“We were contacted by the ARS of Île de France (the public health authority of the Greater Paris Region) to build a volunteers platform to call for healthcare professionals that could help reinforce overwhelmed hospitals,” shares Adrien Beata, co-founder of MedGo, a STATION F alum startup from the HEC Program. “The ARS contacted us on March 16th and the campaign was expected to launch on March 20th. For four days, our team worked day and night to deliver on time and to make sure that we would be able to launch the #Renforts-Covid initiative as soon as possible.”
MedGo, a workforce management tool for hospitals and healthcare centers, was already used in 1 200 establishments in France prior to the coronavirus outbreak for the purpose of replacement staff scheduling; which naturally made them the top-of-mind partner for the ARS to create a call for volunteers. With MedGo, the ARS would not only be able to quickly mobilize support but also to effectively assign them according to hospital needs thanks to their existing automated matching system. Within this past month, over 5 500 establishments across the country have onboarded as beneficiaries; 56 250 volunteers have signed up; 36 000 staff requests have been posted; and 15 000 matches have been made so far.
MedGo is one example of a STATION F startup that is doing its part during this unsettling crisis; and it is not the only one. Many startups have mobilized their resources to help COVID-19 relief efforts—either by directly providing for healthcare establishments or by supporting people and businesses in need—all the while making sure to keep their own boat afloat in the uncertain economic landscape. Exceptional times call for exceptional measures, which the startups cited below are grandly taking.
Supporting Healthcare Institutions
ConsultAway
Founders Program
To help alleviate the strain on the current healthcare infrastructure, ConsultAway is providing its telemedicine platform for free to health practitioners, enabling them to keep consulting patients while limiting in-person contact.
Kadalys & Né à
L’Oréal Program
Kadalys and Né à are both organic cosmetic companies at STATION F that have converted their production sites to make hydroalcoholic gel for hospitals in France. Né à has started production last week; and Kadalys has so far produced five thousand 100-ml bottles with ten thousand more to come. Kadalys has also organized a fundraiser to help acquire masks for healthcare workers.
View this post on Instagram
Backacia
Graduate Program, formerly HEC
Backacia, a B2B marketplace for reusable building materials, had to shut down all their construction sites with lockdown. They are however looking to donate materials to participate in the construction of COVID-19 emergency shelters in public health institutions in the Greater Paris region.
1Krowd
Founders Program
Blockchain-based ticket reselling platform 1Krowd is organizing virtual concerts (via YouTube Live) to motivate and boost the morale of medical workers and patients in hospitals globally. During the performances, hospital patients and staff can make song requests, dedications and more. If you are a musician or know any musicians that would be interested in contributing, contact the 1Krowd team at: [email protected]
Labtoo
EDHEC Program
Labtoo helps R&D projects in Life Sciences to outsource to academic labs and contract research organizations (i.e. private labs conducting R&D for clients). Labtoo has also launched a COVID version of their platform to list all service providers able and ready to work on COVID R&D biotech project for vaccines, medicine, or diagnostic tests. The startup is currently working with 7 biotech companies and helping them access service providers for their research project through their platform.
Supporting Businesses
Stonly
Zendesk Program
When the French authorities first announced lockdown in France, the different public administrations would each release their own information regarding the many aids provided. The information was scattered across different government websites, making information difficult to search. In view of the poor user experience, La French Tech Central partnered up with Stonly to launch a one-stop platform that not only centralizes all actionable information for entrepreneurs in need of emergency relief, but that is also updated daily by different government administrations. The platform is available both in English and in French.
Foodetective
Founders Program
Foodetective is in the first place an all-in-one operating system for Food & Beverage businesses (bars, restaurants, caterers), a tool that restauranteurs used to manage all client interactions on a day-to-day basis. However, in response to lockdown, Foodetective has launched a takeout and delivery consumer platform to allow local restaurants to start offering takeout and delivery for their clients.
Nunki.co
Founders Program
Nunki.co is a software startup specialized in anticipating, detecting and overcoming crisis. By leveraging the potential of artificial intelligence combined with big data and an international network of experts, Nunki.co has developed a proprietary real-time crisis alerting technology that provides users with live actionable insights that are critical for decision-making. In response to lockdown, Nunki.co will be releasing an interactive map of logistics disruptions in Europe in partnership with Shippeo, a startup specialized in Supply Chain. The map is dedicated for professionals in the transportation sector but will be accessible to all on their website.
Supporting Vulnerable Communities
Lumeen
Founders Program
Lumeen develops a VR solution to help senior citizens in old folks’ homes combat social isolation, depression, anxiety, pain, and apathy. Lumeen’s non-medicinal solution can also be used for cognitive training in older adults. The startup works with many large groups and organizations and has most recently equipped the EHPADs (French nursing homes) of the Red Cross in France.
AaliaTech
Founders Program, formerly Fighters
AaliaTech is a medical vocal assistant that facilitates communication between doctors and patients that do not speak the same language. The company’s mission is to reduce the social inequalities in access to healthcare starting with urban and suburban areas in France. In response to the coronavirus outbreak, the team has launched En Mode Confiné, an app that features COVID-19 prevention videos translated into 19 different languages and dialects so far. En Mode Confiné also delivers meals to elderly people living in precarious conditions.
Entrepreneurs in the Fighters Program
In partnership with Entourage (Facebook Program alum)
Entrepreneurs in STATION F’s Fighters Program are collecting funds to provide food and other essentials for homeless people, in partnership with Entourage. Homeless people are amongst the most vulnerable to infection. If you would like to support them, you can back the initiative here.
