With the global Coronavirus crisis, many are left wondering how they can help fight the pandemic remotely. Although Egypt only 130 active cases of COVID-19, the government has taken drastic measures to stop the virus from spreading. Egyptian schools are on lockdown, airports will be closed as of Thursday and those who can are working from home. Some Egyptian startups are transforming the tools that they’ve developed to help people cope during these trying times.

Botme

Botme is an Egyptian chatbot building startup. It announced that it developed Corona Bot, a bot that gives people information about the virus, how to fight it and the latest news on the virus. The information is provided from expert sources such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and other official resources. Saaid Elhakeem, Soliman Abaza, and Hosni Ahmed founded Botme in 2017. It enables clients to build chatbots through its user-friendly platform.

Orcas

Orcas is a Cairo-based online marketplace for babysitters and tutors. It has opened its app to all Egyptian schools to use for free so that they can broadcast lessons online. With schools on lockdown, it is helping ensure that children are still able to get an education. Omar Fayez, Amira El Gharib, Hossam Taher, and Ahmed Ismail co-founded Orcas in 2013. In 2019, the startup raised $500,000 in pre-series A funding.

Robusta

Robusta is a tech agency that helps businesses implement different digital transformation programs. To tackle COVID-19, it is hosting a remote two-day hackathon with the aim to find solutions to help fight the impact of the virus. Over 100 people are participating in the #FightNOTFlight hackathon. It was founded by Hussein Mohieldin, Islam Abdelraouf and Ahmed Abousafy in 2013.

Eventtus X Sawarly

Events platform and networking app, Eventtus partnered with broadcasting and media production company, Sawarly to create remote events. This means that event organizers can still provide attendees with networking opportunities, seminars and talks via the Eventtus app.

ElCoach

ElCoach is a platform catered to Arabic speakers that offers training and meal plans. It offered a month free subscription to encourage people to workout from home instead of the gym in order to reduce the spread of disease. Assem Emam founded ElCoach in 2019.