Someone in a remote corner of Pakistan opened their phone, started a course in Urdu, and learned something about AI. That moment — repeated across hundreds of thousands of lives — is what just got recognized on a global stage.
Urdu AI has been named a S&P Global StepForward Winner 2026 — one of only six regional partners selected worldwide for a $10 million, three-year initiative dedicated to preparing young people for AI-enabled futures. Urdu AI is the only Pakistani organization chosen. The selection was made through MIT Solve's Essential Innovation Challenge, an open global competition.
S&P Global launched StepForward in December 2025 with a straightforward conviction: that the next generation deserves access to the skills that will define tomorrow's economy — regardless of where they were born, what language they speak, or how strong their internet connection is. As S&P Global CEO Martina Cheung put it:
"This is about more than education — it's about unlocking potential, widening access, and helping the next generation step confidently into the careers and opportunities of tomorrow." — Martina Cheung, CEO, S&P Global
Pakistan Among Six Global Partners
Urdu AI was recognized for providing "accessible AI literacy training through mobile-friendly courses in Urdu combined with in-person learning hubs and facilitated workshops" — reaching a global Urdu-speaking community of over one million learners. Six regional partners were selected from across the world: Bécalos (Mexico), NavGurukul (India), NClude (Washington D.C.), She Code Africa, Positiv (Norway) — and Urdu AI for Pakistan.
The only South Asian country in the cohort whose work is delivered entirely in a mother tongue, reaching communities across 29 districts with no reliable electricity, no laptop, and until now, no clear pathway into the AI economy.
"This success happened because we have Urdu AI friends — people taking AI to remote areas across our entire nation." — Qaisar Rounija, Founder, Urdu AI
What the Three-Year Partnership Will Build
Over the next three years, the StepForward partnership will expand Urdu-language AI courses, deepen presence in low-connectivity communities, and build practical employment pathways for Pakistani youth. The program works alongside global partners including MIT RAISE, Generation, and the UN Youth Office — a network that brings resources, research, and reach that few Pakistani organizations have ever been able to access.
Built on a Broader Foundation
This milestone does not stand alone. It is built on the foundation laid by the partners and supporters who believed in this work before it had a global award attached to it. This initiative is part of the AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific, implemented by WANG in collaboration with AVPN — our core institutional partner whose support made this work possible — and backed by Google.org and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Not a Destination — A Raised Bar
This recognition belongs to every facilitator who ran a workshop in a village school, every learner who completed a course on a 2G connection, every community that trusted us with their time. See the full scale of WANG's impact or explore our initiatives. We are just getting started.