Project Enable Africa has won ‘The Google Impact Challenge Nigeria’ prize in recognition of its work to promote the access of persons with disabilities and their caregivers to information and communication technologies (ICTs) skills and opportunities.
The winning project is led by Project Director, Olusola Owonikoko, who recently graduated from the Institute of Development Studies with an MA in Globalization, Business and Development. Olusola is an entrepreneur and development practitioner passionate about the empowerment of vulnerable populations and marginalized communities. His studies at IDS were supported by the IDS Graduate Scholarship.
On receiving the award, Olusola said: ‘We are thrilled to receive this award, which would not have been possible without the knowledge gained and skills developed during my studies at IDS.’
Linda Waldman, IDS Director of Teaching and Learning said: ‘In a world in which higher education is becoming more expensive and more exclusive, scholarships are a vital way of ensuring an inclusive and plural commitment to development. Without scholarships, it would not be possible to build inclusive societies in partnership with those most often excluded’.
Innovating for social and economic inclusion
Project Enable Africa’s platform and their disability-friendly Digital Hubs are a free, safe space for persons with disabilities to access information and inclusive training, collaborate, and create solutions that will improve their lives. The project gives visibility to productivity, rather than disability, allowing persons with disabilities to enhance their social, cultural, and economic integration in communities.
Project Enable Africa’s Digital Hubs will connect at least 1,000 persons with disabilities to jobs, support them to start and run their own enterprise, and promote digital inclusion for persons with disabilities across Nigeria.
The prize of $250,000 will enable the project team to extend the reach of their work.