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From personal barriers to systemic change with Prateek Khandelwal
Pathways to Zero Barriers
Episode: From personal barriers to systemic change with Prateek Khandelwal
How can lived experience of disability drive scalable, city-level accessibility?
In this episode of Pathways to Zero Barriers, host Tom Butcher speaks with Prateek Khandelwal, Founder and Managing Director of RampMyCity, an Indian accessibility startup advancing inclusion in public spaces for persons with disabilities and older people.
Prateek reflects on how a spinal cord injury revealed the scale of inaccessibility in Indian cities and led him to found RampMyCity. He discusses the personal, social, and structural barriers he faced, including stigma, weak enforcement of accessibility standards, and the practical challenges of auditing inaccessible spaces as a wheelchair user.
The conversation explores how RampMyCity has scaled modular, pragmatic infrastructure solutions, starting with ramps, across more than 700 locations in 10 cities with a small core team. Topics include regional differences within India, the opportunities of Tier 2 cities, the use of AI-enabled accessibility audits, and the importance of starting small, validating deeply, and staying mission-driven while building financial sustainability.
Prateek’s call to action is clear: inclusion starts with individual responsibility and concrete action in the spaces we influence.
Resources & Links
🔗 Programme website: scaling-solutions.zeroproject.org
📄 Transcript
✅ Key Takeaways Checklist
🌐 Guest: Prateek Khandelwal / RampMyCity
📩 Contact: [email protected]
Brought to you by the Zero Project with the support of the Essl Foundation, Fundación Descúbreme, GIZ on behalf of BMZ, and Access to Success.
Credits
Host: Thomas Butcher
Production: Małgorzata Grobelna, Alessandro Gobello, and Judith Hermetter
Audio Engineering: Antina Zlatkova / Mediengarten
View all episodes
By Zero ProjectPathways to Zero Barriers
Episode: From personal barriers to systemic change with Prateek Khandelwal
How can lived experience of disability drive scalable, city-level accessibility?
In this episode of Pathways to Zero Barriers, host Tom Butcher speaks with Prateek Khandelwal, Founder and Managing Director of RampMyCity, an Indian accessibility startup advancing inclusion in public spaces for persons with disabilities and older people.
Prateek reflects on how a spinal cord injury revealed the scale of inaccessibility in Indian cities and led him to found RampMyCity. He discusses the personal, social, and structural barriers he faced, including stigma, weak enforcement of accessibility standards, and the practical challenges of auditing inaccessible spaces as a wheelchair user.
The conversation explores how RampMyCity has scaled modular, pragmatic infrastructure solutions, starting with ramps, across more than 700 locations in 10 cities with a small core team. Topics include regional differences within India, the opportunities of Tier 2 cities, the use of AI-enabled accessibility audits, and the importance of starting small, validating deeply, and staying mission-driven while building financial sustainability.
Prateek’s call to action is clear: inclusion starts with individual responsibility and concrete action in the spaces we influence.
Resources & Links
🔗 Programme website: scaling-solutions.zeroproject.org
📄 Transcript
✅ Key Takeaways Checklist
🌐 Guest: Prateek Khandelwal / RampMyCity
📩 Contact: [email protected]
Brought to you by the Zero Project with the support of the Essl Foundation, Fundación Descúbreme, GIZ on behalf of BMZ, and Access to Success.
Credits
Host: Thomas Butcher
Production: Małgorzata Grobelna, Alessandro Gobello, and Judith Hermetter
Audio Engineering: Antina Zlatkova / Mediengarten