ConnectHear is a social enterprise startup that is working to advance the facilitation of deaf accessibility by working tirelessly to create an inclusive environment for the deaf community of Pakistan. The mission of the startup is to have a more inclusive space in the society for the hearing impaired.
Recently, ConnectHear has been named as one of the semifinalist for 2019 GIST Tech-I initiative for their promising innovation democratizing Sign Language interpretation and bridging the communication gap between the hearing and deaf populations of Pakistan.
The GIST Tech-I is an annual competition part of the U.S Department of State’s Global Innovation through Science and Technology that challenges aspiring science and technology entrepreneurs in 132 emerging economies to pitch their ideas or startups to experts and the general public. The program has been successfully implemented over the past by the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 2014.
It is reported that this time around over 500 innovators from emerging economies worldwide submitted their ideas or startups to GIST Tech-I. However, only the top twenty-four advanced through an expert review stage and the semifinals public voting stage to showcase their innovations, receive one-on-one mentoring, and compete for seed capital prizes at the 2019 Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) that is take place in Bahrain from the 15th to the 19th April.
Arhum Ishtiaq, Co-Founder and CTO of ConnectHear speaking on the occasion said, “It is truly an honour to have the opportunity to represent the innovation and disruption in the technology sector of Pakistan at the esteemed platform of the GIST Tech-I Competition. Now, we look forward to working towards qualifying for the finals and acquire the chance to showcase our work to an international audience while also gaining the necessary training and mentorship to increase the scope of our work in terms of solving the global issue of deaf accessibility and communication.”
