A missing ramp led Adedolapo Oguntayo-Williams to build free tech training for people with disabilities
LearnArk Inclusion Academy trains deaf, blind and physically disabled Nigerians for jobs in technology, at no cost to learners.
Lagos — In 2024, Adedolapo Oguntayo-Williams arrived at a conference hosted by one of Lagos's leading banks pushing her daughter in a stroller, and found there was no ramp. "If a leading financial institution could overlook something as fundamental as an accessible pathway, what would the situation be like in many other public spaces?" she remembers thinking, TechCabal reported.
From observation to action
An industrial engineer by training, she had worked in business analysis, product management and global cybersecurity compliance. After that day she began noticing how often people with disabilities were left out, in physical spaces and online.
"I knew I could not solve Nigeria's wider accessibility challenges on my own, but I could contribute in an area I understood: education and technology," she said.
Free training, real jobs
Her answer was the LearnArk Inclusion Academy, a tuition-free technology training programme on her edtech platform, LearnArk. It aims to move deaf, blind and physically disabled people into well-paid technology roles.
"For me, inclusion had to go beyond conversations and good intentions. It had to translate into access, opportunities, and the ability for people to build independent lives," she said.
Her own path was far from straight. As a girl she dreamed of flying planes, then studied abroad on a state scholarship and worked her way through a varied career before turning to inclusive education.
Source: TechCabal, 11 November 2026.
