In 2020, SafariSeat – a product of TAI (The Accessibility Institute) - was announced the winner of Creative Business Cup Sweden.
‍In high anticipation, with the 2020 cohort being delayed to this year, we watched as SafariSeat competed in the Global Creative Business Cup. With over 80 countries represented, we watched SafariSeat sail through the initial rounds of pitching and competing, progressing through the semi finals, and ending up in the Global Finals, together with five other start-ups, based in Norway, Czech Republic, Estonia, Nigeria, and Latvia. 

After a nail biting final round of pitching, TAI and its SafariSeat claimed the bronze, making them the third best creative start-up in the world!

We spoke to Isabella Oriani, CEO of TAI, to congratulate her, catch up, and to hear more about the SafariSeat journey.

TAI's COO, Ken Kahindi, demonstrates the functionalities of the SafariSeat. Video via CNN.

An all-terrain wheelchair that changes the lives of low-income mobility-impaired people in Africa, SafariSeat is all about using innovative design to aid in mobility solutions for those in need. And it’s not just about mobility – it’s also about accessing opportunity, breaking the loop between disability, poverty, and social exclusion.

With an estimated number of 20 million mobility-impaired people across Africa, in Kenya, there are over 750,000 alone. Of these, 90% can’t afford a suitable wheelchair; and even for those that can – it might not be very convenient. In Kenya, roads are often uneven, making it hard for disabled people to get around – even with a traditional wheelchair, simply because they are not designed for the rough Kenyan terrain.

The first of its kind, the roots of SafariSeat trace way back, to when Janna Deeble – SafariSeat designer, who grew up in Kenya – first met Letu, a man mobility-impaired by polio, living a traditional lifestyle in the Kenyan countryside. With a background in industrial design, Janna started drafting a design for an all-terrain wheelchair, the SafariSeat. In 2016, together with Cara O’ Sullivan and Bertie Meyer, Janna launched a fundraiser on Kickstarter to start development. Hugely successful, the campaign tripled their initial target, raising £90,000. 

“The research and development process was very extensive, because the SafariSeat was developed in very close collaboration with its users,” Isabella explains. “Our design team built and tested about 30 different versions of SafariSeat integrating users' preferences and feedback, before they confirmed the final one.” 

In 2018, Ken Kahindi, TAI COO, joined the team and the SafariSeat workshop in Kilifi, Kenya, was set up. In 2019, Isabella Oriani joined the team in bringing further the SafariSeat project, forming The Accessibility Institute (TAI) – established as an NGO in Sweden and a social enterprise in Kenya – in the process.

Since the start of manufacture in 2018, over 130 SafariSeats have been distributed, thanks to the initial Kickstarter campaign and other donors.

The SafariSeat is distributed for free to the poorest, and is also offered through a microcredit scheme, making it an affordable solution independent of income – and one that can drastically change the life of its user. Thanks to its innovative design, SafariSeat is manufactured with simple tools in Kilifi, Kenya, and consists of a robust metal frame, wheels, and bicycle parts, which can all be sourced locally. “When we distribute a SafariSeat, we also train the user in how to use and maintain the chair,” Isabella says. “By using bicycle parts, we make it easier for them to be self-sufficient. In case something would need to be repaired, they can just take the chair to a local bike shop to be fixed, making for a local, quick, and affordable service.

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An innovative patented suspension mechanism is at the chair’s core, allowing users to balance even on the roughest of terrains.

“Each of the four wheels lifts independently,” Isabella  explains. “This means that there is no risk of the wheelchair tipping over when traveling over uneven ground with rocks and logs, which a conventional wheelchair is not designed for.” Similarly, the seat is powered by two hand pedals that through a chain allow continuous transmission of movement to the wheels. “By using hand pedals, we ensure that even if our users are traveling uphill, they won’t lose momentum – as they would using a traditional wheelchair solution.”

An incredible innovation, the SafariSeat entered into the 2020 Creative Business Cup Sweden and claimed a ticket to the global competition in Copenhagen.

Delayed one year because of COVID-19, the 2020 Global Finals took place last month. “I really liked the collaborative nature of the CBC. While we were all competitors, there was a really friendly atmosphere and a supportive spirit,” Isabella says. “I thought it was so interesting, too, from an innovation perspective. I was so happy that out of six finalists, two of us were social start-ups, with impact, rather than profit, as our main goal.”

2021 marks a turning point for SafariSeat. Among many exciting things, TAI is expanding the SafariSeat portfolio by adding the SafariCart – a all-terrain cart that can be attached to the chair to carry and/or display goods – the first step in transforming SafariSeat into a working station. “This allows disabled people to work in ways they haven’t been able to do before. For example, if you are a shoe maker, or maybe working to repair phones, you can load your cart with tools, and when adding a table, you have a mobile working station” Isabella says. “We are also looking to start the design of a child version of the SafariSeat. It’d be amazing to start helping mobility-impaired people already at a young age.”

In addition to the production of the SafariSeat, TAI is dedicated to continuing their journey in disability expertise and scaling their social enterprise.

As of now, TAI is part of Innovate Now, Africa’s first Assistive Technology Accelerator, hosting Kenyan start-ups in the Assistive Technology domain, as well as the Acumen Academy and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship East Africa Accelerator. “Together with the great peers in our cohort, we are receiving mentorship, guest lectures, and hands-on workshops, providing us with great expertise in the area of disability,” Isabella says. “We are also receiving support from coaches at Acumen and IKEA, helping us grow and scale our social enterprise.”

Innovate Now is part of the Spark Innovation Sub-program of AT2030–Life Changing Assistive Technology for All, a £20 million UK aid funded programme led by the Global Disability Innovation Hub. Acumen Academy and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship East Africa Accelerator is a 14 week program in which social enterprises will learn the value of engaging with customers, modeling finances for sustainability and developing a marketing strategy among other subjects.

Furthermore, TAI is looking into expanding access to the SafariSeat across the Africa-region with the help of partnerships. “We want to maximize impact – not profit – so partnerships make a lot of sense for us. Currently, we are working to license, train, and certify an organization with locations in Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda to manufacture and distribute the SafariSeat over there,” Isabella says. 

On a parallel path, Isabella is hoping to expand partnerships to other parts of the world, and to receive support from CSR programmes who are interested in funding the distribution of SafariSeats and in linking its provision to user’ skills development and access to job and income.

If you are interested in supporting TAI and the development of SafariSeat, you can read more and get in contact with Isabella Oriani through the SafariSeat website: http://www.safariseat.org/. 

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Cover photo: Janna Deeble.