In a bold and compassionate move to bridge yet another systemic gap in social inclusion, Ms. Kafayat Adeseun Balogun and her visionary team have launched the OWAB Inclusive Workforce Program, a pioneering employment initiative aimed at empowering individuals with disabilities and reshaping how companies approach inclusive hiring.
The program, powered by an AI-driven job-matching platform, connects disabled job seekers with employers who have committed to fair hiring practices and workplace accommodation. More than just a recruitment tool, the platform offers virtual job coaching, resume assistance, and corporate training modules that help organizations adopt disability-friendly policies. In doing so, it dismantles the biases and infrastructural barriers that often keep talented individuals with disabilities out of the workforce.
So far, the impact has been striking. Over 500 individuals with disabilities have secured jobs through the platform, while several companies have adopted the program’s training to redesign their inclusion strategies. The initiative has also caught global attention, leading to pilot expansions in Nepal and Ghana, where similar challenges in disability employment persist.
This milestone follows Ms. Balogun’s earlier innovations namely the OWAB Advocacy App, which streamlines access to social services, and the OWAB Helpline & AI Case Management System, which transformed how emergencies are reported and managed. Together, these platforms form a growing ecosystem of digital tools that center on equity, dignity, and intelligent social innovation.
Speaking at a recent inclusion summit in Lagos, Ms. Balogun remarked, “No society can thrive when it leaves people behind. Our mission is to remove those barriers—technologically, culturally, and institutionally and build a system where ability matters more than disability.”
The OWAB Inclusive Workforce Program is not only advancing employment opportunities for disabled individuals, but also redefining corporate responsibility. With demand growing for its rollout across more countries, it’s clear that Ms. Balogun and her team are once again setting the pace for what inclusive development should look like in the 21st century.
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