DUBAI: The co-founder of an online platform that hires refugees and displaced persons as online tutors, teachers and translators was among 18 recipients of the 2025 Schwab Foundation Award announced on the first day of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos.

Aline Sara, co-founder of NaTakallam (Arabic for “we speak”), has been enabling refugees and other conflict-affected people to earn an income online and connect them with people around the world through language.

In this context, the social enterprise “disrupts the conventional approach to humanitarian aid” and uses the gig economy to promote sustainable solutions to major crises, according to the Schwab Foundation’s official statement.

Although the idea was inspired by the Syrian refugee crisis, Sara, a Lebanese citizen, has expanded the platform to serve displaced people around the world, reaching as far as Venezuela, Burundi and Yemen.

Launched with an initial offer of online Arabic conversation classes, NaTakallam proposes services ranging from translation, interpretation and transcription to an Arabic curriculum in partnership with Cornell University in the US. Other languages include Persian and Spanish to address the pressing needs of Venezuelan refugees.

The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, in partnership with the Motsepe Foundation, awarded 18 social entrepreuners from 15 organizations whose groundbreaking solutions address urgent issues and drive positive change around the world.

“This year’s awardees are addressing health disparities from the United States to Zambia, creating income opportunities for displaced individuals, combatting deforestation in Central and West Africa, and improving the lives of vulnerable communities in India and beyond,” the foundation said in a statement.

The entrepreneurs were rewarded based on their business, social development and environmental models that are helping to build a more equitable and sustainable world.

According to the WEF, social entrepreneurship and innovation are gaining momentum worldwide, with more than 10 million social enterprises creating 200 million jobs and generating $2 trillion annually.

Despite their significant economic contribution and commitment to sustainable and inclusive development, social enterprises face a $1.1 trillion funding need.

At the Annual Meeting 2025, the Schwab Foundation aims to spotlight social entrepreneurs and innovators who are already leading the way with successful and innovative business models and, ultimately, help advance these solutions at scale to reach more of the world’s people.

Francois Bonnici, director of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, said: “Our world is grappling with instability, polarization and disenfranchisement while facing extreme, unpredictable weather events and disasters. It is also undergoing a radical transformation with both the green and digital transitions.

“Although this comes with economic opportunity, it also risks exacerbating existing inequalities or creating new ones,” he said. “In the face of these significant challenges, the need for bold and innovative solutions has never been more pressing. The work of social entrepreneurs and innovators is not just important, it is essential.”
 

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday delaying by 75 days the enforcement of a ban of popular short-video app TikTok that was slated to be shuttered on Jan. 19.
But Trump suggested that the US should be a half owner of TikTok’s US business in return for keeping the app alive.
The short video service used by 170 million Americans was briefly taken offline for US users on Saturday, hours before a law that said it must be sold by its Chinese owner ByteDance on national security grounds took effect on Sunday. US officials had said that under ByteDance, there was a risk of Americans’ data being misused.
TikTok restored access on Sunday and thanked Trump for providing assurances to TikTok and its business partners that they would not face hefty fines to keep the app running. The app and website were operational on Monday, but TikTok was still not available for download in the Apple and Google app stores.
Trump’s order, signed hours after he was inaugurated on Monday, directs the attorney general to not enforce the law “to permit my administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok.”
The executive order capped 48 hours of legal maneuvering and political intrigue that left millions of TikTokkers saddened and then elated over the rapidly changing fate of their app.
The debate over TikTok also comes at a tense moment in US-China relations. Trump has said he intends to place tariffs on China but has also indicated he hopes to have more direct contact with China’s leader.
While signing the executive order Monday evening, Trump said that he “could see” the US government taking a 50 percent stake in TikTok and as part of that stake, the US could police the site.
Trump added that if a deal isn’t approved by China, “there’s no value. So if we create that value, why aren’t we entitled to like half?” He said the company could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Trump did not formally invoke the 90-day delay allowed under the statute, which can only be issued if ByteDance had binding agreements to divest the app within 90 days. He suggested a joint venture as a possibility instead.
It would be unprecedented for the US government to demand an equity stake in a major company in exchange for approving its continued use.
Trump’s comments did not address whether ByteDance or other Chinese entities would be allowed to hold a stake in TikTok or if the deal would address US national security concerns about US user data.
The order directs the Justice Department to issue letters to companies like Apple, Alphabet’s Google and Oracle that supply services to TikTok “stating that there has been no violation of the statute and that there is no liability for any conduct that occurred during the above-specified period.” It is still unclear if Trump’s order will be enough for the companies to restore the app to stores in the United States.
“Frankly, we have no choice. We have to save it,” Trump said at a rally on Sunday ahead of his inauguration.
That announcement came as China indicated for the first time it would be open to a transaction keeping TikTok operating in the US
When asked about the app’s restoration and Trump’s desire for a deal, China’s foreign ministry told a regular news briefing on Monday that it believed companies should “decide independently” about their operations and deals.