Investment Proposal 2026 · Cape Town, South Africa

Empowering growth,
one child at a time.

Hope-Hear is South Africa's first universal newborn hearing screening programme in a public health facility — a proven, scalable system removing health barriers to learning in the first 6 years of life.

16,000+
Infants screened
90%
Hospital coverage
R8.89M
Scale investment
500K+
Children in 5 yrs
"Early hearing. Better language. Brighter futures."
— Hope-Hear
The Problem

Children are missing the window
that changes everything.

In South Africa, children with hearing loss are diagnosed on average at 30 months (2½ years) old — and by then the critical window for language development is already closing.

30
Months — the average age of diagnosis in South Africa
🔇
A child who cannot hear cannot learn

Hearing is the primary pathway for language acquisition. Undetected loss creates compounding educational disadvantage that lasts a lifetime.

📚
A child who cannot learn cannot access opportunity

10–15% of 2-year-olds meet criteria for language delay. Unidentified conditions keep children from reaching their full potential.

😴
Sleep apnoea causes irreversible damage

3 in 100 children have OSA. Untreated, the consequences — ADHD, learning difficulties — are permanent. 360 children at Tygerberg alone wait 9–12 months for surgery.

🌍
No other public programme meets global standards

Hope-Hear's is the only South African public UNHS programme that can report on all benchmarks and quality indicators.

Diagnosis timeline: current vs optimal
Optimal identification age3 months
South Africa average today30 months
OSA surgical wait time9–12 months
Hope-Hear target wait time2–3 months
Hospital coverage achieved90%
Coverage before Hope-Hear~30%
The cost of inaction: Late identification means lifelong learning disadvantage, lower economic participation, and greater long-term healthcare burden for South Africa's public system.

Hearing loss inequality — why getting to every child early changes the course of a life.

Our Solution

A proven system, ready to scale.

Hope-Hear integrates health and education to identify and treat conditions that prevent children from learning — beginning at birth.

1

Screen

Every baby screened before discharge using OAE and AABR technology.

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2

Track

100% of refer results tracked in an integrated database.

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3

Follow up

Babies requiring repeat testing are actively followed up — doubling compliance.

→
4

Intervene

Diagnosis confirmed and referral to surgery, therapy, or support.

→
5

Thrive

Better hearing, better language, better learning. School readiness.

🔍

Early identification

Screening before discharge creates the earliest possible entry into the care system.

🏥

Timely intervention

Reduced time from identification to diagnosis through integrated pathways.

🧠

Language development

Children identified early achieve normal milestones and school readiness.

🎓

Economic participation

Educational attainment improves with early intervention — lifelong returns.

Investment Components

Five coordinated programmes.

Each component addresses a specific barrier in the pathway from birth to school readiness — with defined costs and measurable outcomes.

Newborn Hearing
ENT Accelerator
Project Phoenix
AVT Fellowship
Support Centre

Every Baby, Everywhere — Universal Newborn Hearing Screening

Launched February 2024, this is the first and only universal newborn hearing screening programme in the South African public health system — meeting international best standards with full benchmark reporting.

16,000+
Infants screened to date
90%
Hospital coverage achieved
8,000+
Procedures per year
R94
Cost per child
Sustainability goal

To make this programme self-sustaining by end of 2026 by implementing a private healthcare service that cross-subsidises the public service. Private funds public access.

👶
Every baby. Every hospital. Every time.
×2
Follow-up rate
100%
Results tracked
R750K
Equipment need

Tygerberg Paediatric ENT Acceleration Programme

3 in 100 children have obstructive sleep apnoea. While they sleep, their brains fight for oxygen. The behavioural consequences are irreversible. Yet 360+ children wait 9–12 months at Tygerberg Hospital for treatment.

360+
Children on waiting list
R3,400
Cost per child
R1.61
ROI per R1 invested
2 yrs
Return timeline
Return on investment

Delivers a one-third reduction in annual healthcare costs: 60% fewer admissions, 39% fewer emergency visits, 47% fewer outpatient consultations, 22% lower drug costs. Every R1 returns R1.61 within two years.

🏥
Surgical access for children who can't breathe properly at night
300
Surgeries targeted
2–3mo
Target wait time
R1.2M
Investment need

Project Phoenix — Complex Craniofacial Care

25 children with complex jaw conditions have no public service delivery pathway. These children attend mainstream schools with profound speech, breathing, and nutritional challenges — entirely unaddressed by the current system.

25
Children identified
R152K
Cost per child
3
Centres of excellence
R3.8M
Total investment
Partnership structure

Public-private partnership with the Division of Maxillofacial Surgery at UWC. Establishing a South African Task Team and connecting with international leaders to build local expertise.

🌱
No child left outside the system
0
Current pathways
3
New COE units
R3.8M
Investment need

African Auditory Verbal Therapy Fellowship

Children with hearing loss increasingly have access to technology. But there are currently no auditory-verbal therapists trained in African languages — restricting rehabilitation access for millions of children.

0
AVT therapists in African languages
R324
Cost per child
3 yrs
Fellowship duration
R1.94M
Total investment
Continental impact

This Fellowship develops culturally appropriate therapy models, establishes sustainable training pathways at UCT, and enables community-based language programmes across the African continent.

🗣️
Rehabilitation in every mother tongue
UCT
Partner institution
Africa
Continental reach
R1.94M
Investment need

Children's Specialised Support Centre (CSSC)

A scalable, public-private service model integrating health and education for early identification and ongoing support. Partnered with Kukhanya Centre, Unlock Learning SA, and the Western Cape Departments of Health and Education.

1,100+
Learners via schools
R355
Cost per child
R540K
Diagnostic equipment
R1.17M
Total investment
Pioneer model

Pioneering on the African continent — a hub-and-spoke system endorsed by the Western Cape Department of Education, centralising expertise while decentralising access through schools, clinics, and communities.

🏫
Health and education, finally working as one
4
Partner orgs
SIAS
Policy aligned
R1.17M
Investment need
Where Your Support Goes

R8,889,000 to reach
500,000 children.

A fully structured giving opportunity across five coordinated programmes — each with defined costs, partners, and measurable outcomes. Every rand is accounted for.

Overall Investment
Equipment Package
Total scale investment
R8.89M
To expand to 5 sites, reaching 20,000 children in Year 1 and over 500,000 after 5 years.
Already raised
R400,000
Committed for equipment. Proof of investor confidence and programme traction.
Avg cost per child
~R500
Year 1 average across all 5 programmes. Cost decreases as scale increases.
Component cost breakdownR8,889,000 total
🔉 Newborn Hearing Screening
R94/child
R750,000
🏥 Tygerberg ENT Accelerator
R3,400/child
R1,225,000
🌱 Project Phoenix (craniofacial)
R152,000/child
R3,800,000
🗣️ AVT Fellowship
R324/child
R1,940,000
🏫 Children's Specialised Support Centre
R355/child
R1,174,000

The immediate funding priority is a complete hearing screening-to-diagnosis equipment package for South Africa's first universal newborn hearing screening programme in a public health facility. This equipment enables the full clinical pathway — from birth screening through to confirmed diagnosis and referral for intervention.

Equipment fundraising progress45% raised
R0R400,000 raisedR884,211.14 target
Equipment components (incl. VAT)R884,211.14 total
🔊 Titan AABR and OAE Screener
Newborn and infant screening using OAE and AABR
R298,923.50
🧬 Eclipse EP25 Diagnostic Platform with ASSR
Diagnostic ABR/ASSR assessment and confirmation of hearing status
R547,024.54
🔧 3-Year Calibration Plan
Equipment reliability and quality assurance
R32,398.10
🚗 Travel & Installation Support
On-site installation support
R5,865.00
Already Raised
R400,000
+
Funding Gap
R584,211.14
=
Total Equipment Package (incl. VAT)
R884,211.14
Delivery: 6–8 weeks from order confirmation. Includes delivery, installation (as required), and one equipment orientation session. Formal supplier quotation available from Interacoustics South Africa.
A Smarter Way to Give

Give more by giving smart:
Section 18A tax deductible.

Hope-Hear is a SARS-registered Public Benefit Organisation authorised to issue Section 18A certificates. Your donation doesn't only change a child's life — a meaningful portion comes back to you at tax time. You make a bigger difference at a lower net cost.

✔ SARS-registered PBO 930084694 ✔ Deductible up to 10% of taxable income ✔ Certificate issued for every qualifying donation

Section 18A deductions are limited to 10% of taxable income, with any excess carried forward to future years. Individuals may claim at their marginal rate. This is general information, not tax advice — please confirm your position with your tax practitioner.

Impact & Scale

Stronger systems.
Lasting impact.

Your support builds a replicable, evidence-based model — and the returns are measured in children who can hear, learn, and thrive, not in rands earned.

👶
9,000
Babies screened per year through the newborn programme alone
📈
R1.61
Social return for every R1 given — in healthcare saved and futures restored — within just 2 years
🌍
500K+
Children reached after 5 years through training and system scale
🏥
60%
Reduction in hospital admissions following OSA surgical intervention
⏱
3 mo
Target time from identification to diagnosis (down from 30 months average)
🎓
100%
Of refer results tracked — every child entered into the follow-up pathway
Implementation roadmap
Year 1
Phase 1 — Expand
  • Scale to 5 sites
  • Strengthen newborn screening
  • Increase surgical capacity
Year 2
Phase 2 — Replicate
  • Launch AVT Fellowship
  • Rural district expansion
  • Education integration
  • Pilot school screening
Years 3–5
Phase 3 — Institutionalise
  • District-scale screening
  • School-based support
  • System institutionalisation
  • Workforce expansion
Years 6–10
Phase 4 — Provincial
  • Provincial replication
  • Policy integration
  • Self-sustaining model
  • National advocacy
Track Record

We have built a system that works.

Hope-Hear has demonstrated proof of concept at scale. This is not a pilot — it is a proven model seeking partners who want to make a lasting difference.

🏆

South Africa's first public UNHS programme

Launched February 2024. The only public newborn hearing screening programme in SA that meets international best standards and reports on all benchmarks and quality indicators.

Level 1 B-BBEESection 18A Tax DeductibleRegistered NPC & PBO
📊

Strong financial foundations

2025 income of R1,760,292. Total assets of R1,137,187. Net earnings of R1,011,758. R399,600 in equipment donated to Paarl Hospital demonstrating stewardship and community commitment.

R1.76M income 2025R1.14M total assets
🤝

High-calibre institutional partnerships

Endorsed by Western Cape Departments of Health and Education. Partners include UCT, Stellenbosch University, UWC, Kukhanya Centre, Afrika Tikkun, and Christel House. Part of the Office of the Presidency working group.

Western Cape DOHUCT PartnershipHold My Hand
🌐

Advocacy, policy and awareness

Million Word Gap Project: 24 books in 6 languages, data-free, 24,000+ visits. YouTube health literacy channel. 30+ peer-reviewed publications. National media coverage including Talk Radio 702.

24,000+ book visits6 languages30+ publications
Leadership

Volunteer-led. Expert-driven.

The entire executive team operates on a volunteer basis — every rand goes to programme delivery, not administration.

Dr Jessica McGuire
CEO & Founder · ENT Specialist
ENT specialist focused on early identification and intervention for hearing loss in children, with over 30 peer-reviewed publications. Founder of Hope Hear, driving data-informed, systems-level solutions to improve equitable access to care.
Michael Bernon
Vice-Chairman
Founder of Abbeydale Building and Civils, scaling it into a multi-billion-rand enterprise. Brings strategic leadership and governance expertise to CSSC as Vice-Chairman.
A/Prof Christopher Tinley
Paediatric Ophthalmologist · UCT
Paediatric ophthalmologist and clinical researcher at the University of Cape Town, with over 30 publications. Chair of the Kukhanya Centre, advancing care and advocacy for children with visual impairment.
Dr Deon Minnies
Public Health Consultant · UCT
Public health specialist and Director of the Community Eye Health Institute at UCT. Leads disability and childhood blindness initiatives, strengthening health systems through leadership and evaluation.
Prof Lebogang Ramma
Research Officer · UCT
Leading audiologist at UCT, specialising in ototoxicity and public health audiology across Africa. Shapes national and international audiology practice through education, policy, and professional leadership.
Mia Weiner
Financial Officer · CA(SA)
Chartered Accountant (SA) with expertise in corporate finance, private equity, and strategic financial management. As a non-executive director she combines financial leadership with advocacy for children with hearing loss.
Dr Martin Douglas-Jones
Maxillofacial and Oral Surgeon
Maxillofacial and Oral Surgeon at Groote Schuur and Red Cross Children's Hospital. Expert in complex craniofacial conditions, contributing to multidisciplinary surgical care and training.

"No child should be left behind."

We have built a system that works. This was never about financial returns — it is about giving every child the opportunity to hear, communicate, learn, and thrive. Your support is what makes that possible.

Section 18A Tax Deductible

Authorised by SARS to issue tax-deductible certificates for qualifying donations.

B-BBEE Recognition

Contributions may qualify under Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) or SED.

Level 1 B-BBEE Business

Registered NPC 2024/064699/08 · PBO 930084694 · Cape Town, SA

🌐 www.hope-hear.org
✉️ info@hope-hear.org
📞 +27 72 207 2991