- MINTIT signs MOU on braille starter project with startup OHFA Tech, a member of SKT IMPACTUPS
- Planning to focus on Asian developing countries such as Indonesia for penetration
- “Partnership between the two will help address social issues and re-circulate ICT resources with added value”

MINTIT (CEO: Seong-moon Ha) announced on the 27th that the ICT recycler signed an MOU with a social venture OHFA Tech developing braille learning devices (CEO: Kyoung-hwang Lee) on a ‘Partnership Program to Distribute Braille Learning Devices and Develop Braille Education Solutions’ in a bid to help lower global braille illiteracy rate.

The partnership program was prompted by the consistency of business goals between MINTIT seeking to re-circulate resources by distributing used phones and OHFA Tech. in need of smartphones as a running platform for its braille starter device.

OHFA Tech. is the social venture that has developed the braille starter device ’Taptilo’ that enables people who are visually handicapped to learn hard-to-learn braille with fun and ease. Taptilo is intended to help the visually handicapped to read and practice braille characters and phonics on their own without being assisted by a teacher when they embark on learning braille. It is designed to look alike the keyboard instrument ‘melodian’ and be easily portable. It also comes in a mobile app variant offered free of charge so that anyone can learn and teach braille.

As a member of IMPACTUPS 2020, a startup incubation program sponsored by SK telecom to address social challenges with innovative technologies, OHFA Tec. entered MWC2022 as well, which paved the way for the partnership forged with MINTIT today.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 300 million are visually impaired among the entire global population, and 90% of them live in developing countries. They are denied of access to education of decent quality on the account of less-than-adequate braille education infrastructure and significant costs, which leads to such social issues as degradation of learning skill for braille illiteracy and resultant unemployment.

The low-cost braille learning device ‘Taptilo K’ developed by OHFA Tech. can interoperate with smartphones to ensure that anyone can easily learn braille. Taptilo K will be distributed on a pilot scale in Indonesia first, and MINTIT will first offer 35 ‘GalaxyA30’ smartphones collected via MINTIT ATM to OHFA Tech., with more to come as the pilot project proceeds. In 2023, the two companies will expand their business presence to the rest of Asia including Singapore in 2023.

The two partnership partners vow to lower braille illiteracy rate in a bid to address global social challenges and foster eco-friendly management practices enhanced by recycled digital device resources.

CEO Kyoung-hwang Lee at OHFA Tech. said, “The partnership with MINTIT has allowed us to get a step closer to the goal of ‘Braille Literacy up 1% a year’,” and added, “We will further the partnership to distribute more of used-phone-based braille learning devices.”

CEO Seong-moon Ha at MINTIT commented, “MINTIT is collaborating with businesses committed to social values to expand possible usages of secondhand smartphones to braille learning device, digital ophthalmometer, and so on,” and emphasized, “We will keep endeavoring to promote a sustainable resource ecosystem by upcycling used phones.”  

[Photo caption 1.] On the 27th, MINTIT singed a MOU with the social venture OHFA Tech. developing braille learning devices on a partnership to distribute braille learning devices and develop braille education solutions. CEO Seong-moon Ha of MINTIT poses with CEO Kyoung-hwang Lee of OHFA Tech. in celebration of the signing ceremony.

[Photo caption 2.] Low-cost braille starter model Taptilo K that delivers OHFA Tech.’s braille learning features on a MINTIT’s used smartphone. It will be first offered in Indonesia and distributed to the rest of Asia subsequently.