Good practice

Signs TV e assistALL (Signs Media Kenya)

A Signs Media Kenya, em Nairobi, transmite conteúdos gratuitos em Língua Gestual Queniana através da Signs TV e, através da aplicação assistALL, levou interpretação gestual paga a milhares de queniano/as surdos — usada pela comissão eleitoral nas eleições gerais de 2022.

<2,000 → 7,000

Utilizadores da assistALL (2022)

~500,000

Telespectadores surdos estimados da Signs TV

143,000 GBP

Bolsa do GSMA Innovation Fund

Signs TV e assistALL (Signs Media Kenya)

Details

Maturity: Scaling
Promoter: Signs Media Kenya Limited
Period: 2011–present (Signs TV broadcasting since 2017)
Keywords: deaf accessibility, sign-language media, assistive technology, digital inclusion

Context

A Signs Media Kenya, fundada em Nairobi em 2011, opera a Signs TV - o canal gratuito em língua gestual queniana, em emissão desde 2017 - e lançou a assistALL em abril de 2022, uma aplicação móvel de interpretação de língua gestual paga e a pedido, apoiada por uma bolsa de 143.000 GBP do GSMA Innovation Fund for Assistive Technology e pelo UNDP Kenya Disability Innovation Challenge.

Results

O Zero Project documentou o crescimento da assistALL de menos de 2.000 descarregamentos em meados de 2022 para 7.000 utilizadores no final de 2022, e a comissão eleitoral do Quénia adotou a aplicação para apoiar eleitores surdos nas eleições gerais de agosto de 2022. O alcance da Signs TV é estimado em cerca de 500.000 telespectadores surdos; o Quénia tem apenas cerca de 500 intérpretes registados para uns estimados 260.000 surdos ou pessoas com défice auditivo, um estrangulamento estrutural à escala.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-07-03
Signs Media Kenya Limited — accessed 2026-07-03
GSMA Mobile for Development — grantee profile — accessed 2026-07-03
Zero Project (Essl Foundation) — independent profile — accessed 2026-07-03
UN SDG Action Awards — Signs TV Kenya — accessed 2026-07-03
The Standard/Evewoman — founder profile — accessed 2026-07-03

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 96/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported

Top 1% in this catalogue (573 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Innovation level4/5

Pairs free-to-air sign-language broadcasting with a paid interpretation app, assistALL — described by GSMA as the only African-owned and -operated startup in its 2021 assistive-tech grant cohort, and separately recognised by the UNDP Kenya Disability Innovation Challenge (GSMA Mobile for Development; SDG Action Awards).

Sustainability (ongoing)1/1

Active continuously since Signs TV's 2017 broadcast launch through at least the Zero Project's 2022+ profile, sustained via a mix of grant funding (GSMA/FCDO) and corporate subscription revenue.

Evaluation evidence1/1

Independently tracked by the Zero Project (Essl Foundation) database, which documents assistALL user growth from under 2,000 to 7,000 within roughly a year (mid- to late-2022), alongside GSMA's own grantee monitoring.

Demonstrated reach1/1

assistALL was adopted by Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to assist Deaf voters in the August 2022 general election, and Signs TV is estimated to reach roughly 500,000 Deaf viewers (SDG Action Awards; Zero Project).

Documented learning1/1

The Zero Project profile explicitly flags a structural bottleneck — only about 500 registered sign-language interpreters serving an estimated 260,000 Deaf or hard-of-hearing Kenyans — and treats the subscription funding model as an unproven-at-scale open question.

Cite this

Evidoria. Signs TV e assistALL (Signs Media Kenya). Persistent ID: 83ba0f40-50bb-46de-818b-ee756a8c5b38.

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