Transforming local employment: Gallabox launches WhatsApp Chatbots for Vadhvan Port’s skilling programme

The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), India’s largest container port, has partnered with Gallabox–one of the world’s leading conversational commerce platforms–to set up WhatsApp Chatbots to promote its skilling programme in Vadhvan village, which is about 130 km from Mumbai.

The Union Cabinet approved the setting up of a deep sea port at Palghar district in Maharashtra, which is set to emerge as one of top India’s ports once operational. With a $9 billion proposed investment, it is slated to be India’s largest ever container port.

The proposed port is significant as it will not only reduce congestion in other major ports but is also expected to serve as a gateway for the prospective India-Middle East-Europe corridor and the ongoing International North-South corridor.

The project is expected to generate employment opportunities for 1 million people. Around 90% of the blue-collared jobs will be given to the people residing in the Palghar district, according to JNPA. The Vadhvan Port is a special purpose vehicle created by JNPA, which handles around 50% of the country’s containerized cargo volume, and Maharashtra Maritime Board.

How do WhatsApp Chatbots work?

Before we go into the details of the partnership, let’s understand what WhatsApp Chatbots and how they work.

WhatsApp Chatbots are computer programs designed to simulate human-like conversations and respond via text or voice messages on the world’s most popular messaging platform owned by Meta. These can respond to user queries in real time and instantly all round the clock. 

With Gallabox’s powerful feature, you don’t need any complex set up or coding requirements. You can use WhatsApp Chatbots to help your sales, marketing and customer support/service teams manage user conversations, field inquiries, translate to different languages and summarize text.

These also help you analyze user queries and responses enabling you to set up customized engagement workflows to streamline your communication processes.

For example, a travel company can set up WhatsApp Chatbots for the following use cases:

• Help users inquire about travel itineraries and plans.
• Book hotels, taxis and other rental services/packages.
• Provide real-time support in terms of frequently asked questions such as train/flight/cab details, visa requirements and baggage policies and so on.

You can read more about how to create WhatsApp Chatbots and some of the other use cases.

Gallabox’s WhatsApp Chatbots to propel local job prospects

Now that we have a fair understanding of what WhatsApp Chatbots are, let’s get back to the news that we are very excited about. As mentioned, JNPA has partnered with Gallabox to create WhatsApp Chatbots for enabling its Skilling Programme for the upcoming Vadhvan Port in Maharashtra. 

To help provide employment opportunities, the Vadhvan Skilling Programme was launched at JNPA’s office on August 22, 2024. The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways announced the launch of WhatsApp Chatbots, which are powered by Gallabox, one of the top no-code conversational commerce platforms globally. 

“This tool (WhatsApp Chatbot) is designed to facilitate access to skilling programs, provide information about Vadhvan Port, and guide users through the process of visiting JNPort. The primary goal of this chatbot is to gather valuable data and ensure that the youth of Vadhvan receive targeted training that aligns with the employment opportunities generated by the development of the Vadhvan Port project,” said JNPA in a press release.

So far, JNPA has tried using the SMS (short message service) and received interest from around 8,000 people who are interested in their skilling program. However, the organization wants to reach out to a large audience in the district and in the neighboring areas and also enable two-way communication instead of sending one-way messages. 

JNPA is looking to provide certification courses to the locals in over 20 fields including plumbing, fabrication, welding, vehicle repairing and maintenance, fish processing, food and fruit processing, laptop and mobile repairing, solar panel installation and servicing and masonry. 

The idea is to provide them training in courses that are directly or indirectly related to jobs pertaining to the port building project and uplift the socio-economic conditions of the local population. 

“Almost everyone uses WhatsApp these days. Therefore, we decided to use WhatsApp Chatbots to collect information from interested people and assign them courses based on their aspirations and skillsets,” said Mitesh Mokal, IT Professional at JNPA.

JNPA is also exploring the use of Gallabox’s Broadcast feature to send targeted messages, updates, announcements, circulars and information about their upskilling courses on WhatsApp to all stakeholders interested in being a part of the prestigious Vadhvan Port building. 

How can you enable WhatsApp Chatbots for your business?

To set up and run WhatsApp Chatbots for your business, you need to sign up with a platform that helps you get access to your WhatsApp Business API account. It is a step-up from WhatsApp Business that has limited features to engage your users. Check out the differences between WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Business API.

With WhatsApp Business API access and signing up with a powerful conversational commerce platform such as Gallabox, setting up WhatsApp Chatbots is a breeze. With no prior knowledge of coding, your team can create WhatsApp Chatbots based on your business requirements and goals.