela Washington Fellowship.¹¹¹⁰
• In June 2025, AT4D co-hosted "Accelerating Impact: Shaping the Next Wave of Assistive Technology Innovation in Africa" in Nairobi with GDI Hub, Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa, and Senses Hub. The event gathered AT innovators from Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania, and discussed Kenya's Persons with Disabilities Act (2025).⁸
• AT4D and its founder Bernard Chiira were recognized on the Forbes Accessibility 100 for 2025, alongside Koalaa, another AT2030-supported venture.¹⁶
• Kenya's Persons with Disabilities Act (2025) replaced the 2003 legislation with a rights-based framework that mandates accessibility standards and 5% disability representation in public service. OPDs led the advocacy.¹⁵
• The Innovate Now accelerator has delivered 10 cohorts across 11 countries since 2019. The program is free and funded by international development partners.⁵

What care sounds like (builder-side interventions)

Care at the design and development stages involves building the infrastructure for assistive technology where it does not yet exist:

• "We build technologies and communities that enable persons with disabilities to thrive." -- AT4D mission statement⁶
• "Africa is now building many new cities in Kenya. We are hoping that the technologies we are nurturing will power these future cities." -- Bernard Chiira¹⁶
• "Early-stage assistive technology innovators across Africa face significant structural barriers to accessing capital." -- Bernard Chiira⁷
• "All the projects had a strong user-centred approach to their product development." -- Innovate Now judges on the first cohort⁹
• "Many investors still associate disability innovations with charity." -- Harry Ochieng, AT4D Investment Manager⁷
• "Regulation must meet the needs of innovation." -- Bernard Chiira, on AT policy in Africa²

What neglect sounds like (builder-side interventions)

Neglect involves failing to build the systems that would make assistive technology available to the people who need it:

• "Assistive technology is a charity problem, not a business opportunity." *1
• "The market is too small to justify investment." *2
• "We will address accessibility after we solve the more urgent infrastructure needs." *3

*1: When AT is framed as charity, it does not attract the capital, talent, or supply chains needed to reach 200 million people.
*2: Nearly 200 million people in Africa need assistive products. The market exists. The infrastructure to serve it does not.
*3: Accessible infrastructure is infrastructure. Deferring it means building cities, transit systems, and digital platforms that exclude disabled people from the start.

What compensation sounds like (navigator-side compensations)

Compensation describes the labor disabled people in Africa carry when the assistive technology ecosystem fails to deliver:

• "I modify my own wheelchair because no supplier stocks parts that work on unpaved roads."
• "I cannot attend school because the assistive device I need costs more than my family earns in a year."
• "I travel to the capital for a prosthetic fitting because there is no service in my district."
• "I rely on family members to carry me because there is no mobility device available."
• "I built my own screen reader workaround because the commercial ones do not support my language."

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All observations occur within the context of assistive technology innovation and access in sub-Saharan Africa, where the WHO estimates that nearly 200 million people require at least one assistive product and only 1 in 10 can access what they need -- and where a Kenyan OPD led by a disabled founder is attempting to build the builder-side infrastructure that the global AT supply chain has not delivered.

Footnotes

1. Remarkable Insights Podcast: Bernard Chiira -- Leading Innovation, Assistive Technology and Entrepreneurship for Disability Inclusion in Africa ↩

2. Remarkable Insights Podcast: Bernard Chiira ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. SciDev.Net: Bernard Chiira ↩

4. Strathmore University: Mr. Bernard Chiira ↩ ↩²

5. Innovate Now: Fifth Cohort Announcement ↩ ↩² ↩³

6. AT4D: About ↩ ↩² ↩³

7. TechCabal: Kenya Nonprofit Launches $500,000 Fund for Assistive Tech Startups ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

8. Global Disability Innovation Hub: Accelerating Impact: Shaping the Next Wave of Assistive Technology Innovation in Africa ↩ ↩² ↩³

9. Global Disability Innovation Hub: Innovate Now Announces KES 2M Prize for First Winner ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

10. Africanews: Kenyan Startup Signvrse Pioneers AI-Powered Sign Language Translation ↩ ↩² ↩³

11. TechCabal: 5 Startups Making Assistive Tech More Accessible with AI ↩ ↩²

12. Orato World: Kenyan Innovator Converts Trash into Electric Wheelchairs ↩

13. Zero Project: Deaftronics -- Solar-Powered Hearing Aids ↩

14. Wafula et al.: The Assistive Technology Ecosystem in Kenya: A Network Analysis (BMC Health Services Research, 2024) ↩

15. CBM Global: Kenya Disability Act 2025 ↩ ↩²

16. AT2030 Programme: Forbes Accessibility 100 for 2025 ↩ ↩²