Freek van Welsenis has won the Dutch final of the Global Student Entrepreneur Award 2020 (GSEA) with his company Hable. This will allow him to go to the international final in Cape Town on 28 April. With Hable, a startup by TU/e students focused on smartphone keyboard accessibility, Freek offers an innovative solution for blind people to use a smartphone. Freek: "With the award from GSEA, we will take our first steps towards internationalisation of our company in America this spring."
The jury, consisting of entrepreneurs Bas Janssens, Bianca van der Lee and Niels Bouwman, praised Freek for his enormous passion with which he found a simple and practical solution to a problem that is occurring worldwide. His plans for the future, which include a tool for braille education, show great entrepreneurial insight, according to the jury.
Smartphone for the blind
The Hable One is the world’s first Braille smartphone keyboard for blind people. The six Braille buttons on the device replicate the Braille alphabet. The six buttons are combined with two function keys for commands, such as the space bar, enter and backspace, as well as for navigating the phone. The first model is currently being finalised for the market. To be among the first Hable users in the world, you can already register on Hable’s official website.
From the Netherlands to Cape Town
On 30 January 2020, the best Dutch student entrepreneurs competed for the GSEA. The prize consists of 10,000 euros, exclusive coaching and a podium spot during the international GSEA final in Cape Town, South Africa. On that occasion, more than 50 of the world's most exceptional student entrepreneurs will come to Cape Town. Hable also won the Philips Innovation Award in May last year.
