FreeWorld, a start-up promoting workplace development and long-term stability, receives top grant
of $100,000.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- CTIA Wireless Foundation announced the Catalyst 2026 Winners: FreeWorld, Oben Health, Cope Notes, and Empower Work. Catalyst is a competitive grants program for social entrepreneurs using wireless technology to deliver solutions to the challenges impacting American communities.

"CTIA Wireless Foundation's Catalyst program highlights exceptional entrepreneurs who are demonstrating what's possible when we leverage wireless innovation and American ingenuity," said Ajit Pai, President of CTIA Wireless Foundation and President & CEO of CTIA. "We are excited to celebrate the Catalyst 2026 winners, a group of dynamic innovators using mobile-first solutions to improve access to workforce training and development, healthcare, and counseling in their communities."

The first-place grant of $100,000 was awarded to FreeWorld, an app that trains and places formerly incarcerated individuals into jobs in the trucking industry, helping to ease unemployment and driver shortages. Based in Austin, Texas, FreeWorld uses a wireless app to help individuals prepare for Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDL) exams, access training funds recover identification documents, and connect to real-time coaching with the goal of leading people with criminal records to long-term stability.

Catalyst also awarded Oben Health with a $50,000 grant, and Cope Notes and Empower Work with $25,000 grants respectively. Oben Health is an app that trains barbers and hairstylists as certified Community Health Workers to screen clients for hypertension and connect them with ongoing care. Cope Notes is an SMS platform that sends daily text-messages to improve youth and adult mental health. Empower Work is an SMS and RCS platform that provides peer counseling to vulnerable and low-income workers struggling in the workplace.

"The Catalyst 2026 winners exemplify the transformative potential of wireless innovation to expand opportunity, strengthen communities, and improve lives at meaningful scale," said Dori Kreiger, Executive Director of CTIA Wireless Foundation. "Now in its seventh year, Catalyst has become a growing national network of bold innovators whose mobile-first solutions are already reaching nearly 1 in 10 Americans."

Two additional finalists – LitZone and Reducify – were awarded Honorable mention grants of $10,000 each.

In addition to the Catalyst grant, Cope Notes was awarded the 2026 Innovator Award, powered by T-Mobile, which included a $25,000 grant. The Innovator Award is presented by T-Mobile to a Catalyst winner found to be using wireless to create a cutting-edge and unique solution. As the first major wireless carrier to adopt 988, T-Mobile was proud to award Cope Notes the Innovator Award for their work using AI to connect individuals to the 988 lifeline and provide proactive support for youth and adult mental wellness.

Thank you to the Catalyst 2026 sponsors: T-Mobile, AT&T, Qualcomm, American Tower, Assurant, GCH Technologies, Verizon, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, Ellipsis Productions, ID.me, Intel, TNS, and Wiley Rein LLP.

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SOURCE CTIA-The Wireless Foundation