Lama Alyan

Jordanian social entrepreneur empowering marginalized communities through education and digital literacy

Background

Lama Alyan (born 1983) is a Jordanian social innovator and founder of Karamah, a nonprofit providing digital literacy programs to underserved communities. Her work focuses on bridging the digital divide in the Middle East, particularly for women and refugees.

Key Initiatives

Alyan's 2004 launch of Karamah introduced computer training centers in Jordan's rural areas, teaching over 20,000 individuals by 2020. Her 2015 Code for Change program trained Syrian refugee youth in coding, creating 300+ tech entrepreneurs. The initiative's success led to partnerships with UNHCR and Google.

Innovation in Education

She pioneered mobile learning solutions for nomadic Bedouin communities, developing Arabic-language apps for basic education. Her work with UNICEF onGirls' Tech Academy reached 5,000+ girls in conflict zones. In 2018, she launched Jordan's first online platform for women-owned SMEs, facilitating $2M+ in microloans.

Awards & Recognition

Alyan received the 2019 UN Women Leadership Award and was named one of TIME's 2020 Most Influential Arab Women. Her TEDx talk Code Breaking Barriers has 1.2M views. Learn more at Karamah's website.