Thaki

Solution Pitch

The Problem

Lebanon is host to the most refugees per capita in the world including 630,000 school-aged children, fewer than half of whom are receiving a formal education. Children out of school are more likely to enter the workforce at a young age and face exploitation, with a disproportionate burden on girls who are forced to work in harsher conditions for less money. Access to schooling has been limited even further by Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Solution 

Thaki fills an essential learning gap for those with limited or no access to education. Thaki collects donations of used laptops and turns them into valuable learning tools using a bespoke content platform in Arabic and English. Thaki distributes the laptops to schools and informal education providers and provides an off-line solution to address poor internet connectivity in recipient communities. 

Thaki’s educational content and teaching resource guide focus on numeracy, literacy, sustainability, civic values, ICT, entrepreneurship, and life skills. Thaki also teaches gender equality and the principles of human rights across its curriculum. 

Stats 

Since 2015, Thaki has reached an estimated 9,000 children from over 40 organizations in Lebanon and Jordan.

Market Opportunity

A 2017 report by Blominvest Bank estimates a $500 million annual shortfall in school funding for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. According to UNICEF, there are nearly 15 million children between 5-14 years old who are out of school in the MENA region, with another 10 million at risk of dropping out. A 2017 McKinsey report also predicts that 14 percent of the global workforce by 2030 will need to retrain and adapt to new jobs as work becomes increasingly digital.

Organization Highlights

• Winner of Kiron’s Amplify Now! Impact Award in 2020

• Winner the TEDxAmsterdamED Award in 2017

• Featured Speaker at conferences like The Present Movement, Greenlight 4 Girls, Labdoo, and more 

Partnership Goals

Thaki currently seeks:

• Technical support to further improve the front-end and back-end of the platform to create a better offline learning experience for students

• Marketing plan to reach more for-profit companies and expand hardware donations 

• Expert recommendations for supply chain management tools and systems to ensure sustainability and efficiency while scaling