By Gom Mirian
A group of Nigerians lecturers who made a “Chord Hearing Device” have gotten global recognitions for their work which has been slated for exhibition at the prestigious Sheba ARC Global Entrepreneurship Programme.
The lecturers designed the device under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Alliance for Innovative Research (TETFAIR) programme.
A statement issued by the Fund’s Acting Director of Public Affairs, Abdulmumin Oniyangi, on Thursday night, stated that the Chord Hearing Device is an innovative, affordable, and self-programmable hearing aid developed by Dr. Adebolajo Adeyemo and his team (Team 12) comprising Associate Professor Bolanle Oladejo and Dr. Oluwasola Adeniji all from the University of Ibadan.
He said: “The Chord Hearing Aid will be presented at TETFAIR’s final showcase event at Innov8 Hub, Abuja, among other innovative solutions developed by members of the Nigerian academia. TETFund, through the TETFAIR initiative, continues to support and guide members of the Nigerian academia through the critical journey of translating research into innovation, solution and enterprise.”
According to him, “The Team was selected to participate in TETFAIR based on its idea for a solution to the challenge of affordable and accessible hearing aid devices in Nigeria. Since the inception of TETFAIR, with the support of innovation, technology and venture creation experts, the team has made significant progress with the completion of the development of the prototype, which is now being tested with users, as part of the proof-of-concept phase of TETFAIR.
“Dr Adeyemo represented the team at the ARC Programme, where for 12 weeks, 29 startups from Israel, USA, Germany, Japan, Colombia, Nigeria, South Africa and Australia worked on finding solutions to pressing healthcare challenges.
“Based on the viability of his idea and good impression, Dr. Adeyemo was selected among 11 healthcare researchers from five continents to present their innovation to investors and experts at the final event of the Sheba ARC Global Entrepreneurship programme, held in Israel. Eventually, his innovation and pitch led him to also be selected among the 3 startups that presented their innovations at the ARC Global Summit in Tel Aviv on 14th June 2023.
“The TETFAIR journey of Dr. Adeyemo and his team is still ongoing and in the coming months, based on feedback from the user tests, the prototype will be refined and the product development will continue with the support of TETFAIR experts at Innov8 Hub, Abuja,” he added.
