Zero Project Nairobi: Wearable Navigation, Affordable Wheelchairs, and AI Heart Monitoring from Africa

The Zero Project Tech Forum has arrived in Africa. Steven Scott and Shaun Preece meet three innovators from Nairobi using sonar wearables, local wheelchair manufacturing, and AI-powered cardiac monitoring to reshape assistive technology on the continent.

The Zero Project, a global initiative of Austria’s Essl Foundation, has taken its Tech Forum to Nairobi for the first time, gathering disability-focused innovators from across Africa and beyond. Steven Scott and Shaun Preece speak with three of them who are each solving a distinct but connected problem: how to make assistive technology appropriate, affordable, and available where it is needed most.

Brian Mwenda, CEO of Hope Tech, shares the decade-long journey behind the Sixth Sense, a shoulder-worn device that uses sonar and haptic feedback to alert blind and visually impaired users to obstacles at chest height and above. Designed to look like a pair of headphones resting on the shoulders, it pairs with existing white cane technique and works alongside guide dogs rather than replacing them. The device can be customised for different types of sight loss, including tunnel vision and peripheral vision loss, and connects to a smartphone app for turn-by-turn navigation. Brian also talks about Census Hub, the Nairobi-based innovation space his team has built to support other assistive tech developers across Africa.

Colman Ndetembea, co-founder and CEO of Kyaro Assistive Tech, explains how his Tanzanian social enterprise manufactures wheelchairs and rehabilitation equipment to World Health Organization quality standards. With 45 products, over 2,000 devices distributed since 2021, and distribution reaching Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi, Kyaro is addressing a stark reality: 90 per cent of people in need of a wheelchair on the continent still cannot access one. Colman shares the story of Aidan, a child who received a Kyaro wheelchair in 2021 after nine months homebound following an amputation, and who has since qualified for the wheelchair tennis World Cup.

Gerrishon Sirere, co-founder of Hoptics, introduces CardioGuard, an AI-powered cardiovascular monitoring platform designed for preventive healthcare. Currently in beta testing with a hardware wearable and an active pilot along the Kenyan coast, CardioGuard gives clinicians a way to monitor patients remotely and provides people with disabilities, who often cannot physically reach a healthcare facility, with real-time alerts and health recommendations. The platform has been through clinical validation research with the University of Toronto.

Relevant Links
Zero Project: https://www.zeroproject.org
Hope Tech / Senses Hub: https://www.hopetech.vision

Kyaro Assistive Tech: https://www.kyaroassistive.org
Hoptics: https://hopticshealth.com