USAID-Foras Snapshot: Smashing a Social Media Milestone

In two months, the Iraq Opportunities Project (USAID-Foras) has garnered 100,000 “Likes” on its Facebook page. By Liking the page, Facebook users are effectively subscribing to job announcements, training videos, and similar content that show up in their news feeds when USAID-Foras posts content. This achievement allows USAID-Foras to build on a direct channel to a crucial demographic—young, tech-literate Iraqis. Of those who have Liked the page, 90% are 34 years old or younger. The Facebook page has directly contributed to an increase in traffic on the project’s jobs portal. When the page first launched, portal traffic would hit around 600 unique users on peak days. Currently, that figure has doubled, with more than 1,200 unique users on peak days. The page has also succeeded in kick-starting a dialogue among young Iraqis on the private sector in Iraq.

The USAID-Foras project is building linkages between job seekers and employers through training, community outreach, and a Jobs Portal designed to improve the efficiency of the labor market. The USAID-Foras Project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Mission to Iraq (USAID/Iraq), is an Associate Award under the FIELD-Support LWA, which aims to connect skilled job seekers with private sector employers, helping to alleviate unemployment and boost the Iraqi economy.