A Journey of Impact: Spotlight on Participant Assistive Products Co-Founders Keoke King and Dave Calver

In honor of World Assistive Technology Day, we shine a light on two passionate changemakers whose vision and commitment are redefining what is possible for people with disabilities across the globe.

A Vision Rooted in Purpose

For Keoke King and Dave Calver, co-founders of Participant Assistive Products,  assistive technology isn’t just a product category, it’s a personal mission. It’s a way to ensure dignity, independence, and inclusion for people who have been left out for far too long.

Their journey began not in a conference room, but through lived experiences, global partnerships, and a recognition of a massive gap in the availability and accessibility of well-designed assistive technology, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

For Dave, Participant’s Chief Clinical Officer, it was personal from the beginning. “My disability and my decision to use a wheelchair daily completely and totally redirected my life,” he shares. That redirection led him to a life of advocacy and innovation in assistive tech.

Keoke, Participant’s CEO, came to the space from a different path, but with equal conviction. A man of curiosity and depth, who, fun fact, loves walking and reading at the same time, couldn’t have predicted where his path would lead. But once he saw the impact they could have, there was no turning back.

Humble Beginnings and Hard Truths

Participant Assistive Products didn’t start with million-dollar investors or flashy marketing campaigns. It started with personal savings, help from friends and family, and an unshakable belief in their mission.

There was no funding. Period.,” Keoke recalls. “We went to our own pockets, our families, and friends via GoFundMe. After all the impact investors said ‘no,’ we did a Wefunder campaign. Most of the capital came from friends of friends.”

And the struggle didn’t end there. Assistive technology, especially when it involves physical hardware like wheelchairs, is notoriously difficult to develop, fund, and distribute. While high-tech gadgets may attract attention in wealthier markets, the needs in LMICs often revolve around durable, reliable, and affordable solutions. Unfortunately, that’s not where most investors focus.

Dave adds another layer to the difficulty: training and service. “Wheelchair services are not just expensive, they require highly specialized training. The more complex the wheelchair, the higher the cost. But the cost of these services is more than offset by preventing medical conditions like pressure ulcers, bladder infections, and contractures.”

In other words, providing the right wheelchair isn’t just an act of kindness, it’s a smart public health move and in some cases, lifesaving

 Listening to the People They Serve

What truly sets Participant Assistive Products apart is their unwavering focus on the people they serve. This is more than user-centered design, it’s user-led innovation.

“We involve users and their families from the very beginning of the design process,” Dave explains. “The answers to our challenges are within the population we aim to serve.”

This philosophy has led to real relationships with families across the globe, in countries like Colombia, Ukraine, and Mexico. These families aren’t just customers. They’re co-creators. Partners. Testers. Advocates.

Keoke recalls a pivotal moment during clinical trials in India: “I saw videos of children using the Cub wheelchair. One kid could feed himself for the first time. Others were able to go to school. Caregivers had time freed up. It was real.”

Dave shares a memory from Ukraine that brought the mission home. A mother told him, “This wheelchair has allowed my child to go to school for the first time, be part of family functions, and even follow me to the grocery store.” Before Cub, they’d tried several wheelchairs, but none worked for her child.  Cub changed everything.

The Weight of Invisible Challenges

In the world of assistive technology, some challenges are easy to see. Others are not.

One such challenge, Keoke notes, is the misalignment between the assistive tech market in wealthy countries and the needs of LMICs. Wealthier countries focus on short-term users, such as people recovering from surgeries. In contrast, many people in LMICs use assistive tech for life, and need products that are rugged, simple, and long-lasting.

This mismatch affects everything: design, pricing, durability, and even testing standards.

There’s also a philosophical challenge. Keoke believes assistive tech is essential to creating a truly inclusive society, especially as all of us will experience disability in some form as we age.Those of you squinting to read your phone, know what we mean But inclusion doesn’t happen on its own. It requires systems, policies, and, yes, businesses to rise to the occasion.

Failures That Teach, Values That Guide

Not every decision has been a win, and both Keoke and Dave are candid about their missteps. One story stands out from their early days in Indonesia. A well-intended effort to create a more affordable wheelchair by removing folding features led to unintended consequences.

“One child had to drop out of school,” Keoke explains, “because the non-folding chair couldn’t fit into public transport.” That moment was a painful lesson in how critical it is to understand user realities, even if it makes the product more expensive to build.

But these setbacks haven’t shaken their values. In fact, they’ve strengthened them.

Participant’s core values are centered on inclusion and participation. That means hiring people with disabilities who also use their products. It means putting mission before profit. And it means staying the course even when funding is scarce.

Looking Forward: Big Dreams and Bold Moves

Despite the challenges, the future at Participant is bright, and ambitious.

If money were no object, Keoke dreams of starting a school or incubator for young professionals with disabilities, where they’d learn business skills and become distribution leaders. “It would include training, funding, lodging in Nairobi, and real opportunities to serve their communities,” he says.

On the product side, Participant is preparing to launch a power add-on, a folding adult manual wheelchair,  several cushion products, and expand into prosthetics and orthotics.

They’re also entering new markets, including Nigeria, Zambia, and possibly Chile, with plans to build out their own e-commerce websites.

Final Thoughts: What Assistive Tech Means to Them

For Dave and Keoke, assistive technology is not just a professional field, it is  deeply personal.

For Dave, it’s about dignity, freedom, and belonging. “Kayaking is my favorite thing to do outside work,” he says, a hobby I have held onto for many years. This should tell you how much dignity, freedom and a sense of belonging means to me.

For Keoke, assistive technology is part of a much bigger picture. “It’s about inclusion,” he explains. “It’s about creating systems where everyone can participate fully, because the truth is, we’re all only temporarily abled.”

Their stories remind us that behind every piece of assistive equipment is a story. A life. A community. And when done right, assistive technology doesn’t just improve mobility, it  opens doors to education, work, relationships, and full participation in society.

On World Assistive Technology Day, we celebrate these quiet revolutions, the ones happening in design labs, in family homes, in schools, and in markets across the world. And we make note of leaders like Dave Calver and Keoke King, whose vision, humility, and heart are making the world more accessible for all of us.

Click here to find out more about how you can become a partner or how you can help bring quality assistive devices to your communities.