In line with directives of the President of Egypt to take the lead in digital transformation

Technical support enables about 3.5 million families to benefit from the digital platform providing interactive text messaging services

July 11, 2020 - In line with the directives of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to take the lead in implementing digital transformation in government services, ArpuPlus, a company specialized in providing value-added mobile and telecommunication services in the Middle East and emerging markets, has provided technical support to the Ministry of Social Solidarity using all its facilities to create the Interactive Communication Platform as part of the Ministry’s mobile application services.

The advanced platform plays an important role in enabling the Ministry to directly communicate with the beneficiaries of its ‘Takaful and Karama’ (Solidarity and Dignity) Program via SMS to (1442). The ‘Takaful and Karama’ Program is one of the Ministry’s initiatives aimed at providing conditional cash transfers to eligible groups, including families, children, women, people with special needs, the elderly and youths, under the umbrella of Social Safety Networks.

The Ministry of Social Solidarity is the first government entity to launch the Interactive Communication Platform, to facilitate interactive mobile communication with members of local communities. The platform, which ArpuPlus contributed to its development and implementation, facilitate free sending and receiving of SMS via mobile phones between the Ministry and the citizens targeted by ‘Takaful and Karama’ Program and provide support to its beneficiaries. About 3.5 million Egyptian citizens benefit from the program and all their messages are being received through the platform, especially in terms of education and health.

Offering an ideal tool to strengthen interactive communications with citizens, the platform enables the Ministry to successfully implement its various awareness programs and deliver the key messages related to major social issues, as well as get the public’s reactions and opinions about the services provided to them. To encourage citizens to use the interactive platform, a special awareness campaign has been created regarding the severity of the coronavirus and educated the families benefiting from the ‘Takaful and Karama’ program. The Ministry also developed a competition focused on the precaution to avoid COVID-19 infection.

Medhat Karam, CEO of ArpuPlus, said: “The Interactive Communication Platform is an advanced tool which performs a vital role for the Ministry of Social Solidarity to easily and conveniently communicate with citizens who are entitled to the ‘Takaful and Karama’ Program and receive messages on their mobile phones. The platform allows the exchange of short text messages between the Ministry and citizens for free to verify if the social services have been rightfully delivered to the beneficiaries as well as get their feedback about the services. In the future, the platform will include all the social services provided by the Ministry, which could offer an information hub based on the data received from citizens. All these data will be analyzed to help come up with new services that the Ministry can provide to the citizens.”

ArpuPlus continues its efforts to make a positive change in the lives of people in the Middle East and North Africa through services that facilitate all aspects of their lives. The services help deliver news to target audience and provide easier ways to order food, make payments, book travel tickets, and interact with government, among others.