By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
Kenyan assistive technology
startup ProVision Sight Africa has won the pitch competition at the annual
Women In Technology and Innovation Africa (WITIA) conference, earning
recognition for its efforts to develop inclusive technology for people living
with visual impairments.
The startup secured the top
position at the conference held last week at the Kenyatta International
Convention Centre, where it presented an approach to assistive technology
designed around the lived realities of visually impaired people in Kenya and
across the region.
ProVision Sight Africa said
its work was inspired by the experience of its founder’s great aunt, who
developed glaucoma in 2022 and lost her sight. The loss of vision also resulted
in a loss of independence, leaving her dependent on family members for round-the-clock
support.
The experience exposed gaps
in existing assistive technologies, which the company said often assume users
can read, speak English or live in environments that differ significantly from
African communities.
ProVision Sight Africa was
established to address that gap by developing assistive technology in Kenya for
the way people in the region live, speak and move.
The company said its
solutions are being developed alongside members of the visually impaired
community, who have participated in testing, provided feedback and helped
identify shortcomings in different versions of the technology.
“They are not beneficiaries
of this work. They are the reason it functions at all,” the company said,
emphasising the importance of involving users directly in the development
process.
ProVision Sight Africa said
its approach is intended to move away from simply translating or adapting
technologies developed for other markets and instead create solutions rooted in
local needs, languages and environments.
The company believes there
are millions of people across the region facing similar challenges and that
exclusion often results not from a lack of technological possibility but from
solutions that are not designed with their realities in mind.
The WITIA pitch competition
award, according to the startup, does not change the underlying challenge it is
seeking to address but represents recognition that the problem is worth
solving.
ProVision Sight Africa
thanked WITIA and the judging panel for recognising African-built innovation
and said it would continue working with the visually impaired community to
develop more inclusive assistive technologies.
