NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Turkcell (NYSE: TKC)(BIST: TCELL) has announced the launching of its mobile application “Merhaba Umut” – “Hello Hope” to facilitate the integration of Syrian refugees living in Turkey. The app has a Turkish language learning component, instant audio translation between Turkish and Arabic, a frequently asked questions section which offers guidance on essential issues like registration and access to services and one-click access to Turkcell’s Arabic language call center.
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Syrian refugees in Turkish Red Crescent's community center in Sultanbeyli Istanbul trial Turkcell's "Hello Hope" mobile app. (Photo: Business Wire)
The app, developed by Turkcell’s digital education platform Turkcell Academy, has been one of the highlights of Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzioglu’s address to the United Nations Private Sector Forum, held on September 19th on the margins of UN General Assembly. Joining GSMA Director-General Mats Granryd in explaining how mobile technologies can support sustainable development, Terzioglu focused on Turkcell’s work with the Syrian refugee communities in Turkey.
Addressing 350 international opinion leaders during the Forum, Terzioglu stated that Turkey has shifted the conversation about Syrian refugees from basic survival to integration a long time ago. “With Syria in ruins, having the chance of a safe and meaningful life now requires a prospect of integration for Syrian refugees. Communication technologies are powerful tools to meet the challenges of integration, including living in a country with a different language, accessing education and having employment prospects,” said Terzioglu. “I am proud to note that Turkcell has been a pioneer in mobilizing the power of communication in one of the biggest humanitarian challenges of our time. Our new app ‘Hello Hope’ will be the basis of our future work to use connectivity to bring essential services to the Syrian community in Turkey.”
Focusing on integration in the world’s top refugee-hosting country
With about 3 million Syrian refugees, Turkey is the world’s top refugee-hosting country. Serving about 1.2 million Syrian customers, Turkcell is the operator of choice for Syrian refugees. The company operates Turkey’s first bilingual call center, serving customers in Arabic language. It has invested heavily in its network both in the urban centers near the border zone, and in refugee camps which host about 10% of the Syrian population living in Turkey.
With Turkcell Academy’s “Hello Hope” app, Turkcell now takes its services-focused approach to serve a community for which communications technologies have been a lifeline. The app is available on iOS and Android platforms.
ABOUT TURKCELL: Turkcell is a converged telecommunication and technology services provider, founded and headquartered in Turkey. It serves its customers with voice, data, TV and value-added consumer and enterprise services on mobile and fixed networks. Turkcell launched LTE services in its home country on April 1st, 2016, employing LTE-Advanced and 3 carrier aggregation technologies in 81 cities. In 2G and 3G, Turkcell’s population coverage is at 99.80% and 95.14%, respectively, as of June 2016. It offers up to 1 Gbps fiber internet speed with its FTTH services. Turkcell Group companies serve 66.5 million subscribers in 9 countries – Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Northern Cyprus, Germany, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Moldova – as of June 30, 2016. Turkcell Group reported a TRY3.4 billion revenue with total assets of TRY28.6 billion as of June 30, 2016. It has been listed on the NYSE and the BIST since July 2000, and is the only NYSE-listed company in Turkey. Read more at www.turkcell.com.tr
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