South Africa is launching four locally developed assistive technologies—created by and for people with disabilities—to improve access, agency, and dignity across the country. The innovations include a wearable smartphone interface (Ka‑dah) for visually impaired users, an app that translates written content into South African Sign Language (WeSignIt), a video interpreting service for deaf users (Virecom), and an audio description tool for blind users at cinemas and tourist sites (ShazaCin).
Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina led the launch at CUT in Bloemfontein during Psycho‑Social Disability Awareness Month, highlighting how grassroots innovators—most of them youth with lived experience—are reshaping accessibility through targeted support programmes like the Grassroots Innovation Programme and Technology Acquisition and Deployment Fund. Gina emphasised that innovation must be inclusive to be meaningful: “When the government funds inclusion, it also funds transformation.”
The Department of Science, Technology & Innovation, working with partners like TIA and DWYPD, plans to roll out these solutions across public services—even police stations—to ensure real-world impact. This initiative signals a shift toward practical, dignified, and inclusive technology solutions that empower the disability community.
