Today, Project Nemo, the initiative accelerating disability inclusion within fintech, launches a new film series and podcast that urges the industry to better serve disabled people — the UK’s largest minority.
Project Nemo is a grass roots, not-for-profit initiative led by Joanne Dewar, industry champion and former fintech CEO. Its film series ‘Disability Inclusion Stories’ features real-life stories of disabled people. The ambition is to help the fintech industry break down the problem statement around building more inclusive products, services and workplaces.
Premiering at the Payments Innovation Summit on Wednesday 18th September 2024, the first video, Facing Recognition, features Diversity and Inclusion Specialist Amit Ghose. He shares his story of how multiple facial surgeries have impacted his ability to use facial recognition, presenting him with serious challenges when trying to open bank accounts and access his own money in the digital age.
Amit Ghose says: “It took me a long time to accept who I was, and my friends, family and wife played a huge role in that. But when I have to use facial recognition to make payments on my banking app, and it constantly says ‘Face not recognised’, it feels like a step backwards. It makes me feel like I’m not even human. That’s why I’m proud to be working with Project Nemo in my role as an ambassador for Face Equality International to improve accessibility within the fintech and payments industries.”
More videos spotlighting the lived experience of the disability community will be released over the coming weeks and months. You can watch the videos on Project Nemo’s YouTube channel.
Joanne Dewar, Project Lead, Project Nemo, says: “Our goal is to be the catalyst for fintechs to consider how digital accessibility is relevant to them, and take meaningful steps to address how they approach disability inclusion. The launch of our Disability Inclusion Stories marks an important step in reaching that goal by bringing to life tangible and relatable examples, supported by relevant charities and action groups who help contextualise the scale of each issue and explain why it matters.”
The film series is supplemented by a new podcast series, Accessible Finance — Demystifying Disability Inclusion, which is available on all major podcast platforms.
Co-hosted by Project Nemo founding member Prerna Goel and Missive’s Whitney Simon, the podcast provides deeper dives into different elements of disability inclusion. A line up of expert guests discuss everything from creating inclusive workspaces, products and services and legal and regulatory requirements, to how we measure progress.
Diane Lightfoot, CEO of Business Disability Forum, comments: “Creating a financial services sector which better meets the need of everyone is a priority for Business Disability Forum and our Members working in the sector. We are delighted to support Project Nemo as it supports fintechs on their path to accessibility and disability inclusion.”
Joanne Dewar adds: “The fintech community is waking up to the significance of disability inclusion: we’ve seen an outpouring of support for Project Nemo since we launched at Innovate Finance Global Summit in April.
“We will capitalise on that momentum over the coming months, by creating content that helps build understanding amongst the fintech community, put disability inclusion firmly on the agenda, and inspire action towards lasting change. Combined the podcast and film series provide a 360 degree view of why we need to ensure we are inclusive, and what we need to do to get there.”