Code4covid Brings Together 1000 Startup Experts To Fight COVID-19

As the reality of COVID-19 started to become clear Jules Decol, Co-Founder & CTO at Chosen along with fellow tech colleagues, knew that tech would play an essential role in minimising the impact of COVID-19 and could ultimately save lives. They also knew that the effort would be stronger if it was coordinated. On March 16^thcode4covid was formed to do just that, bringing together skills from across the startup world to find solutions to ease the impact of COVID-19.

Since kick-off, code4covid has grown to a network of over 1,000 experts, mainly coordinating through a lively slack community. These experts are working on projects which come from the community or through Covid Tech Support, which accepts requests from organisations tackling COVID-19 in different ways. The community is now working with 70 projects, which have emerged from over 220 requests. These projects are based mainly in the U.K. but can also be found in the U.S., Europe and Africa.

Tech Support for Organisations

Covid Tech Support was one of the first projects that came out of code4covid. Marc Sloan, also founder of Scout, set up Covid Tech Support who realised that the best way to capture society’s needs would be organisations who had years of experience. It is now integral in supporting the demand side of code4covid.

Non-profit organisations and communities tackling COVID-19 can request tech support which is then fuelled by the 1000-strong community in the most practical and impactful way possible. Marc highlights that this has been a unique opportunity where so many talented people can’t work and find themselves longing to contribute. In contrast, many established organisations were overwhelmed when they were forced to implement a digital strategy so rapidly. This is happening during a global pandemic, and code4covid has helped to make the most of this unique opportunity.

From helping set up systems, ID checks to getting events online

One particularly fruitful project has been with the U.K. charity Crisis which tackles homelessness. Due to lockdown, the charity was not able to distribute its warehouse full of goods to partners at homeless shelters. After a request to Covid Tech Support, Marc found a consultant from an e-commerce website in the code4covid community to take on the challenge. Within a week there was a prototype for a website to get the distribution network up and running again.

Mutual Aid, a network of hyper-local supportive communities, set up a website to gather information and point people in the right direction. Code4covid very quickly got a team together with a project manager, user experience specialist, web developer and SEO expert who redesigned and optimised the website within ten days.

The organisation April manages a network of volunteers who provide basic tech support specifically to older people who are struggling to keep connected. Volunteers from code4covid are helping them build an ID check system for April’s own volunteers.

Not all tech support comes in the form of code, however. Cinzia Ricciardone, a co-founder of code4covid, said they are starting to get requests for advice on solutions and product. Marc also shares the story of when he helped Brighton-based Kennedy Street & Co, who support people recovering from addiction. As lockdown hit, they desperately needed to know how to get online and continue with an event with X-Factor winner Sam Bailey. Before he knew it, Marc was spending a Friday evening helping set up Zoom and Facebook live to help the organisation keep going.

Support for a growing organisation

As COVID-19 continues and life is drastically changed, code4covid know that the work is not over. They’re continuing to grow, and new requests are coming in daily. Any non-profits or communities who need tech help should turn to Covid Tech Support.

Marc is keen to add that anyone with startup skills eager to get involved should join code4covid. Cinzia has also been most grateful for the support that code4covid have received from businesses such as Paiger, Slack and Airtable adding that they are actively looking for any other partnerships that could help increase their impact.

Navigating an uncertain future

There’s much speculation about what the future will hold but no certainty. What is sure is that the networks being formed today will be a powerful resource in the future. Code4covid will surely find new ways to support life after this first wave of COVID-19 and continue to help the non-profit organisations working tirelessly to support communities. Ultimately, they’ll work on solutions that will help our daily lives in ways we probably can’t even imagine yet.