NCC Seeks Private Sector Support for Disability Tech

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called on telecom operators, investors and other private sector players to support the development and deployment of technology solutions designed to improve digital access for persons with disabilities.

The appeal was made on Thursday at the grand finale of the fourth edition of the NCC Hackathon Live Show in Abuja, which focused on “Technology Without Barriers: Innovative Solutions for Persons with Disabilities.”

The two-day competition, which started on Wednesday with 20 contestants, ended with five finalists presenting their solutions to a panel of judges.

They were Sora, Gyronics, Aditus, Clear Signal and Ikor.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said the commission had provided the platform for the innovators, but taking their ideas to the wider market would require investment and industry partnerships.

Maida, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, Rimini Makama, described the innovators as a valuable part of Nigeria’s economic future.

“Nigeria’s next major oil field is not buried in our soil or offshore in the Atlantic Ocean, it’s here, it’s in this room today,” he said.

He said the hackathon was intended to address the barriers that continue to prevent persons with disabilities from participating fully in the digital economy.

Among the challenges, he identified the high cost of devices, inaccessible digital platforms, inadequate digital skills and limited access to assistive technologies.

Maida said estimates cited by the World Bank indicated that about 25 million Nigerians experience at least one form of disability, while about 3.6 million have significant difficulties in functioning.

He noted that the exclusion of persons with disabilities from digital services could affect their access to education, employment, financial services, healthcare and other aspects of social life.

The NCC chief said the innovations developed during the hackathon showed that local developers could produce solutions tailored to Nigeria’s circumstances, including AI-powered speech-to-text systems, voice-enabled public platforms, accessible USSD services and inclusive mobile applications.

He urged the finalists to continue developing their ideas beyond the competition and turn them into commercially viable products.

“The NCC has created the launchpad but commercial viability and nationwide adoption requires your support to scale,” Maida said.

He called on venture capitalists, telecom operators and other stakeholders to regard the participants as potential business partners and technology providers rather than merely competition entrants.

The Director of the NCC’s Digital Economy Department, Helen Obi, said the commission was already seeing the benefits of the hackathon and would continue to pursue opportunities that could help the innovators develop their solutions.

She said participants were informed from the outset that the programme would provide opportunities for their ideas to attract investors, mentors and other partners capable of supporting their growth.

Obi said the commission would follow up on opportunities offered by stakeholders at the event to ensure they translate into practical support for the innovators.

She also called for stronger funding support for young technology founders developing solutions capable of contributing to Nigeria’s digital economy.

The Senior Manager, Strategy and Innovation at MTN Nigeria, Chinyelu Chikwendu, commended the NCC for placing persons with disabilities at the centre of the hackathon.

Chikwendu said the initiative demonstrated that the regulator was playing an active role in developing the wider technology ecosystem.

She said MTN was committed to supporting persons with disabilities and was also interested in helping start-ups develop their businesses.

“We are intentional about seeing start-up organisations grow with us and that’s why we are here today in this programme,” she said.

At the end of the competition, Sora emerged winner and received N3 million, while Clear Signal came second with N2 million. Ikor finished third and received N1 million.

Sora developed an inclusive job-matching and adaptive skills platform for verified persons with disabilities.

The platform is designed to connect qualified persons with disabilities with government agencies and employers that provide inclusive opportunities. It also offers learning resources adapted to different forms of disability.

The founder of Sora, Abdulhaqq Motolani Somoye, said the platform was conceived partly in response to the requirement for government organisations to allocate at least five per cent of their workforce to persons with disabilities.

He said many existing recruitment platforms were not sufficiently accessible to persons with disabilities, prompting his team to develop a dedicated platform.

Somoye said the team had begun discussions with the Joint National Associations of Persons with Disabilities towards establishing a system for verifying persons with disabilities in Abuja and eventually across Nigeria.

Clear Signal, the second-place winner, developed a notification system to help blind, visually impaired and deaf electricity consumers receive information about their power supply.

Ikor, which came third, presented an AI-powered voice-dictation and agentic writing solution designed to reduce difficulties associated with physical typing, expensive hardware and high internet requirements.

The NCC said the hackathon was part of its broader efforts to promote indigenous technology, digital inclusion and the development of affordable solutions to challenges affecting Nigerians.

It said stronger collaboration between government, technology companies, investors and innovators would be necessary to move promising solutions from prototypes to products capable of serving users on a wider scale.