5 AI Fintech Startups Building Financial Products For Disabled Persons
April 6, 2022, 6:19 p.m.
According to CB insights and as sighted on builtin.com, the AI industry broke records during the global uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, with artificial intelligence startups raising $33 billion in 2020. The statement only confirms that AI will become the order of the day in a few years, even in Africa, as many startups are infusing artificial intelligence into their products.
Today, 5 AI Fintech innovators announced that disability could be a trigger for innovation. Presented with the Inclusive Fintech Hackathon, the initiative allowed these startups to showcase their products to investors and the world under the theme, Digital Innovations For Disability Inclusion In Financial Services. The hackathon seeks to harness technologies in overcoming overwhelming barriers People With Disabilities(PWDs) are confronted with while accessing financial services.
Presently, in Ghana, it is estimated that 3 million people are with some form of disability. Millions of individuals, young and old, are excluded from seamlessly interacting with formal financial services. Last year, GIZ and the Ghana Federation Of Disability Organisations conducted a study to understand the challenges in accessing financial services. They realized that most financial services providers did not have policies and procedures that guide seamless interaction with financial products or services for PWDs.
In finding solutions to this problem, GIZ, the Ministry Of Finance, the Ghana Federation Of Disability Organisations, the Bank Of Ghana And The National Insurance Commission collaborated to host the inclusion fintech hackathon. The hackathon provides a tailored platform to enable creatives and innovators to connect with the financial sector and ensure home-grown solutions that are inclusive, reliable and accessible and designed with and for PWDs.
The five startups featuring some disabled persons went through a short but intensive process, including design-centred approaches to ensure that solutions have the voice of PWDs. Out of these startups, three were selected as winners who Ghana Tech Lab will support through training that will aid them in developing their ideas.
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Here are the five startups involved in developing AI solutions for persons of disability.
Cash Aid
Cash Aid is an AI startup aiming to make ATM transactions seamless for the visually impaired by using their phones. Like Apple Pay, Cash Aid will allow users to make payments in person on an app and enable the visually impaired to locate the nearest ATM location with its assistive GPS address. It will save queue time for the seeing party and prevent theft from the third party.
Ndiara
Ndiara, which means “My Savior”, is a security-conscious platform with a speech recognition program that helps the unbanked, underbanked and people with special needs access financial services and transact with thrift collectors (Susu collectors).
Bimo
Bimo is an AI-powered and voice-enabled web and mobile application that allows people (including PWDs) to manage their finances and automatically track and categorize their expenses without manual entry.
Eensy
Eensy is a digital platform with an AI-powered assessment test that aims to provide a better, more customized digital experience for persons with disabilities. The app is focused on assisting individuals, especially PWDs, to budget, save, and attain total financial freedom. Additionally, Eensy aims to help PWDs achieve financial independence by equipping them with soft and digital skills to them ready for the job market.
ReSay It
ReSay It is a mobile application in the developmental stage to bridge the communication gap between bank personnel and the deaf and hard of hearing community. It supports accessible communication with its 24-hour video chat portal that features sign language interpreters and a transcription system that converts audio to texts
tag: Funding, Fintech, Startup, Artificial Intelligence, GIZ,