UK Disability-Tech Start-up CityMaaS chosen for Microsoft Inclusion Campaign

CityMaaS, a leading disability-tech company from the UK today announced that its Assist Me software has been selected for Microsoft’s #BuildFor2030 campaign.

Microsoft’s #BuildFor2030 campaign highlights innovators making a difference with solutions and services that drive positive impact and contribute towards more inclusive economies and societies.

Rene Perkins, CEO and co-founder of CityMaaS said:

"We are grateful our work to bring technology, disability and business together is being recognised and we welcome Microsoft's appreciation of our endeavors to build more inclusive societies".

Disability and Commerce in the UK, The Facts

• There are 14 million disabled people in the UK in 2021, increasing from 11.9 million in 2013

• 22% more than 1 in 5 potential UK adult consumers have a disability

• 75% disabled potential customers experience barriers on more than a quarter of websites they visited

• Three quarters of disabled people and their families have walked away from a UK business because of poor accessibility or customer service

• 4.3 million disabled online shoppers click away from inaccessible websites

• Disabled households in the UK spend an estimated £274 billion a year

• The online spending power of disabled people is estimated at over £16 billion alone

• Businesses lose approximately £2 billion a month ignoring the needs of disabled people

CityMaaS campaigns to put disability at the top of the agenda

For the last three years CityMaaS, named one of the top start-ups in Europe, has been creating technology that better enables disability-inclusion in the modern global economy. CityMaaS say their vision is to advance the way disabled communities are included on and offline everywhere. They recently received EU funding and are backed by the UK Department for Transport.

CityMaaS started their campaign to draw awareness to disability and inclusion on Global Accessibility Awareness Day which was held on 20th May 2021, launching a website assessment tool called AWARE that allows companies to check how functional and inclusive their websites are to people with disabilities.

“Digital accessibility is critical for businesses and organisations today not only to comply with new rules and regulations, but also to capture the undervalued spending power of disabled households worth £249billion and £345billion in the UK and US respectively” says co-founder Perkins. “The ability to change the user experience of websites where the user is able to modify the way the information is presented for their needs is a game-changer. CityMaaS provides solutions that connect businesses and organisations to a large, obvious, but underserved market”.

Microsoft's #BuildFor2030 Commitment to UN Development Goals

Microsoft, inspired by the United Nations’ 75th session last year in September 2020 where member states reaffirmed their commitment to global partnership and global health, has committed to help the UN reach their key Sustainable Development Goals through its #BuildFor2030 campaign, its clients, partners and marketplaces.

“In light of this commitment, we are showcasing partners whose solutions align with Sustainable Development Goal Three, Good Health and Wellbeing” Microsoft said. “As part of our collective effort to drive inclusive economic recovery and growth, Microsoft and our partners created #BuildFor2030”.

CityMaaS CEO Rene Perkins:

“We feel honoured to be a part of the Microsoft’s #BuildFor2030 campaign which aligns with our own vision and goals and shows how CityMaaS is going from strength to strength every year. We have some exciting projects and partnerships coming up that will drive our campaign to redress the way businesses include all people in their engagement

“We aim to make disability-inclusion integral to all business on and offline and we look forward to working with our business and enterprise partners to make that happen”.

About the author: Davis Mukasa Davis Mukasa is a tech entrepreneur, writer and big thinker based in London. He is the Founder and Editor of Intrepidian.com and the Founder & Managing Partner of IXPPR. He graduated in Economics, Politics and Public Policy at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He specialised in political communications and worked as a Special Communications Advisor within different parts of the UK government in the 2000s.