Inclusion of Deaf Professionals in the Labor Market

Rocío Garza Gutiérrez, a professional from Monterrey, Nuevo León, became interested in studying the topic of deafness due to her coworker who is deaf, and she realized the importance of inclusion in the labor market for deaf professionals.

The main problem for a deaf person is not having a proper language development, which can affect cognitive, educational, labor, and social development.

In Mexico, almost 700,000 people live with deafness every day, and approximately 2,000 to 6,000 children are born with deafness each year.

Gerardo, from Monterrey, Nuevo León, developed an application called "Dilo Enseñas" (Say Teach), a game to learn Mexican Sign Language, primarily designed for deaf children but accessible to everyone.

Gerardo discovered many injustices and needs related to deaf people and began to study and investigate the topic, identifying the importance of language development in early childhood.

Rocío and Gerardo partnered with Jaguar Labs, a Guadalajara-based application development company, to create the first version of "Dilo Enseñas" for free, and in the first week, it reached the third position in Mexico's education app list.

Within three months, they achieved over 20,000 downloads and are seeking 900,000 pesos in support to further develop the application.

The business plan includes offering courses to companies, including certification for deaf-friendly institutions, and eventually incorporating public advertising within the app.

The founders are considering registering as a non-profit or for-profit organization to provide employment opportunities for people with auditory disabilities.

Arturo, a potential investor, offered 900,000 pesos in funding and proposed a salary of 18,000 pesos per month for each founder to dedicate themselves to the project, with the condition that the application remains free and becomes self-sustainable through advertising revenue.