Accessibility remains a significant challenge in many Southeast European (SEE) countries. However, a growing number of innovative startups are working hard to change this. These companies are developing solutions to make both digital and physical spaces more accessible, ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability, can participate fully in society.
In this article, we highlight the top five SEE accessibility startups that are making a real impact by addressing critical accessibility issues and paving the way for a more inclusive future.
#1 BOA
Best Online Assistant is a digital platform based in N. Macedonia that offers vocational education and certified courses for digital skills, alongside job opportunities for people with disabilities, including remote work and full-time employment.
Initially, the founder, Elizabeta Jovanovska, envisioned a marketplace where individuals with physical disabilities could provide digital services to companies. Over time, she became a certified digital skills trainer for marginalized groups. Together with the first cohort of online assistants, she developed a Digital Marketers course specifically tailored to the needs and abilities of people with disabilities.
Following the launch of the first online assistants, many companies approached Jovanovska seeking to employ people with disabilities. This led to the creation of a SaaS model, enabling individuals with various disabilities and job seekers to join the platform and gain employment.
In under two years, BOA emerged as a unique solution for education, remote work, and employment for people with physical disabilities, distinguishing itself not only in the Balkans but also across Europe. According to Jovanovska, individuals with physical disabilities were actively involved in every aspect of the platform’s development.
#2 Anoris Technology
Anoris Technology is a Serbian software company led by CEO Nikola Krstić. The company develops a smart glove designed to assist people with impaired vision, functioning as a wearable assistant to improve their quality of life. This innovative device was inspired by Krstić himself, whose entrepreneurial journey includes developing a mobile app for basketball fans, a smart wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) device, and native mobile apps.
Anoris Technology’s flagship product, the Anora smart glove, helps blind and partially sighted individuals navigate their surroundings. The glove offers various functionalities such as orientation, color detection, banknote detection, a panic button, date and time, mobile phone connectivity, and light intensity detection.
The production of the Anora smart glove is based in Belgrade, Serbia. The first series was launched in spring 2023 and has been officially listed as an assisted device for blind people, allowing virtually any blind person in Serbia to obtain it for free. Looking ahead, Anoris Technology plans to expand its market reach by selling the product in countries such as the US.
#3 SignAvatar
SignAvatar is a startup founded in 2023 by Serbian tech entrepreneur Djordje Dimitrijevic, with a vision to enhance daily life through technology. The company is dedicated to developing AI-based software that translates speech into sign language automatically.
Recently, SignAvatar showcased its innovative solution at major transportation hubs across the Balkans, including Nikola Tesla Airport and Belgrade Central Railway Station. The AI technology behind SignAvatar is being used to create the world’s first fully accessible public address (PA) system, translating audible announcements into sign language and two written languages. These translations are displayed on dedicated screens around gates and can also be accessed via smartphones.
Initially a side project driven by curiosity and the enthusiasm of its AI-focused co-founders, SignAvatar evolved into a serious venture with support from prominent Serbian entrepreneurs. The project officially began in January 2023.
SignAvatar has received three grants—from Startech (Philip Morris), UNDP, and the Innovation Fund of Serbia for GovTech—and is currently working with clients such as Serbia Railways. The startup is also in discussions with Nikola Tesla Airport and aims to have Vinci Airports as its first client by the end of September.
#4 .lumen
.lumen is a Romanian startup, founded in 2020 by Cornel Amariei, Gabriel Chindris, and Mihai Ivascu, as a research project with only nine members. The company has since assembled a team of over 30 engineers, professors, disability experts, designers, and scientists to develop high-tech glasses that can assist blind people on the go.
The headset contains sensory and feedback systems to map out the environment and communicate instructions to its user. The sensory system is a set of five cameras that detect the user’s position, the environment, and contextual information; while the feedback system uses audio and haptic feedback to communicate the moves to people, just like a guide dog would pull their hand.
Last year, the startup received €9 million from the European Innovation Council Accelerator. This significant funding follows the Romanian startup’s achievement of winning the Red Dot Design Award Luminary at the end of October, an accolade often regarded as the Nobel Prize for Industrial Design.
In July 2024, .lumen raised €5 million in a funding round led by equity management and investment company SeedBlink, known for its support of Dronamics and Swisspod. Co-investors, including the European Innovation Council and the Venture to Future Fund, contributed €4 million, while SeedBlink’s investment platform raised €1 million from private investors.
#5 Re.flex
Re.flex is a Romanian startup founded in 2016 by Camil Moldoveanu and Andrei Kluger, that produces a motion-tracking wearable designed to guide patients through the final stages of physiotherapy rehabilitation. This device helps individuals recovering from surgeries such as total knee or hip replacements, meniscus reconstructions, and ligament repairs to perform exercises effectively at home.
The company aims to make physiotherapy more accessible and measurable by offering telerehabilitation services.The wearable, paired with a mobile app, uses sensors to track movement on three axes, providing real-time feedback and corrective advice. Patients receive a tailored exercise program based on their specific needs, with performance scores ranging from 0 to 10. As they progress, the exercises become more challenging. Re.flex aims to provide more comprehensive and extended physical therapy compared to traditional clinic-based sessions, offering up to 90 monitored sessions for the cost of fewer in-person visits.
