A Nigerian startup is developing tools to help businesses make websites and digital services easier to use for people with disabilities. Adaptive Atelier, founded by Toyosi Badejo-Okusanya, is combining artificial intelligence, accessibility testing and feedback from disabled professionals to tackle barriers that can prevent people from using digital products independently.
Based across Lagos and London, the startup was founded in 2024 and is building accessibility infrastructure for digital products. Its goal is to help businesses find barriers, fix them and confirm that the changes work for real users.
According to a September 29, 2026 Disrupt Africa report, Adaptive Atelier operates three connected products: AdaptiveTest, AdaptiveWiz and AdaptiveAlly.
AdaptiveTest uses AI to scan websites and digital products against accessibility standards. AdaptiveWiz is an accessibility API that helps users personalise and navigate digital experiences, with integrations for WordPress and Shopify. AdaptiveAlly connects businesses with vetted disabled professionals who test digital experiences using assistive technology and lived experience.
The company’s official website says its solutions are developed with input from disabled people and can support BigCommerce, Wix and custom-built websites. It lists WCAG, ADA, EAA, AODA and Section 508 among the standards and regulatory frameworks relevant to its work.
The model matters because accessibility does not always end with an automated check. A website may appear acceptable to a developer while remaining difficult for someone using a screen reader, keyboard navigation or another assistive tool.
Adaptive Atelier is trying to make technology and human validation work together. The company says organisations can use AdaptiveTest to discover barriers, AdaptiveWiz to improve the experience and AdaptiveAlly to test whether those improvements work for disabled users.
Also Read: Nigeria’s TechAble Uses Digital Skills and AI to Bridge Disability Inclusion Gap
Why the accessibility gap matters
The need is global. The World Health Organization estimates that around 1.3 billion people, or 16 percent of the world’s population, experience significant disability. It also notes that inaccessible environments can become barriers to participation.
The digital world is part of that environment. Websites are central to banking, education, public services, shopping and employment. When forms are difficult to complete, images lack text alternatives or navigation requires a mouse, routine tasks can become difficult.
The World Wide Web Consortium’s WCAG guidance provides accessibility requirements covering text alternatives, keyboard operation, readable content, navigation and compatibility with assistive technologies.
Adaptive Atelier adds a lived-experience layer to that framework. The company says businesses have often had to choose between automated scanners, consultants and general user-testing services.
The startup says it has built a community of more than 13,000 disabled professionals and advocates. Disrupt Africa reports that its website attracts about 50,000 organic visits monthly and that customer discovery has included disabled professionals and enterprise leaders across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Morocco and the United States.
The company has also begun signing paying customers in cinemas, government institutions and retail platforms, with reported relationships including L’Oréal, SignHealth, Channel 4 and Phonak.
Back story
Badejo-Okusanya’s experience is closely tied to the company’s mission. On its about page, Adaptive Atelier says she grew up and built her career as a deaf woman across Nigeria and the United Kingdom, navigating systems that were often not designed with people like her in mind.
That experience shaped the company’s philosophy that accessibility should be developed with disabled people rather than simply designed for them. Adaptive Atelier says disabled expertise is too often requested informally and without proper compensation, which influenced its marketplace for paid testing and validation work.
The commercial model combines AdaptiveWiz subscriptions, AdaptiveTest audits and AdaptiveAlly commissions, connecting the products from problem discovery to solution testing.
What it means for Nigerian websites
For Nigerian organisations expanding online, the startup’s approach points to a broader shift in how accessibility can be treated, from a compliance exercise to part of website design, development, testing and updates.
That is increasingly relevant as Nigerians depend on digital platforms for essential services. A website can work smoothly for one group while leaving another behind when accessibility is not considered from the beginning.
Adaptive Atelier is now working to turn its combination of AI, accessibility infrastructure and human testing into a scalable business. Its model reflects a practical idea: digital products should be tested not only for whether they work, but for who can actually use them.
