Malawian technology innovator Staff Nyoni has been honoured with a prestigious continental award in Kenya for developing an artificial intelligence-powered learning platform that is transforming education for blind and visually impaired learners.
Nyoni, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Access Ability Africa Limited, received the Inclusive Africa Innovations Award at the 7th Inclusive Africa Conference 2026 in Nairobi, where his project, The Blind Classroom, was recognised among Africa’s leading assistive technology innovations.
The award places Malawi on the continental innovation map and highlights the country’s growing contribution to inclusive technology solutions.
Speaking after receiving the award, Nyoni said the recognition was dedicated to visually impaired children who continue to face barriers in accessing education.
“Winning this award at the Inclusive Africa Conference in Nairobi is a deeply humbling moment not just for me, but for every visually impaired child in Malawi who has been told that education is not for them,” he said.
Nyoni revealed that the idea behind The Blind Classroom was inspired by personal experiences, including his grandfather who lost his sight and a young girl from his community who was forced to abandon her education because accessible learning tools were unavailable.
“The Blind Classroom was built from a very personal place, inspired by my grandfather who lost his sight and a girl in my community who dropped out of school because no one built the tools she needed,” he said.
He added that receiving the award before government representatives, global technology companies and development partners from across Africa reinforced the need to support locally developed solutions.
“Standing in Nairobi and receiving this recognition in front of governments, global technology companies and development partners from across the continent, I kept thinking about her. It is time for African solutions built by Africans to be scaled across Africa and this award tells me that the world is ready to listen,” said Nyoni.
The Blind Classroom is Malawi’s first AI-powered, voice-based learning platform specifically designed for blind and visually impaired learners.
The platform enables students to access educational content through voice interaction, helping bridge learning gaps faced by learners with visual impairments.
Currently, the initiative is being rolled out in 14 schools across Malawi through a partnership with Save the Children Malawi and with support from the Ministry of Education.
