DeafTawk

The company

DeafTawk provides real-time, on-demand access to sign language interpretation services.

The problem

There are more than 10 million people in the deaf community in Pakistan, and they face communication barriers due to limited access to sign language interpreters.

GSMA project

In July 2021, DeafTawk received a GSMA grant to provide the deaf community with access to quality sign language interpretation services through digital technology. This involves a video relay solution for one-on-one interpretation, group calling and human-ess interpretation through AI and machine learning.

Outcomes

Raised follow-on funding, some of which was used to support growth in Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka and Denmark.

Traction

As of February 2025, DeafTawk has just over 2,400 sign language interpreters, nearly 2,000 of whom are women.
Just over 12,900 B2B customers have used the service, as well as 208,800 B2C customers.

Scaling journey

A message from the founder

“It is very important that persons with disabilities are creating solutions because they understand the pain point of their community.”

– Abdul Qadeer, Co-founder and COO, DeafTawk