Nigerian Communications Commission NCC, has called on young innovators to develop affordable and scalable technology solutions capable of removing barriers preventing persons with disabilities and other underserved Nigerians from participating fully in the digital economy.

Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management of the Commission, Mrs. Rimini Makama, made the proposal at the opening of the 4th NCC Hackathon Live Show with the theme: “Technology Without Barriers”, held in Abuja, Wednesday.

Represented by the Director, Zonal Operations of the NCC, Mr. Usman Malah, Makama, said persons with disabilities continued to face challenges in accessing communication services, education, healthcare, financial services, employment opportunities and government platforms.

“The challenges require technologies designed around the realities and needs of Nigerians, rather than sophisticated products that remain inaccessible to the people who need them most.

“Do not simply focus on developing impressive technologies. Focus on creating solutions that are simple to use, affordable to deploy, scalable across communities, and capable of improving the quality of life of millions of Nigerians,” she said.

The two-day programme, which began on Wednesday and is expected to end on Thursday, brought together young innovators to develop solutions in artificial intelligence, assistive technologies, voice-enabled communication, sign-language recognition, accessible digital services and inclusive employment platforms.

Makama said the initiative was aimed at producing practical and scalable solutions to challenges affecting technology access and digital inclusion, particularly among persons with disabilities and underserved groups.

According to her, the hackathon demonstrates the commission’s commitment to ensuring that technological advancement translates into wider economic participation.

“The true measure of technological advancement lies not only in the sophistication of our innovations, but in the extent to which they improve lives, expand opportunities, and empower every member of society to participate meaningfully in the digital economy,” she said.

Director, Digital Economy Department of the Commission, Mrs. Helen Obi, who also spoke at the event, said the programme was designed to promote homegrown solutions for persons with disabilities and Nigerians in rural communities who had been excluded from some aspects of the digital economy.

Obi said the commission was particularly interested in technologies capable of overcoming barriers associated with disability, language, literacy, income and geographical location.

“Participants are expected to explore low-bandwidth and offline-first digital services that could operate in remote areas without requiring constant internet connectivity or sophisticated devices.

“We are having a solution that will be developed with low bandwidth, offline-first digital services suitable for remote rural operations,” she said.

She further listed some of the key focus areas to include artificial intelligence-powered speech-to-text and real-time sign-language translation, voice-enabled systems, accessible USSD services for non-smartphone users, image-to-voice navigation and inclusive job-matching platforms for persons with disabilities.

Mrs. Obi said 20 solutions were expected to be presented during the first day of the hackathon, addressing accessibility challenges in healthcare, education, emergency communications, electricity services, employment and digital commerce.

Among the solutions were ADITUS, which proposes USSD and SMS access to the NCC’s 112 emergency service for persons unable to make voice calls, and Clear Signal, designed to provide accessible electricity outage alerts to blind, visually impaired and deaf users.

Another solution, SignBridge AI, seeks to improve communication between deaf patients and healthcare providers.

Others include E-Novate, an artificial intelligence-powered application designed to translate Nigerian Sign Language into spoken and written English in hospitals; Sora, an inclusive job-matching platform for persons with disabilities; and Kasuwa, which proposes enabling Nigerians to start and operate online businesses through phone calls without smartphones, data or screens.

Obi said entries would be assessed based on innovation, accessibility, relevance, technical feasibility, scalability, affordability, sustainability and indigenous value addition.

She added that promising solutions could receive further support for development, pilot deployment and expansion.

The hackathon continues today, Thursday, with the five finalists pitching their solutions before the judges, followed by the presentation of certificates and cash prizes to winners and participants.