Gustav Praekelt, founder of the non-profit behind the department of health’s wildly successful Covid-19 WhatsApp platform, joins the podcast to talk about the service, and how it ratcheted up more than two million users in short order.
Browsing: Praekelt Foundation
About two weeks ago, Praekelt.org, a non-profit foundation that runs a WhatsApp service on maternal well-being for South Africa’s health department, proposed setting up a similar programme to keep people informed about the coronavirus.
New service Ummeli is a more than just a free mobile job board for those who might not otherwise have access to such things, says project manager Lauren Kotzé. It’s also a resource for staffing nongovernmental organisations and a platform for young South Africans to share ideas and employment opportunities
Almost everyone has a mobile phone, however basic, making it the perfect tool to educate, market to or communicate with consumers. Taking this premise as its starting point, 42-year-old South African Gustav Praekelt started the Praekelt Foundation as a place to create applications and services for basic mobile phones
It will take a century for a poor household to tweet its way out of poverty. That’s a very long time for anyone wondering where their next meal is coming from. But it’s a significant new finding because it proves once and for all that social media and access to information and communication technology