Project Enable Africa

What Project Enable Africa does

Project Enable Africa is a Nigerian nonprofit community development initiative founded in 2014 and incorporated with the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission as Stanforte Edge Ltd/Gte. Headquartered at The Inclusion Hub in Surulere, Lagos, the organization advocates for the rights, empowerment, and social inclusion of persons with disabilities in Nigeria, where an estimated 25 million persons live with disabilities and roughly 77% of those aged 15-24 are unemployed. It operates four core programs — the Business Support Program, Youth Employment, Disability-Inclusive Media Reporting (launched 2019), and the Disability Inclusion Hackathon — alongside the Inclusion Hub resource platform and the State of Disability Inclusion Report (SDIR) in Nigeria 2024, Nigeria's first nationwide assessment of disability rights implementation under the 2019 Nigeria Disability Act.

The organization's service portfolio targets three primary segments: young persons with disabilities seeking employability skills, entrepreneurs with disabilities needing business training and seed capital, and corporate organizations and government institutions seeking to improve disability-inclusive policies and hiring. It distributes services through direct community engagement at The Inclusion Hub, partnerships with state governments (Osun and Oyo), corporate partners (Sterling Bank, British Council), and advocacy at United Nations and global forums. Quantitative outcomes include 45 entrepreneurs with disabilities empowered in Osun and Oyo States and N50,000 seed-capital disbursements to program participants.

Project Enable Africa has no proprietary technology platform; its offerings are advocacy, training, and research-based. It is funded primarily through grants and philanthropic contributions from institutional donors including Libra Philanthropies, King Baudouin Foundation United States, Mc Fung Foundation, LP Foundation, and the British Council. Programs are delivered at no cost to beneficiaries, meaning the organization operates a grant-funded nonprofit model rather than a commercial pricing structure. The organization is led by Executive Director Olalekan Owonikoko with a 14-person management team and 3-person advisory board.

Name

Project Enable Africa

Legal name

Stanforte Edge Ltd/Gte

Website

https://projectenable.africa

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Project Enable Africa is a Nigerian nonprofit founded in 2014 that advocates for and empowers persons with disabilities through skills training, business support, and policy research across Lagos, Osun, and Oyo States. It is funded by philanthropic grants and serves beneficiaries free of charge.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Disability Inclusion Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (624310), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Education, Skills & Workforce Development Aid Programs (BPADABAE)

Keywords

• Disability inclusion advocacy
• Community development programs
• Skills training services
• Entrepreneurship support services
• Disability rights research

Headquarters

HQ city

Lagos

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grants and Philanthropic Funding: Project Enable Africa operates as a nonprofit organization funded through grants, donations, and partnerships with foundations and institutional donors. They receive support from organizations like Libra Philanthropies and King Baudouin Foundation United States.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Project Enable Africa is a non-profit community development initiative that delivers advocacy programs, skills training, business support, and youth employment services for persons with disabilities in Nigeria. Its core offerings include the Disability-Inclusive Media Reporting program, Business Support Program (entrepreneurship training and seed capital), Youth Employment program (skills training and job placement), and the Disability Inclusion Hackathon. These are delivered at no cost to beneficiaries through the Inclusion Hub in Lagos, state government partnerships, and field-based training sessions.

Product overview

Project Enable Africa is a non-profit community development initiative (incorporated as Stanforte Edge Ltd/Gte) founded in 2014 that operates as a single unified mission-driven organization rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The organization's core offering consists of advocacy programs and training initiatives including the Disability-Inclusive Media Reporting program (training private sector organizations on accessibility policies since 2019), the Business Support Program (providing entrepreneurship training and seed capital to persons with disabilities in Osun and Oyo States), the Youth Employment program (addressing the documented 77% unemployment rate among PWDs aged 15-24), and the Disability Inclusion Hackathon. The Inclusion Hub serves as a resource center for the disability community, while the State of Disability Inclusion Report (SDIR) provides research-based advocacy. These programs collectively address the supply-demand gap of talents with disabilities in Nigeria's formal sector as outlined in their 2020-2029 strategic plan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Disability-Inclusive Media Reporting A program that trains organizations, especially in the private sector, to improve disability accessibility in their corporate policies and media reporting practices. Designed for private sector organizations and media practitioners seeking to embed disability inclusion in communications and policy.
• Business Support Program A business training and support initiative that empowers entrepreneurs with disabilities through intensive training in design thinking, product development, funding linkages, legal strategy, human resource management, digitalization, and financial management, supported by seed capital. Designed for existing and aspiring entrepreneurs with disabilities who need support to strengthen, formalize, and scale their businesses.
• Youth Employment A program focused on addressing the employment gap for young persons with disabilities by providing employability skills training, digital skills training, communication skills training, and sector-specific skills training, and by connecting them with economic opportunities in both the formal and informal sectors. Designed for young persons with disabilities seeking jobs and career advancement.
• Disability Inclusion Hackathon An innovation program that brings together participants to develop solutions for disability inclusion challenges. Designed for participants, developers, and advocates seeking to prototype inclusive solutions to disability-related barriers.
• Inclusion Hub A centralized physical hub in Lagos serving as a resource center for disability inclusion knowledge, advocacy, and community engagement, and as the primary center for program delivery. Designed for persons with disabilities, advocacy partners, and community members seeking access to disability inclusion resources and programming.
• State of Disability Inclusion Report (SDIR) in Nigeria 2024 Nigeria's first comprehensive nationwide assessment evaluating how well states in Nigeria are implementing disability rights and inclusion policies since the 2019 Nigeria Disability Act. Designed for government agencies, policymakers, advocacy groups, and researchers working on disability rights implementation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 45 young entrepreneurs with disabilities empowered through Business Support Program in Osun and Oyo States
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• British CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2023British Council supported the 2023 International Day of Persons with Disabilities event hosted by Project Enable Africa, which featured disability inclusion dialogue and awards ceremony.
• Sterling BankmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSterling Bank partnered with Project Enable Africa through the Sterling Disability Inclusion Program, hosting participants in their Product Organization and providing employment opportunities to persons with disabilities.
• National Commission for Persons with DisabilitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Commission for Persons with Disabilities is a key government partner. James Lalu, Executive Secretary of the Commission, was honored at the 2023 IDPWDS event. The Commission is central to implementing Nigeria's Disability Act.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ADD International (Action on Disability and Development): Organization specifically focused on disability rights and social inclusion in Africa and Asia, combining advocacy, organizational strengthening of OPDs, and inclusive governance — a close functional peer to Project Enable Africa's OPD-network-driven model.
• Light for the World: International disability inclusion NGO running inclusive employment, education, and advocacy programs in Africa. Comparable program mix and target population (youth with disabilities seeking economic participation).
• Disability Rights Fund: Grantmaking collaborative supporting disability rights organizations and OPDs globally. Comparable as a peer/funder operating in the same disability-rights ecosystem, though from the grantmaker side.
• Inclusion International: Global federation advocating for the rights of people with intellectual disabilities and their families, with strong focus on inclusive employment and policy. Comparable in advocacy-plus-program-delivery model.
• Sense International: Global nonprofit supporting people with deafblindness and complex disabilities through advocacy, education, and employment programs. Directly comparable in mission (disability inclusion and empowerment) and program mix (skills training, advocacy, partnerships with corporates and governments).

Broad incumbents

• CBM (Christoffel-Blindenmission): One of the largest international disability-inclusive development organizations, working across health, education, and livelihoods for persons with disabilities. Comparable as a larger incumbent operating across similar themes (employment, advocacy, inclusive policy) with broader geographic scope.
• Sightsavers: International NGO working on disability inclusion, particularly visual impairment, with advocacy and economic empowerment programs in Africa. Comparable given overlapping disability-inclusion mission and African footprint.
• Humanity & Inclusion (Handicap International): Global NGO working on disability inclusion across rehabilitation, inclusive employment, and rights advocacy. Comparable as an incumbent operating across similar themes with deeper resources and global reach.
• Leonard Cheshire Disability: International nonprofit supporting persons with disabilities through education, employment, and advocacy — explicitly cited in Project Enable Africa's market data. Highly comparable in disability employment and inclusion focus.

Regional players

• Special Olympics Nigeria: Nigeria affiliate of Special Olympics, focused on empowerment of persons with intellectual disabilities through sports, health, and leadership programs. Comparable as a Nigeria-based disability empowerment nonprofit, though focused on a different sub-population.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/project-enable-africa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Project Enable Africa