This means we can reach many more workers – right on their phones.
It’s a big step toward our goal: sending personalized links and reminders that follow each learner’s journey – and ensuring many more workers complete all sessions.
Just a couple of challenges along the way:
- To avoid being classified as “marketing”, we had to get creative with our wording – we couldn’t even start with “Hello, …”!
- Since audio isn’t supported yet, we have to send additional videos for workers who cannot read.
- Some local languages, like Bambara (Mali), are still missing from WhatsApp’s system.
But there were also concerns:
Meta’s track record and data-collection policies? Questionable.
The connection to the Trump government? Frightening.
We would have loved to use an open-source alternative like Signal.
Why WhatsApp, then?
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Because reality matters: in many regions of the Global South, WhatsApp is the only way to reach people.
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Without it, there would be no API integration into our system – and no scalable communication with workers. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best solution we currently have. And we think that’s okay.
- Small steps are better than standing still.
- Pragmatism drives impact, not perfectionism.
- Building bridges and dialogue matter more than rigid ideals.
Sometimes there’s no black-and-white answer. Sometimes we need to choose progress over perfection!
Grateful to my colleague Sangeetha for her persistence and patience in bringing the WhatsApp integration to life!