The problem
In Palestine and similar markets, at least 80 percent of people had mobile phones but internet access only in cafes or public places — out of reach for many, especially women. Finding a job, a medical contact, or food-bank information was needlessly hard, and aid agencies had no direct channel to the communities they served.
How it works
Souktel designed, developed, and operated SMS services carried on mobile-operator networks: users got job openings, internships, and aid information by text, while humanitarian agencies used the same rails to push out alerts and match people with work. The model traveled — from Ramallah to programs across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Pain points
Cafe-only internet, women’s exclusion from even that, zero job-matching infrastructure for entry-level youth, and aid agencies unable to communicate with affected populations.
Business model
Customized platform contracts: grants and contracts to build SMS technology for aid projects in developing countries, plus services hosted with mobile operators.
Challenges
The donor-funded model demanded strict cost-reimbursement billing — charge only for hours actually worked. In 2019 Souktel self-disclosed significant overbillings to USAID prime implementers; the company dissolved in 2021, and in Sep 2022 former CEO Jacob Korenblum agreed to pay $100,000 to settle False Claims Act allegations, on top of slightly more than $90,000 Souktel had already reimbursed (Oversight.gov).
Funding
- Operated on aid-project grants and contracts rather than venture rounds; no public fundraising total is citable, so none is listed.
Latest — Sep 2022
The US Attorney’s office announced the $100,000 settlement with former CEO Jacob Korenblum over false claims on USAID-funded technology projects, closing the book on a company that had already dissolved in 2021 (Oversight.gov).