Safaricom, KISE partner to address barriers facing customers with disabilities

Safaricom has partnered with the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) to engage customers with disabilities on barriers they face when accessing mobile, digital and customer-care services.

The two-day programme, held on September 24 and 25 as part of Deaf Awareness Week commemorations, brought Safaricom teams and persons with disabilities together to discuss how its products and services can become more accessible.

The engagement began at KISE on Thursday, where Safaricom's customer care team set up a dedicated desk to allow customers to seek assistance, raise concerns and share experiences using the company's services.

Then, the programme moved to the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on Friday, where Safaricom and other stakeholders discussed broader approaches to improving accessibility and inclusion across products and services.

The company said the engagement was intended to give customers with disabilities an opportunity to directly explain challenges they encounter when using its services, rather than relying solely on assumptions about their accessibility needs.

The discussions come as more customers increasingly interact with service providers through digital platforms.

For Safaricom, this includes platforms such as the MyOne App, making accessibility an increasingly important consideration as more customer interactions move online.

The company said feedback from customers with disabilities can help identify difficulties they experience when navigating digital platforms, accessing customer support or using its products.

The focus, according to Safaricom, is therefore not only on providing assistance when a customer encounters a problem but also on identifying ways of improving the overall customer experience.

For persons with disabilities, accessibility can affect their ability to communicate, access information, transact, manage finances and participate in economic and social activities.

This has made accessibility an increasingly important issue for technology and digital service providers as mobile connectivity and digital platforms become part of everyday life.

Safaricom's inclusion efforts also extend beyond its customer base, with the company highlighting initiatives aimed at creating opportunities for employees with disabilities.

The company has previously established a Diversity and Inclusion chapter to coordinate disability-related matters within the organisation.

Safaricom has also incorporated inclusive communication practices, including sign-language interpretation and closed captioning, into some of its workplace engagements.

The company says its sustainability programmes have included efforts to recruit and retain employees with disabilities, develop inclusive leadership practices and establish support structures for staff.

Among the programmes highlighted is the IT Bridge Academy, which provided young people with disabilities opportunities to develop technology skills and gain workplace experience.

In 2024, Safaricom also launched a pilot technology re-skilling programme targeting young persons with disabilities, offering training in software engineering alongside career mentorship and coaching.

Another initiative, Beyond Abilities, focuses on employees with disabilities and their participation in fitness and wellness activities through adaptive training, equipment and personalised support.

These programmes form part of the company's stated approach of extending disability inclusion beyond recruitment to workplace participation, development and career growth.

The KISE partnership puts the focus on another aspect of inclusion — how customers experience services once they have access to them.

While connectivity can provide access to digital services, persons with disabilities may still encounter barriers in navigating applications, obtaining customer support or completing transactions.

The engagement at KISE provided an avenue for customers to raise those concerns directly with Safaricom's customer care team.

The company said the feedback would help inform its efforts to improve its digital platforms and customer experience.

Also, the discussions reflect a wider challenge facing Kenya's digital economy: ensuring that technological advancement does not leave people with different accessibility needs behind.

For service providers, this means considering accessibility during the design and delivery of products rather than treating it only as an issue to address after customers encounter difficulties.

The two-day programme concluded at KICC on Friday, where Safaricom and other stakeholders and industry players met to discuss strategies and opportunities for advancing accessibility and inclusion across products and services.

Additionally, the stakeholder engagement broadened the conversation beyond Safaricom's own services, with the participants considering the role that businesses, institutions, technology companies and the disability community can play in building a more inclusive digital environment.

The discussions came during Deaf Awareness Week, providing a platform to highlight the experiences of people with hearing and other disabilities in accessing technology and services.

For Safaricom, the engagement with KISE provided an opportunity to obtain direct feedback from the people using its services while also highlighting some of the programmes it has undertaken around disability inclusion.

The company says its broader objective is to ensure that inclusion extends beyond simply making products available.

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