DataFest africa 2022 & 23.

Stephanie spoke at DataFest Africa in both 2022 and 2023, using the platform to advocate for stronger disability inclusion within data-driven products, technology ecosystems, and decision-making processes across Africa.

Across both years, her talks challenged how data, digital platforms, and innovation are often designed without considering people with disabilities—highlighting the risks of exclusion when accessibility is ignored at the data, design, and product strategy stages. She emphasized the importance of inclusive thinking in how data is collected, interpreted, and used to shape products, policies, and user experiences.

Stephanie also advocated for disability representation within tech and data spaces, encouraging founders, product teams, and analysts to recognize people with disabilities not as edge cases, but as essential users whose needs should inform design decisions from the outset. Drawing from lived experience, she connected real-world accessibility barriers to gaps in data-informed product development.

By returning to the DataFest Africa stage across consecutive years, Stephanie reinforced a consistent message: inclusive innovation requires intentional action, and accessibility must be embedded into data, technology, and product development—rather than addressed retroactively.