BeSpecular CEO wins Innovator Recognition Award from MTN

The CEO of tech startup BeSpecular, Stephanie Cowper has been awarded the Innovator Recognition Award at the inaugural MTN Women In ICT Awards “Partnering for Change” awards.

According to the MTN website, the “category recognises women that have introduced new methods, ideas, or products that are contributing in one way or the other to the delivery of a bold, new, digital world.”

The BeSpecular app works by allowing volunteers with sight to help the visually impaired. Users can take a photo of an object or situation, upload it, and have it identified by those who are able to assist.

Since the app’s launch on both iOS and Android in July, it is currently used by both sighted and visually impaired users across 55 countries to date.

BeSpecular aims to take the product further by incorporating it into a more corporate environment making the work environment easier to navigate for those workers who are visually impaired

Cowper is also a recipient of the Forbes Woman Africa TechPreneur Award on Women’s Entrepreneurship Day and serves as the global disability advocate emphasising on the visually impaired, blind, and deaf communities.