The last decade has witnessed the incredible power of mobile phones and data connectivity when used to advance the delivery of vital information and services. With the advance of data capable phones and the penetration of affordable IP connectivity, messaging solutions can now engage people at a previously unimaginable scale.
This panel discussion and Q&A session will present case studies from three organisations using WhatsApp as an integral component to programming. It will explore the potential of WhatsApp as a mechanism for rapid engagement at scale, especially with youth groups, and for rich MERL insights.
The case studies include:
U Afya (Every1Mobile)Every1Mobile are working with young women in urban slums in Nairobi, to develop a mobile-first digital community aimed at improving family health through digital SBCC. They will report on a Whatsapp pilot to test the initial concept, using digital and offline MERL techniques, and the surprising engagement data. Web metrics were used to evaluate engagement during WhatsApp sessions. Every1Mobile saw really high engagement via WhatsApp: 60% participants posted every session. They were then able to cross reference the pre/post surveys with WhatsApp engagement data and saw that the KAP shifts that were self-reported via the digital platform were more prominent for the women who actively posted during the WhatsApp sessions.
See Yolandi's presentation here.Youth Engagement (Genesis)Genesis will present how they have used WhatsApp to engage young people in the data collection process of an evaluation and create much richer insights very easily. WhatsApp allowed evaluators to engage with participants before and after focus group sessions, to collect wider data, and for participants to share other rich content such as photos and voice notes.
WhatsApp Enterprise Solution in SA (Praekelt.org)Praekelt.org has the privilege of being one of the first WhatsApp Enterprise Solution (WES) pilot partners, which it has integrated into the SA Department of Health's nationally scaled mhealth platform, MomConnect. MomConnect is available in 95% of the clinics in SA, and through the WES platform, Praekelt has been able to enhance MomConnect messaging by identifying different user groups, optimizing message deliver, and employing natural language processing delivering a more sustainable and richer service. The engagement from the launch was inspiring: a WhatsApp subscriber is 6.7 times as likely to reach out to the helpdesk and is 2.5 times more engaged when compared to SMS.
See Genesis and Praekelt's combined presentations here.
