JobMatch: JobMatch connects thousands of young job seekers with employers who are looking for staff, through a simple, easy-to-use SMS service. With online job sites often out of reach to jobseekers living in remote areas, Souktel’s JobMatch service leverages SMS to let individuals receive real-time information on available jobs and staff in the local labour market. By creating and sending a simple “mini CV” which highlights their skills and experience via SMS, individuals are able to search JobMatch for all available jobs or positions that match their exact skill set, eliminating the need for costly, and at times inaccessible, Internet access.

The Situation

In developing countries key information can be hard to access, especially in remote areas that lack good roads, reliable electricity or readily available Internet. Nowhere is this clearer than in Palestine where rural communities face all of these challenges, but also contend with military checkpoints and obstacles that make it physically challenging for people to travel from one place to another. However, most Palestinians do have basic cell phone access – even in rural areas. Recognising this reality, social venture Souktel began working in 2006 to leverage basic cell phone technology in order to make important information more accessible to Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza as well as in Iraq, Somalia and other crisis zones where the organization works.

Souktel required a provider that could easily let it send SMS messages to any mobile phone in the world – no matter how remote the location. They also had to be able to give users in multiple countries the ability to reply to incoming messages (for example, to respond to SMS-based surveys sent during emergencies), when response time is critical and setting up local short codes takes too long.

Souktel also needed an effective, quick and simple way for clients buy and recharge international SMS credit.

The Solution

Souktel opted to work with Clickatell – a provider that could supply their users, on multiple mobile phone networks, quick and easy access to Souktel’s own database application.
Clickatell was also able to offer Souktel a two-way messaging application and long codes to facilitate fast and uncomplicated set-up of emergency two-way messaging systems. This in turn, has enabled Souktel to offer higher quality messaging service more efficiently.

Now, a growing number of agencies are reporting quicker and more efficient communication with staff and the communities they serve – thanks to Clickatell’s messagig platform. Souktel and its clients are also benefiting from huge cost savings, as agencies can now reach local populations by SMS, rather than expensive voice calls.

As an added benefit, Souktel were able to easily integrate their billing application with the Clickatell Central’s usage/billing report system to create streamlined account billing for their partners.

The Results

Souktel have been using Clickatell for their mobile messaging requirements since 2007 and have since expanded their services into 5 new regional markets as a result of this successful partnership.

Souktel’s response time to client demand for two-way messaging has been reduced from weeks to a mere 24 hours turn-around time (or less), and they are able to offer a one-stop quick billing and recharge process that allows their clients to purchase messages online, quickly and securely.

Today, Souktel operates in multiple countries across the Middle East and East Africa. Through their JobMatch service, Souktel has matched hundreds of young people with paid IT contracts, media internships and legal jobs amongst others and their AidLink service has enabled a growing number of aid agencies to reach thousands of people in need, instantly and at minimal cost.