By Ngozi Nwankwo
Innovative products developed under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund,TETFund, Alliance for Innovative Research, TETFAIR, programme have started getting global attention as the “Chord Hearing Device” developed by a team under the TETFAIR initiative recently got opportunity for exhibition at the prestigious Sheba ARC (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate) Global Entrepreneurship Programme.
A press statement obtained from TETFund on Friday, explained 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.
According to the statement, 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 first 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 being 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,”the statement read in part.
TETFund, however, 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 researches into innovation, solution and enterprise,” it said.
