As people from all walks of life seek to play their parts in the current fight against the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) outbreak, various organizations are rolling out WeChat Mini Programs to support the battle against the epidemic. That said, the development of such mini programs has been hindered due to the stringent requirements in functionality, time frame and workload. 

In view of the situation, Tencent has set up a RMB200 million fund to create a developer support alliance in response to the NCP outbreak. The mission of the fund is to facilitate the launch of these new mini programs as early as possible. As the originator of the alliance, Tencent will provide qualified service providers and developers with the necessary funding and resources through a dedicated section on its WeChat Open Community, expediting the development of these mini programs for the use by government departments and healthcare organizations.

What resources will be made available with the RMB200 million fund?

The RMB200 million fund will be used in a number of ways, including startup capitals, cloud services and resources, as well as technical support, depending on the specific needs of different organizations. Developer teams that have already rolled out such mini programs may also apply for the funding and resource support under the scheme.

What support will be available in the dedicated section on WeChat Open Community?

WeChat has set up a special section called "Anti-Epidemic Mini Program Development Services" on its Open Community. This platform brings together requesters and developers, enabling efficient communications and demonstration of outstanding functions and services. Tap here to find out more.

As such, departments and organizations can learn about services offered by various service providers and developers who have joined the battle against the virus. The developer teams can find some useful mini program templates and plugins to improve their current functionalities, enabling themselves to meet more effectively the requirements of the government departments and healthcare organizations. What’s more, these organizations are able to identify development teams that are of higher competency and offer better anti-epidemic services.

The application is now open to corporate entities. Service providers and developers who are interested in the scheme may scan the QR code below. (Applications will be available throughout the outbreak.) We will review the applications based on each team's level of expertise, time of application, and how well the respective requirements have been met. Shortlisted developer teams will receive the funding and resource support.

Scan the QR code or search for "Anti-Epidemic Mini Program Development" 

Tencent believes that WeChat Mini Programs can complement the efforts to fight the outbreak. A series of mini programs are in use to help users and organizations take precaution against the spread of the novel coronavirus. Tencent Health and Tencent Medipedia, for example, provide reliable health and medical information on the virus. The “Rumor Filter Assistant” mini program provides latest clarification on fake news surrounding the outbreak, helping users discern the facts and stay informed. Guangzhou’s mini program Suikang, supported by Tencent Cloud, enables residents to reserve face masks online. On the day of its launch, over 170 million visitors accessed the mini program. 

Going forward, Tencent will continue to support the epidemic prevention and control efforts of various organizations, and work with more developers and service providers to bring greater convenience to the public.