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Good practice Imported

DeafTawk — Deaf-Founded Sign-Language Interpretation Platform in Pakistan

Pakistan · Karachi · See the Pakistan profile · See the Karachi profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 10% 96/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Founded in Karachi in 2018 by a deaf engineer and two blind co-founders, DeafTawk connects Deaf users to interpreters via app and an AI avatar (DT360). A GSMA Innovation Fund grantee, under a Pakistan telecom-regulator MOU; self-reported reach ~54,000 monthly users.

~54,000
Monthly active users (early 2025)
1,800+
Professional interpreters on platform
1.5 million+
Minutes of interpretation delivered
4 of 350 applicants global grantees
GSMA Innovation Fund grantees selected (2021)
over 10 million
Addressable deaf population in Pakistan (PTA estimate)
DeafTawk — Deaf-Founded Sign-Language Interpretation Platform in Pakistan

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
DeafTawk Private Limited
Period
2018–present
Keywords
assistive technology, telecommunications, disability-led entrepreneurship

Context

DeafTawk was founded in Karachi in June 2018 by Ali Shabbar and Abdul Qadeer, who are visually impaired, and Wamiq Hassan, Pakistan's first deaf software engineer, after Hassan's own experience of being repeatedly denied sign-language support in Pakistani schools.

Activities

The platform combines a mobile app that books live, professional sign-language interpreters by video call with an AI system, DT360, that translates speech and text into sign language using an animated avatar. To reach Deaf women, who in Pakistan often spend more time at home due to social norms, DeafTawk recruited female ambassadors to introduce the app through video calls with Deaf friends and family.

Results

DeafTawk won Pakistan's Startup Cup in 2018-19, was named among UNDP's top Asia-Pacific startups, and in 2021 was selected as one of four global grantees of the GSMA Innovation Fund for Assistive Tech, from 350 applicants in 31 countries. In January 2025, Pakistan's Telecommunication Authority signed an MOU with DeafTawk to provide interpretation at PTA offices and integrate AI text/speech-to-sign tools into its digital platforms. As of early 2025, DeafTawk reported about 54,000 monthly active users, 1,800+ professional interpreters and more than 1.5 million minutes of interpretation delivered, operating in Pakistan, Denmark, Singapore and Puerto Rico.

Conclusions

Usage figures are self-reported by the company; the GSMA grant selection and PTA partnership provide independent, institutional corroboration of the platform's credibility, though no formal third-party impact evaluation was found.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Founded June 2018; GSMA Innovation Fund grant 2021; PTA MOU signed January 2025.
Staffing & skills
DeafTawk Private Limited founders (Ali Shabbar, Abdul Qadeer, Wamiq Hassan), 1,800+ professional sign-language interpreters, female ambassadors (community outreach)

Conditions for success

  • founder lived experience of the accessibility gap being addressed
  • combination of a live-interpreter marketplace with an AI avatar tool (DT360)
  • targeted outreach adaptation for Deaf women via female ambassadors
  • institutional partnerships (GSMA Innovation Fund, PTA MOU) providing funding and credibility

Commonly funded by

Philanthropic / foundation funding

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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