Glo Adopts ForgetMeNot Africa's Job Xpress

Nigerians can now apply for jobs via SMS on any mobile phone with the launch of a new internet-free app. Glo Mobile, part of the Globacom network - Nigeria's largest independent mobile phone network - are the first African network to adopt SMS-based Job Xpress, the new internet-free app from ForgetMeNot Africa.

The app enables Glo Mobile's 25 million subscribers to attach their CVs and job applications to mobile email messages via SMS. Job Xpress will be free to all Glo Messenger subscribers for a limited launch period.

Recent OECD figures revealed that 40 million African youths are currently unemployed, representing 60 per cent of Africa's jobless.

The OECD claims the problem is particularly prevalent in middle income countries like Nigeria, which currently suffers from an unemployment rate of 23.9 per cent according to Nigeria's National Bureau of Statistics. Youth unemployment currently stands at 41.6 per cent, according to a recent statement by Lamido Sanusi, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Jeremy George, ForgetMeNot Africa's Chief Executive Officer, said: "The recent OECD findings are extremely troubling, particularly for middle income economies like Nigeria. Only 5 per cent of Nigerian households have a computer, which makes it difficult for young, tech-savvy Nigerians to get online and apply for jobs. The OECD's research showed that a major concern for many young Africans is that jobs are only given to people with connections or relatives. Job Xpress helps to level the playing field by giving job applicants a direct method of application, and is a step towards tackling barriers to employment that currently affect young, bright and eager to work Africans."

Job Xpress joins Glo Mobile's existing Glo Messenger service - which already provides access to internet-free Facebook, email and online chat apps to Glo Mobile's entire 25 million subscriber base. These apps enable subscribers to send and receive emails and online chat messages, update their Facebook profiles, comment on and 'like' their friends' Facebook statuses and send and receive Facebook Chat messages, all via SMS. The Job Xpress app is also available to Glo Mobile's data plan users, saving them time and money as they no longer have to go online to attach their CV to emails via data connections that can often time out.

Glo Messenger subscribers can login to www.glomessenger.com at an internet caf? Or university and upload their CV under the Job Xpress tab. To apply for a job subscribers simply send an SMS from their mobile phone via the Job Xpress app, which attaches their CV using ForgetMeNot Africa's award-winning Optimiser Platform technology. Thereafter job applications can be made without fixed telephone line Internet access, PCs, expensive subscriptions, smartphones, Java downloads or data connections.

George said: "As the OECD recognises, Africa needs to move swiftly to make youth employment a priority, turning its human capital into economic opportunity, particularly in middle income countries like Nigeria. A common perception is that Africa needs aid when in fact what it really needs is a boost in business and jobs. Job Xpress is one way of the mobile industry contributing to the economies it operates in. It provides African mobile subscribers with an internet-free app that gives them a simpler, cheaper and faster way to kick-start their career by making job applications as easy as sending a text message."

Samson Isa, Globacom's Head of Valued Added Services, said: "ForgetMeNot Africa has already helped to bridge the digital divide in Nigeria by enabling people to easily keep in touch with their friends and family at home and all over the world with access to internet-free Facebook, email and online chat apps through the Glo Messenger service. Now the addition of the Job Xpress app will help plug the socioeconomic gap, making job applications easier for every one of Glo Mobile's subscribers regardless of the make and model of their mobile phone. The app vitally helps young people in their efforts to get their foot on the first rung of the career ladder and is a contribution to reducing the dreadful levels of unemployment amongst young Nigerian people."