Davos: Young entrepreneurs make their mark at WEF

The mountains in and around Davos, Switzerland are covered in snow. The temperature outside is minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit).  

Gerald Abila arrived here just a few hours ago. He came with a suitcase packed with three sweaters and warm underwear. He was told it can get very cold at the World Economic Forum (WEF). 

Now, the lawyer from Uganda is sitting in a hotel and talking about his goal. He wants to make the legal system open to everyone in his country and beyond. 

"Many people in my country don't even know that the law exists or that it can support them," he says.   

Winnie the new AI lawyer  

To help achieve this goal, Abila developed "Winnie" with a likeminded team. Winnie is a virtual lawyer supported by artificial intelligence (AI) and responds to legal questions within 24 hours.  

These could be questions about an inheritance, a traffic accident or much more. Around a million people in Uganda have already used the service, which is free of charge.  

Abila has so far received funding from foundations for his company BarefootLaw. For him it's about initiating change. "There are so many questions about the law. But there is a gap between the people and the legal system," he says. 

The lawyer is convinced that legal help must be there for everyone. At BarefootLaw, lawyers and software developers work together to train artificial intelligence to make this possible.

They use AI-supported technology to help people access legal help. And Abila is convinced that "AI technology is at least as disruptive as the printing press." 

BarefootLaw wants to reach around 50 million Africans by 2030, especially people who don't live in big cities, since it is often difficult to find a lawyer in rural areas.  

In Davos, Abila will be honored as a "Social Innovator" by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. That's why he was invited and is taking part in the World Economic Forum this year. Here he wants to learn even more about artificial intelligence. 

A forum not just for the elite 

This year the World Economic Forum expects 2,800 participants, including the heads of large software companies, many other business leaders and over 60 heads of state and government.  

Gerald Abila is not part of the political or business elite and is still happy to be here. The meeting gives him the opportunity to meet people he has always wanted to talk to. 

Danya Pastuszek, another Social Innovator, has a hopeful view of the meeting. "The current ways in which our economies are structured are not working for people with lived experience of poverty and other inequities, and they are not working for our planet," she emphasizes. 

Pastuszek is co-CEO of the Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement, an organization with the goal to combat poverty — something that often calls for local solutions. The Tamarack Institute trains and connects people who can learn from each other and develop solutions together. They often live in small cities and in remote and rural communities. 

"What are business leaders and heads of state thinking about locally designed solutions?"  

Pastuszek is hoping to find an answer. She wants to present her projects at WEF24 and stimulate learning and exchange. "We are at a crossroads in the world," she emphasizes. "Evidence shows that we need a mix of local, national and global solutions."   

Trying to get Bill Gates' attention 

Li Xia is hoping for some attention, too.  

Li, who wants to meet Bill Gates, came to Switzerland from the metropolis of Shenzhen in southern China near Hong Kong and is attending the World Economic Forum for the first time. She has also been recognized as a Social Innovator by the Schwab Foundation. 

She dropped out of school as a teenager. Her parents were poor farmers who could no longer pay school fees. After that she had many jobs and the ambition to work her way out of poverty. Plus, she wanted to help others — and she did.  

From her own experience growing up she knew that there was often not enough electricity, especially in rural areas. So with her savings she founded the company Shenzhen Power-Solution. The first three years were tough, then she managed to develop small and inexpensive solar modules. 

"The challenge was that these are affordable for the poor. At the same time, I did not want bad quality," she emphasizes. Today she has around 160 employees. Their solar lamps bring light to around seven million households in China, India and Africa. And that's why she wants to meet Bill Gates in Davos. 

"I want to tell him that I have the solution," she says with a smile.  

The head of a large battery manufacturer is on her wish list, too. She sees participation in the World Economic Forum as a great opportunity and has no reservations about establishing contacts. "For me this is a good advertisement, empowered by WEF."  

This text was originally written in German.