Jean MASSOU

Learning Braille through play, a real lever for inclusion

Nearly 60% of learners abandon Braille (according to the French HOMÈRE study on visual impairment 2022 by the national association of parents of blind children and its partners). The reason for this is the great difficulty of this writing system and the lack of tools to make it easier to learn. It was this problem that Jean Massou set out to tackle at secondary school. ‘It all started with a meeting. I was looking for a subject for my final year project. When I bumped into my neighbour Christine, who is visually impaired, I had the idea of asking her what she was missing. She immediately told me about Braille and how it’s so complicated, which puts a lot of visually impaired people off.

Two key areas: games and inclusion

Jean came up with Br’EYE (pronounced like ‘braille’), a console for learning braille independently, with games accessible to all.

The project went from strength to strength, attracting attention and awards. At the Engineering Science Olympiads, Jean, still a secondary school student, won the regional and then the national competitions. As an undergraduate, he took part in the ‘ Entrepreneurship for Learning’ programme, which enabled him to embark on the beginnings of an entrepreneurial adventure. Here too, the national prize was up for grabs. ‘Until then, I’d been pursuing the project in ‘garage mode’, alongside my engineering studies. But at this stage, I started to get in touch with companies and with the Lorraine Incubator. That’s when I felt we could gear up and create a company to promote Br’EYE more widely.

It has to be said that the tool has three strong points. Firstly, it meets a real unmet need for visually impaired people: no competing solution exists on the market. Secondly, it is resolutely inclusive: ‘Everyone can use it: the visually impaired person, but also their teachers, relatives, etc. Because it’s all based on games. It’s an excellent way of getting as much Braille as possible on a regular basis without losing motivation. Finally, he is banking on autonomy, which represents a real access to information.

Consistent deployment

To structure his approach, Jean founded Handi Exceller in 2021. Three years later, the Nancy-based company has eight employees and has raised €1 million to roll out Br’EYE throughout France and, in recent months, internationally. As part of its ongoing drive for inclusivity, the range has also been expanded with the creation of Marble, which enables learners to play games on their computers, without the need for a special device.

The young entrepreneur also highlights the contribution made by France Active. ‘Their support has been very useful on three levels. Firstly, in networking with players in the Social and Solidarity Economy. Secondly, in defining our funding strategy. I’d say that they helped me to better understand the dynamics of this financial intelligence. Finally, by providing a bank guarantee, which was reassuring for our loan’, he sums up.

And of course, the young entrepreneur has no intention of stopping there. ‘Once we have finalised the deployment of our tools in the field of visual impairment, we would like to explore other aspects of disability, such as autistic disorders. Learning through games opens up enormous potential!