MIT Solve

Solution overview

Our Solution

SMT (Self-management Training for differently able persons)

Tagline

Learn to live, Not to survive !

Pitch us on your solution

It is an extremely painful experience, sometimes worse than childbirth because one does not know the outcome – will it be recovery or no change in pain and disability. It is found that differently able persons experienced a wide range of secondary conditions (e.g., pain, depression, and obesity) and social conditions that limited their ability to participate in desired social events and activities. Due to lack of self-Management Skills many differently able persons prefer death to life. SMT will help them to achieve early success in self-management of quality-of-life goals to build confidence for making health behavior changes. Its first-ever online services of its kind across Pakistan, which is convenient, cheap, and affordable and teaching them how to live a life with disability. We are tapping into the untouched talent, creating a pool of specialists – including those who are not considered to be a part of the workforce.

Film your elevator pitch

What is the problem you are solving?

More than one billion people in the world, are living with some form of disability, of whom nearly 200 million experience considerable difficulties in functioning. In Pakistan, disability will be an even greater concern because its prevalence is on the rise due to natural and man-made disasters.

All over the world, differently able persons have higher rates poorer health issues, less education & employment opportunities than non-disabled community. This is partly because differently able persons experience barriers in accessing services like, health, education, employment, and friendly transport as well as information due to financial and environmental problems (No Accessibility & reasonable accommodation).

Pain, depression, and obesity in persons with physical disabilities may be more common than in the general population, which leads to death. That is why in Pakistan, every year around 70 to 80 % persons with disabilities are dying due to poor health and lack of self-management skills. They are not skilled on how to live a life with disability. Differently able persons have unique needs that can be addressed through multiple levels of intervention to reduce health disparities.

Who are you serving?

SMT is empowering Differently able persons and removing the barriers which prevent them from participating in their communities; getting a quality education, finding decent work, and having their voices heard. SMT in collaboration with all its stakeholders – including governments, civil society organizations and disabled people’s organizations – to create enabling environments, develop rehabilitation and support services, ensure adequate social protection, create inclusive policies and programmers, and enforce new and existing standards and legislation, to the benefit of differently able persons and the wider community. SMT will also address key issues in the future that have been excluded from the society. SMT working to represent the united voice of our differently able users and mainly focusing on to build the capacity of our differently able users. We foster strong engagement and collaboration between our members and stakeholders to enhance their connections through policy, advocacy and engagement.

What is your solution?

Self-Management Training (SMT) is our startup where we teach differently able persons about skills of self-management. Getting this training helps them to play their effective roles not only in their personal lives but in the community as well by creating awareness and becoming a disability ambassador. We offer online counselling sessions & self-management trainings across Pakistan. SMT is first-ever online services of its kind, which is convenient, cheap, and affordable all over the Pakistan, mainly focusing on differently able persons, as they cannot access such trainings and programs due to lack of infrastructural development and transportation problems. Being a disability Startup (representing the spectrum of differently able persons) SMT is committed to mainstreaming disability in development through empowering individuals and organizations of persons with disabilities as well as sensitizing society about a rights-based approach to inclusion.

Our trainings are based on following mechanics:

Online trainings through Skype & Zoom using multimedia presentations and Videos, where our online trainers are available for them to guide each training module. The users will register and pay a training subscription fee. The user must have internet connection and basic understanding of using social media tools.
Center Based Trainings can be conducted through personal visit of trainers. The requirement for such trainings will be multimedia tools, internet connection and computer, stationery etc.

Select only the most relevant.

Support communities in designing and determining solutions around critical services
Ensure all citizens can overcome barriers to civic participation and inclusion

Where is your solution team headquartered?

Islamabad, Pakistan

Our solution's stage of development:

Concept

More about your solution

Select one of the below:

New business model or process

Describe what makes your solution innovative.

Across the country there many rehabilitation or training centers. In all cases, the patient must be carried to the location for treatment. Differently able persons cannot access many training programs, due to lack of infrastructural development (accessibility issues) and transportation problems. Our solution is delivered online without the person required to move. SMT is a unique proposition hence no competition and it has the potential to transform the lives and self-skills of persons with disabilities for better and independent life, improving their ability to communicate, participate and learn remotely. This is a collaborative platform that allows people with reduced mobility to get the latest health related information. SMT offer isolated or marginalized populations the same chances of development as elsewhere.

Describe the core technology that your solution utilizes.

To upscale the venture we have product-market fit by developing SmT Mobile APP, A viable product that addresses and solves a problem or need of physically challenged persons. SmT will create a unique branding for our product and will influence people with our unique selling preposition. Marketing, branding and advertising is also our core mission.Initially we are using social media tools to deliver such training, like FACEBOOK, SKYPE, ZOOM & Whats App. We will be launching an Android app soon, until then users can connect using our website.

Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:

Big Data
Social Networks

Why do you expect your solution to address the problem?

Differently able persons are mostly unseen, unheard and uncounted persons’ in Pakistan and they are the most marginalized group. facing multitude of social, economic, physical and political barriers hampering their mainstreaming in the society. These barriers include stigmatization and a misunderstanding of the abilities and aspirations of Differently able persons. In Pakistan, depending on different surveys estimates of the number of persons living with disabilities vary between 3.38 million.

Persons with disabilities are at higher risk, because they cannot suffer due to depression and inadequate services of health. Every year many people got different type of disabilities due to natural disasters, and man-made disasters like, terrorism, road accident etc. Every year 70 to 80 % persons with disabilities are dying due to poor skills management. The biggest problem is lack of self-management skills because among differently able persons these skills are very rare, and they are dying while handling health issue and severe depression. The absence of information on health promotion for people with disabilities, kept this subgroup out of the limelight and in the background of research agendas across the country. The main objective of the project is to empower differently able persons and improve their self-skills and health issue to build their capacity and mainstreaming in the society and enhance capacities of stakeholders through awareness about disability to increase equal employment opportunities as well.

Select the key characteristics of the population your solution serves.

Persons with Disabilities

In which countries do you currently operate?

Pakistan

In which countries will you be operating within the next year?

Pakistan

How many people are you currently serving with your solution? How many will you be serving in one year? How about in five years?

Our focus is to change the lives of differently able persons in Pakistan and making them independent & healthy. We are in partnership with Rawalpindi Cantonment Board. SMT along with the National Incubation Center has designed a startup to provide self-Management training to differently able persons. This will be implemented with the financial assistance from Rawalpindi Cantonment Board. The National Incubation Center will play a key role of coordination as this project is mainly focusing on differently able persons. Under this project, a total of 75 beneficiaries will be trained over a period of 3 months in selected courses at Rawalpindi Cantonment Board. In the past we trained and identified multiples users. Our target audience initially is Pakistan. And then reach out to friendly countries in the Arab counties for example Syria, Iraq, Libya, Palestine and then to other parts of the world.We see SMT for the next 5 years as online National Level Training Center In Pakistan.

Customer Traction starting in 2019-20 with 250 and scaling to 1,250 in 2023-24, International Customer starting in 2021-22 with 50 customers and scaling to 120 in 2023

What are your goals within the next year and within the next five years?

SMT will introduces a new framework to break the barriers that are physical, communication, legal and attitudinal that people with disabilities are facing towards an inclusive society. This startup will also address key issues in the future that have been excluded from the society. In next 3 to 5 Years, we will be providing Attendant care services for differently able persons in Pakistan. Due to Lack of friendly transportation and inaccessible environment, differently able persons are excluded from the society and remain unprivileged. SMT will be partnering with Creeem/UBER to lunch a friendly transportation for such community. We will be working on Accessibility issues and will provide our appropriate management training for government/non-government officials on disability issues and the rights of differently able persons about reason able accommodation inside their organizations. SMT is also working on Equal employment opportunities and National & International Educational opportunities to differently able persons in Pakistan.

What are the barriers that currently exist for you to accomplish your goals for the next year and for the next five years?

There are many financial, technical, legal, cultural, or market barriers. If we talk about our revenue stream, differently able persons,cannot afford such training due to financial problems, that’s a risk to our revenue stream as we cannot charge high from such communities. Along with that identification of differently able persons is another major problem.

How are you planning to overcome these barriers?

But on the other hand transferring risk to other parties, such as donors, FUNDS, Awards,membership plans, partnerships and project based activities, we can overcome such type of risks and can improving the affordability of our services and sustain financial risks as well.

If your solution has a website, provide a link here:

https://www.impacthr.com.pk/

If you have additional video, provide a YouTube or Vimeo link to your video here:

About your team

Select an option below:

For-Profit

If you selected Other for the organization question, please explain here.

We are currently incubated at National Incubation center Islamabad Pakistan, Which is working to build an active and well-connected community of change-makers, impact creators and to build and influence an ecosystem by empowering non-disabled individuals, differently able persons and institutions to generate a positive economic and social impact. National Incubation center believes in empowerment and inclusion and also supports differently able persons to bring their innovative ideas to change the community around them. National Incubation center Islamabad Pakistanprovides an enabling environment to the founders and help them transform their ideas into viable businesses.

How many people work on your solution team?

Romela Hameed founder of SMT( Spinal cord Injury). Safia Naz is the Co-founder of SMT. Ayesha Ahmed Khan Marketing manager of SMT. Sidra Khalid Program Manager.

Maryam Hina Tariq (Spinal Card injury) Trainer Islamabad

Farhan Saeed (Spinal Card injury) Trainer Islamabad

Faisal Shahzad (Polio) Trainer Islamabad

Fehmina Puri (Spinal Card injury) (Trainer) Islamabad

Faheem Afzal Consultant (Prosthetic & Orthopedics) National healthcare center Karachi

Ahmed Ali Engineer of Tilt Bed Lahore

Misbah Khan Psychologist Islamabad

Tayyaba Manzoor (Emergency Response Trainer) Islamabad

Faiza Zafar Leadership Trainer Islamabad

Two paid Internees on board: one is Management internee and another Graphic designer

For how many years have you been working on your solution?

Since 2005, after getting my disability

Why are you and your team best-placed to deliver this solution?

I come up with this Startup with a few ideas that lead to one thing that is inclusion and empowerment. After getting my disability, I was not able to work and live my life independently. I went to UAE for my rehabilitation process and learnt self-management skills under the supervision of Dr. Garrison. After coming back to Pakistan, I realized that differently able persons are dying due to poor health and lack of self-management skills and mainly focusing on charity model of disability. So, I thought to myself how I can help other differently able persons through the same issues. I shred dream with my friends and what works so well about our startup was our complementary experience sets. Safia Naz is the Co-founder of SMT & my Sister. She is dealing with my disability since 2005.She also Worked as a Manager Operation& trainer at FISMILES Trust (2010-2012) on a project designed for mainstreaming disability of earthquake victims 2005. Ayesha Ahmed Khan Marketing manager of SMT. She met with a Car Accident and lost her left leg.

With what organizations are you currently partnering, if any? How are you working with them?

SMT along with the National Incubation Center has designed a startup to provide self-Management training to differently able

persons. This will be implemented with the financial assistance from Cantonment Board Rawalpindi. The National Incubation Center will play a key role of coordination as this project is mainly focusing on differently able persons. Under this project, a total of 75 beneficiaries will be trained over a period of 3 months in selected courses at Cantonment Board Rawalpindi. The training has a strong focus on necessary self -management skills and how best to master them despite individual disabilities. The project is expected to facilitate persons with disabilities in Islamabad. The acquired self-management skills will help them to lead a more independent and dignified life. At the same time, participation and support of companies/industries/organizations will also result in more inclusive policies and practices for the socially different needs of society

Your business model & funding

Partnership potential

Why are you applying to Solve?

The SOLVE can boost SMT’s reputation, setting us "apart from the crowd." It can also give team morale a boost by highlighting team and individual achievements. Along with that mentoring, and support to build and scale our ventures. I believe this award will be an contribution towards those who are not the active part of the society and it will be an opportunity to invest in those who are unheard voices in Pakistan.

What types of connections and partnerships would be most catalytic for your solution?

Business model
Technology
Funding and revenue model
Monitoring and evaluation
Media and speaking opportunities

If you selected Other, please explain here.

nil

With what organizations would you like to partner, and how would you like to partner with them?

Development sector
 NGO’S INGOS DPOS, etc.
 Government stakeholder
 Hospitals & Special Training Centers
 Corporate Sectors
 International Organizations
 Educational departments

If you would like to apply for the AI Innovations Prize, describe how you and your team will utilize the prize to advance your solution. If you are not already using AI in your solution, explain why it is necessary for your solution to be successful and how you plan to incorporate it.

Nil

If you would like to apply for the GM Prize on Community-Driven Innovation, describe how you and your team will utilize the prize to advance your solution.

Nil

If you would like to apply for the Innovation for Women Prize, describe how you and your team will utilize the prize to advance your solution.

Nil

If you would like to apply for the Prize for Innovation in Refugee Inclusion, describe how you and your team will utilize the prize to advance your solution.

Nil

If you would like to apply for the Innospark Ventures Prize, describe how you and your team will utilize the prize to advance your solution. If your solution utilizes data, describe how you will ensure that the data is sourced, maintained, and used ethically and responsibly.

Nil

If you would like to apply for the Morgridge Family Foundation Community-Driven Innovation Prize, describe how you and your team will utilize the prize to advance your solution.

Nil

If you would like to apply for the Everytown for Gun Safety Prize, describe how you and your team will utilize the prize to advance your solution. If your solution utilizes data, describe how you will ensure that the data is sourced, maintained, and used ethically and responsibly.

Nil