Innovate Now — Africa's First Assistive Technology Venture Accelerator

Innovate Now launched on 10 June 2019 at Nairobi Innovation Week, hosted by the University of Nairobi, as part of the GBP20m UK-aid-funded AT2030 programme run by the Global Disability Innovation (GDI) Hub. It was designed with Kenya's State Department for Social Protection and delivered on the ground by Assistive Technologies for Disability Trust (AT4D) and Kilimanjaro Blind Trust Africa (KBTA), with Amref Enterprises as an early implementing partner.
Each cohort (roughly 3 to 8 months) combines mentorship, technical workshops, guest lectures and hands-on input from mentors and entrepreneurs with disabilities to help early-stage assistive-technology ventures reach product-market fit. Later cohorts added an 'AI for Accessibility' hackathon that feeds shortlisted teams directly into the accelerator alongside ventures selected through an open call.
By its eleventh cohort (announced April 2026), the programme had completed 10 prior cohorts, supporting more than 90 ventures and over 100 entrepreneurs from 11 countries across Africa, the UK and the US, working on mobility, inclusive education, ICT and health products. Funding has moved from initial UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office support to Norway's NORAD-backed Digital AT Development and Entrepreneurship Project (2022-2026).
Reported figures (ventures, entrepreneurs, countries) are cumulative programme outputs self-reported by the accelerator and its funders rather than independently audited. Public reporting does not yet include post-programme venture survival rates, revenue, or the number of end-users reached by graduates' products, so the accelerator's ultimate impact on people with disabilities remains only partly documented.

Read the full analysis: https://atinnovatenow.com/