Fortunately, his father could always count on a neighbour who regularly lent a helping hand with all kinds of daily tasks. This personal experience inspired François to create Helpper. What once started with a knock on a neighbour’s door has now grown into a peer-to-peer home service platform that connects thousands of neighbours.

Through Helpper’s online meeting platform the most vulnerable of our society, such as elderly and people with a disability or a chronic disease (“helppies”), are connected with a community of thoroughly screened neighbours (“helppers”) who gladly come to their aid for daily tasks. Helpper facilitates the creation of long-lasting and local collaborations between helppers and helppies by taking care of everything that is not the practical help itself, such as screening, insurances and payments.

In order to seek assistance from a helpful neighbour, the helppie simply needs to create an account on the Helpper platform listing his/her request for help. Once registered, the helppie receives immediate access to the online community with an overview of all screened helppers in the neighbourhood. With Helpper, the helppie is always in control of the assistance that is offered. He/she decides who comes, and when and what is needed.

Helppers business strength stems from the combination of the personal services of a start-up, the experience of experts, and the reach of major players. Helpper is also actively supported by (local) governments and health care organizations, because it offers a way to make home assistance affordable for society.

Furthermore, residential care centres, home nursing teams, pharmacists and social services are also part of Helppers’s active partnerships.

As of January 2021, Helpper operates in Flanders and Brussels, with a community of 18.000 helppers providing over 40.000 hours of support every month. Helpper is currently preparing the roll-out in the entire country, as well as the expansion to other European countries.