NaTakallam

NaTakallam is a social enterprise that connects displaced persons with language-related income opportunities online, including tutoring and translation jobs. 

At NaTakallam, the drive behind all our operations is the lack of income opportunities for the millions of people who have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict.

NaTakallam is tackling two problems: (1) refugees’ lack of income opportunities and (2) the need for individuals and organizations to access flexible and affordable language services.

We are facing the worst refugee crisis of our time, and the humanitarian sector is struggling to tackle it. Many forcibly displaced people end up in under-served camps or urban areas, in limbo, with no legal recourse to work. Existing employment initiatives are not sustainable, and do not give agency. International law states that all refugees have a right to work. The resulting lack of employment opportunities for displaced people presents a clear obstacle to financial success and psychosocial well-being. For example, Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Greece and other places are simply not given work permits and never will be—even though millions of them are highly educated. This represents a tremendous waste of human capital. These individuals need dignifying income sources to avoid falling into depression, poverty, and despair.

On the other end, Arabic is one of the fastest growing areas of language learning. However, the language is one of the hardest languages to learn, requiring significant one-on-one teaching to master. For companies, translation is a common source of frustration and pain point.

NaTakallam (“we speak” in Arabic) is a social enterprise that connects forcibly displaced persons (mostly Syrian and Iraqi refugees) with language-related opportunities online, including language tutoring and translation jobs. NaTakallam leverages the global gig economy and accessible technology to transcend borders and create income opportunities. We vet, train, and support refugees and displaced people to become language conversation partners and translators through a user-friendly digital process. 

NaTakallam offers affordable and flexible language practice with native speakers that can be tailored to users’ needs and interests, as well as translation and interpretation services in line with the interests of our clients, many of whom are NGOs. On the other end, the platform offers a gainful employment opportunity to displaced people who face restrictive labor policies in their country of resettlement. Thus, refugees gain a dignifying source of income, enabling them to pursue their interests and participate meaningfully in the digital and local economies, all while fostering global intercultural exchange and raising awareness around the refugee crisis. NaTakallam upends the status quo by employing refugees through the digital economy and giving them access to cash - which studies have shown is much more efficient than in-kind donations. Rather than being passive recipients to aid, refugees generate their own income. Our vision is innovative because it is accessible, scalable, and empowering.

NaTakallam aims to revolutionize the language industry and humanitarian sector—which is seen as inefficient—while changing the narrative around refugees and displaced people. Refugees are frequently seen as a burden rather than an asset. We give displaced people access to an income, regardless of their location, by connecting them to language-related opportunities online. Thus, we are leveraging existing, accessible, and user-friendly technology for the financial inclusion of marginalized people. Our objective is to create sustainable, gainful work opportunities that serve as a lifeline to displaced persons.

Unlike previous migration crises, the current crisis has given rise to the concept of “the connected refugee.” Many displaced persons have smartphones and remain digitally connected. Thus, by making use of popular mass communication applications, NaTakallam’s technology is both accessible and completely free for its beneficiaries. Once hired, conversation partners interact with users and NaTakallam staff via email, Skype and/or WhatsApp to connect and hold conversation sessions. Our model supports digital connectivity and enhances the mobility of displaced individuals. Ultimately, the global gig economy makes NaTakallam’s innovative model scalable.