Why inclusive design matters in Ghana
A product that only works for young, literate, English speaking people with new smartphones and steady data leaves out a large part of the country. Think of a grandmother in Nalerigu who receives remittances, a farmer near Damongo who reads little English, a student in Wa with a cracked screen and no data until month end, or a trader in Tamale with poor eyesight. They are all customers. Designing for them reaches more people, builds trust and, for many businesses, means more revenue.
Employers building for African markets value this knowledge. Adverts mention accessibility and inclusive design, and companies serving unbanked or rural users need designers who understand real conditions.
The four themes in this section
- Accessibility. Designing for people with low vision, colour blindness, hearing loss, limited hand movement or who use screen readers, following the WCAG guidelines.
- Literacy and local languages. Plain words, clear icons, numbers people recognise, and voice or local language options such as Dagbani, Gurene, Dagaare, Hausa, Twi or Ewe where they help.
- Low end phones, USSD and SMS. Designing for small screens, little storage, older Android versions and phones with no internet at all.
- Offline moments and slow data. Keeping screens light and designing for the moment the network drops halfway through a task.