The novel coronavirus pandemic has completely changed life of many people in the Egyptian society, thus big companies see that it is time they all probably have a huge role in solving the crisis. Companies announced that funds spent on measures to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak will be counted towards the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity.
Staying at home may be just boring to many people; however, it affects others negatively, especially families whose breadwinners depend entirely on daily wages such as construction workers and street vendors who were affected by the recently announced curfew.
The Egyptian government has imposed a two-week nationwide curfew from 19:00 to 6:00 beginning 25 March and extended school closure for additional two weeks to fight the spread of coronavirus.
A social media initiative called Tahady El Kheir (Charity Challenge) has gained momentum amongst sports and art stars, in addition to companies in Egypt.
Accordingly, companies took the responsibility to support Covid19-affected people and specific segments of society whose life may have been affected by the country’s precautionary measures to fight the coronavirus.
PepsiCo supports 15,000 families with Egyptian Food Bank
PepsiCo Egypt was challenged by mobile operator Etisalat Misr to join Tahady El Kheir initiative in cooperation with the Egyptian Food Bank to help day labourers who were badly affected by COVID-19 spread. Mohamed Shelbaya, CEO of PepsiCo Egypt, accepted the challenge and has pledged to support 15,000 families in cooperation with the Egyptian Food Bank. He then challenged Nestle and Mars Wrigley to keep the wheel rolling.
Shelbaya said, “Egypt and the whole world nowadays are facing a global challenge and this challenge will definitely affect people economically. Now is the time for every entity to give back to its community.”
He added, “PepsiCo Egypt decided to act fast and support day labourers in cooperation with the Egyptian Food Bank. This campaign came in solidarity with Egyptian government’s efforts and as part of PepsiCo’s Winning with Purpose strategy.”
Nestlé Egypt collaborates with Ahl Masr Foundation to support mothers of burn victims
As part of Nestlé Egypt’s extensive efforts to support and empower women, the company decided to celebrate Mother’s Day by funding small projects for breadwinner mothers of burn children.
Nahla Kamal, head of corporate communications and board member of Nestlé Egypt, stated, “Women empowerment is deeply rooted in our core values. We strongly believe in the importance of supporting women as they are the main pillars of our community. Our efforts are not only limited to external initiatives, rather, internal initiatives as well.”
The company has portrayed several attempts throughout the past years to empower women in the workplace. This year, in celebration of international Women’s Day, Nestlé Egypt announced the extension of its paid maternity leave to 24 weeks for mothers and 18 weeks for fathers even though Nestlé globally grants only 18-week paid leave and an unpaid extension.
Moreover, the company has paid very close attention to increasing the number of women in administrative positions which are currently occupied by 36% women. In reference to managerial positions, 33% of Nestlé Egypt’s board are women.
El Mostakbal for Urban Development donates autoclaves for Baheya Foundation
Chairperson of El Mostakbal for Urban Development Essam Nasif announced donating Delta autoclave sterilisers for surgical instruments, medical supplies, and ultrasonic devices to Baheya Foundation for early detection and treatment of breast cancer.
A delegation from the El Mostakbal visited Baheya Foundation, where they meet a number of cases that receive treatment in the Foundation as well as several breast cancer survivors.
Nasif said, “We believe that this donation is very essential due to great success rate achieved by Baheya Foundation in breast cancer treatment in Egypt as well as the large-scale awareness campaigns implemented by the Foundation for the necessity of periodic and early detection.”
He invited the private sector to participate in such social initiatives as part of the important responsibility of these institutions towards society.
It is worth noting that, since its inauguration in March 2015, Baheya Foundation accepted more than 39,000 women for early examination, radiology, tumour detection, as well as, conducting more than 2,500 surgeries, 2,000 women were cured with chemotherapy and 1,500 patients were healed with radiotherapy.
Baheya Foundation also intends to launch its new branch in Sheikh Zayed to raise breast cancer recovery rates in Egypt.
Lafarge Egypt supports Suez governorate against coronavirus
In line with the measures and efforts taken by the state and its institutions to combat the spread of coronavirus, Lafarge Egypt, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim Foundation, announced the launch of its initiative in the Suez governorate in cooperation with Governor Abdel Meguid Saqr.
The Initiative provides thousands of protective masks, sanitisers, and gloves to support the needs of the governorate.
The motive behind the initiative is the belief that the private sector is a key partner in all aspects of development and that it must fulfill its corporate social responsibility towards its surrounding community, said CEO of Lafarge Egypt Solomon Baumgartner Aviles.
Aviles said Lafarge Egypt’s goal is supporting precaution measures in Suez.
He stressed Lafarge Egypt’s commitment to the instructions of the Egyptian Ministry of Health to protect Lafarge Egypt’s employees, contractors, customers, and suppliers, as well as to continue the operation.
Aviles illustrated that the company has activated Business Resilience Teams (BRT) at country level in early January to ensure readiness to respond to this challenge and to maintain the safety of employees
Governor of Suez Abdel Meguid Saqr praised Lafarge Egypt’s support towards the governorate, mentioning that this is the expected role from all institutions within the society.
He further requested the citizens to abide by all decisions declared by the government, so that the concerned agencies can carry out its role and reduce the spread of the virus, shedding light on the fact that Egypt was one of the countries that undertook strong precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
Glamera sterilises salons and clinics to tackle coronavirus
Glamera, beauty salons booking app, launched an initiative with various beauty salons, and dental, skin care, and diet clinics, to sterilise salons and clinics nationwide so as to ensure safety and hygiene procedures in these places to combat the coronavirus.
Glamera offers a variety of the latest beauty services at more than 2,000 places in Riyadh, Cairo, and Alexandria.
The initiative included training workers on prevention protocols in-place, making hand antiseptics available to employees and customers, the necessity of workers using medical pads and gloves that should be changed periodically with each new customer, in addition to emphasising hand-washing and sterilisation measures.
Glamera sends daily alerts to service providers with instructions issued by the World Health Organization and the measures advised by the Egyptian government in direct dealing with clients, as well as the latest developments of the pandemic in Egypt and the world.
CEO of Glamera Mohamed Hassan said, “From the first day of the crisis, we have been communicating with our service providers to follow up on the implementation progress and that all WHO instructions are followed. This is the time when everyone should do their part to support the country in its recent decisions.”
Hassan added, “We are trying to anticipate the crisis to ensure business continuity while preserving the health of everyone, workers and customers.”
Distributing 125 foodstuff bags in Monshaet El Qanater, Giza
Within the framework of consolidating the principle of social solidarity and supporting the underprivileged in light of the current circumstances that the entire world is going through, Rotary Club of Cairo New Town distributed 125 food bags to 125 families in Monshaet El Qanater, Giza goverorate.
Through this initiative, the club encourages all civil society organisations to unite in such difficult times and support the country.
