DeafTawk, an on-demand sign language interpretation service provider, has earned a grant of $250,000 from The GSMA Innovation Fund for Assistive Tech. The Fund received 350 applications from start-ups and SMEs in 31 countries. After a rigorous evaluation process, four final grantees from Asia and Africa were selected by an independent panel of experts.
The GSMA Innovation Fund is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) and supported by the GSMA and its members. The Fund aims to address the varied needs of people with disabilities and tackling the barriers to digital inclusion. The Fund supports innovative digital solutions with positive socio-economic impact in low- and middle-income countries.
Under this program, the GSMA will support DeafTawk in creating valuable partnerships with mobile operators and provide mentorship on how to better serve the differently-abled community and scale their operations. The startup will also get a chance to showcase its digital solution on various platforms.
“We are delighted to be a part of The GSMA Innovation Fund for Assistive Tech. This grant will certainly help us improve our product and allow us to create a positive impact on the lives of the hearing impaired community across Pakistan. We look forward to working with the GSMA team.” Said Ali Shabbar, the CEO at DeafTawk.
This opportunity will go a long way in serving the 9 million deaf population in Pakistan. In addition to providing affordable and accessible interpretation services, the grant will also allow DeafTawk to create more jobs by training and onboarding sign language interpreters from across the country.
