While the health and safety of people is Facebook’s top priority, the impact of this pandemic is being felt in our communities around the world, and the heartbeat of these local communities is small businesses. We have heard loud and clear that a little financial support goes a long way and it can be the thing that keeps a business afloat. That’s why Facebook has announced the creation of a $100 million grant programme to help 30,000 small businesses around the world.

This is a critical injection to help the small businesses who need it most, so they can keep the lights on and keep their people paid. Facebook will be starting with businesses in over 30 countries where it operates, and it will release more details on how the programme will work in the coming weeks. Facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg, has posted about this here and you can also read about Facebook efforts to keep people informed and safe about coronavirus here.

Says Ramez Shehadi, Managing Director for MENA, Facebook,  “These are unprecedented times, making daily life challenging for us all across the Middle East and North Africa, and around the world. While so many essential measures are being put in place to keep everyone in our communities as safe as possible, this may also create additional challenges for small businesses in our region, the lifeblood of our economies, that often rely on active daily engagement with their local customers to survive.”

“To help such small businesses everywhere during this difficult time, we at Facebook are creating a $100 million grant programme to help 30,000 small businesses in over 30 countries where our employees live and work, to offer them vital support through this period of uncertainty when things are tough.”