I-Stem

India | Assistive Tech

Company

I-Stem offers AI-enabled digital services to provide high-quality accessible documents for persons with disabilities.

Problem

Most persons with visual impairments, especially those in school or at work, face challenges with inaccessible documents, media and apps, and are not aware of the latest assistive technologies, leading to exclusion of students and employees. Lack of access to digital information hinders access to opportunities and the growth of persons with visual and hearing impairments.

Project

I-Stem aims to use the latest GSMA grant to add additional features to their previous grant-funded product by leveraging an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system and WhatsApp to improve access to all types of users and scale this solution. They will also leverage their new partnership with the government of India to scale these services to over 30,000 users.

In July 2021, the GSMA funded I-Stem to convert their I-Stem web portal into a mobile app that leverages AI to provide document and audio/visual accessibility services, aiding users with visual and hearing impairments and offering them digital learning resources.

Impact

Since partnering with the GSMA, I-Stem has:

– Served more than 7,200 users, 20% of whom are women, through the I-Stem app, providing access to document, audio, video and app accessibility services.

– Created 10 B2B partnerships with educational institutions such as universities, as well as companies and government.

– Secured a partnership with Dialog Axiata to replicate their solution in Sri Lanka (yet to be commercially launched).

A message from the founder

“When you do not provide access to online information for someone who is blind or low vision or otherwise print disabled, then you’re basically not providing them the opportunity to succeed.”

– Kartik Sawhney, Co-founder, @istemindia

Founder
A man with short dark hair wearing a light gray button-up shirt and a red lanyard stands in a hallway with a mix of indoor and outdoor lighting. A blurred red sign and greenery are in the background.

Shokul Shankar

Team | 1–10 employees

A group of six people, four men and two women, are seated side by side on a stage at the Orenda Inclusive Stem Confluence 2024 event. They are all wearing event badges. Two event banners are displayed in the background.

Videos