Bernard, you can probably tell us about AT4D and what made you think about it as the founder and

CEO.

Thank you.

So AT4D is an innovation hub and also an accelerator for assistive technology.

We primarily focus in Africa.

Innovation Hub because we look at the intersection of disability and society and try to encourage the development of technologies and communities that can help people with disabilities to thrive.

And then Acceleration because for ideas to work, you need to take them through a process that helps them to move from concept to reality.

And who are the

Uh, how did those early experiences shape the path that led you into assistive technology?

In many ways, I would say lived experience makes it very, um, for lack of a better word, um, gives me the understanding of what it means to innovate for accessibility or assistive technology because I have, in the past, used ina- inappropriate technology that directly impacted my life.

I have, in other cases, not been a- able to access, um, services.

Uh, and so for me, uh, while these experiences happened long before I started working in this sector, um, when I got the opportunity to support early-stage companies from back in 2019 when we launched Assistive Technology Accelerator in Kenya, uh, called Innovate Now, um, I was able to bring my technical expertise as an innovation expert blended with my lived experience to build a program that has now supported more than 88 companies across Africa at the early stage.

And this was the inspiration of founding AT4D.

We are an innovation hub and accelerator for assistive technology that is a legacy of the Innovate Now project.

When we talk about AT4D, what does that do? I- is that, in your mind, the, the pathway to, to begin solving some of these issues?

It definitely is.