SA born Clickatell honoured at 2017 Messaging and SMS World conference

South African born Clickatell has been recognised as the best SMS / A2P (application to person) messaging provider in Africa at the 2017 Messaging and SMS World conference, held last month.

The news was revealed today in a press release from Clickatell. The winners of the prize were selected by a team of independent judges from the detailed information submitted by dozens of entrants, along with testimonials from their customers.

The company, which created the first Global SMS Messaging Gateway and is now one of the largest global mobile text messaging enablers, is today headquartered in Silicon Valley. It was founded in 2000 by South Africans Pieter de Villiers, Casper de Villiers, Danie Du Toit and Patrick Lawson.

Clickatell said today that in the 12 months to date the company has delivered almost 3 billion messages across the African continent, achieving a 42% year-on-year growth — far ahead of the four percent projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) growth for the overall A2P global messaging market (as defined by a recent study from Zion Market Research).

Clickatell, which created the first Global SMS Messaging Gateway and is now one of the largest global mobile text messaging enablers

Moreover, Clickatell has seen over 20% annual message volume growth in many African countries, including Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Central African Republic, South Africa and Zambia.

“The award is testament to the focus we continue to place on our African operations. While Africa remains one of the biggest global growth opportunities, we see our operations as part of the communications revolution taking place around the globe and we are delighted to be a part of this change,” Deon Van Heerden, Clickatell Group CFO said in the press release.

Clickatell has more than 5000 customers which make use of its network to deliver messages to their African user community. This includes companies such as Capitec Bank, Multichoice Africa, Whatsapp, Sun International, KCB Bank Group, Old Mutual Life Assurance, Nedbank, and First National Bank. During its peak in 2017, Clickatell delivered messages to more than 40 million unique numbers in one month, across the Continent.

Clickatell Group CEO Pieter de Villiers pointed out that Africa is a “complex” market.

“Companies rely on Clickatell to support their customers no matter what phone they are using. Development in this diverse market has ensured that our company remains the most competent service provider on the Continent. Our commitment to the African market remains part of our DNA and this award is recognition of that,” he said.