“THE SPEAKERS AREN'T ACADEMICS BUT WITNESSES, AND WE VISIT OTHER ORGANISATIONS NOT AS STUDENTS BUT AS EQUALS”
Roger Wilson-Hinds: It's good to talk
Like many social entrepreneurs, for Roger Wilson-Hinds, it’s personal. Partially-sighted himself, he ran a business training blind and visually impaired people to use computers at work for 10 years but became increasingly concerned about the 80% of blind people not in employment who had no access to expensive screenreading software.
Four years ago he began developing low cost screenreading software to address this problem. He started selling the software through his company Screenreader two years ago and came to SSE to develop the project.
‘I didn't want Screenreader to be a charity. I wanted it to be business-like and sustainable. Our angle is low cost. American software cost £6-800 and only those who are funded can afford it. We sell ours for £80. The SSE model appealed to me because it is business-like and not patronising to those with a disability.’
Through the SSE programme Roger has learnt the language of business, ‘It may be elementary to those that know but not to people that don't,’ he says. ‘I’ve also learnt to share and work with other people and gained the confidence that comes from being in a small group of people all grappling with the same problems. The programme isn't academic which is a great joy. Our speakers aren't academics but witnesses and we visit other organisations not as students but as equals.’
‘The SSE programme has seen a total change in Screenreader's approach. Before we were putting articles in magazines going to blind people and talking to organizations for the blind, not realising that these weren't the people that could help us.
'We have now widened our focus to include all the other people who can't read a computer screen for whatever reason and are talking to technical providers. We have just sold our first software licence to North Lincolnshire UK Online. It has been a business of gradually opening my mind up and seeing how things could be done differently. I feel that screenreader will definitely succeed now’
Now Roger’s got the bug and would like eventually to hand his business on and concentrate on new challenges - one of which is looking at introducing the SSE philosophy and training model to the local Blind Business Association where he thinks it could make a significant difference.
