Silicon Savanna Speaks: When Mobile-First Meets Accessibility

What does digital accessibility look like in a mobile-first continent with 1.4 billion people speaking hundreds of languages across 50+ countries? Irene Mbari-Kirika, Executive Director and Founder of inABLE, takes us on an illuminating journey through Africa's rapidly evolving accessibility landscape.

The conversation begins with inABLE foundational work teaching digital skills to blind students in Kenya. This initial focus quickly expanded when Irene recognized that teaching assistive technology wasn't enough—the digital products themselves needed to become accessible. Six years ago, this realization sparked the creation of Inclusive Africa, now a thriving conference bringing together disability advocates, tech companies, and most importantly, young people with disabilities who understand technology and can drive innovation.

Kenya emerges as a surprising accessibility leader throughout our discussion. Recently, Kenya's president signed legislation mandating compliance with the country's accessibility standards (based on EN 301 549), making it the first African nation to take such a decisive step. Building on this momentum, inABLE is collaborating with standards bodies across Africa to develop a continent-wide accessibility standard—recognizing that fragmented country-by-country approaches would delay progress by decades.

What makes Africa's accessibility journey particularly fascinating are its unique challenges and opportunities. With the youngest population globally and high youth unemployment, the accessibility sector represents an untapped employment frontier. Currently lacking accessibility specialists, designers, and developers, Africa has the chance to build accessibility practices from the ground up rather than retrofitting existing systems. We explore how AI is already transforming accessibility in Africa, with innovations like avatar-based sign language solutions addressing the complex challenge of multiple sign language variations across different communities.

Join us for this eye-opening conversation about digital inclusion in Africa and discover why investing in young people with disabilities might be the key to unlocking accessible technology across the contine

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