Egyptian startup fights depression online
Shezlong secures a $150,000 grant to further develop the online platform that was launched in 2015 to provide mental health care to the millions of Egyptians who seek psychological help.
When he was going through a tough period in his life, Ahmed Abu el-Haz was trying to find treatment from a psychiatrist online in order to tackle his depression. But unfortunately this was not available at the time.
"I spent three months in bed after going through a tough back surgery, and I became severely depressed," Abu el-Haz, 30, told Al-Monitor, explaining the reason behind the launch of his startup Shezlong.
The online psychotherapy and rehabilitation platform Shezlong, which has recently secured $150,000 from tech investment group A15, currently has roughly 14,000 cases from across the Arab region that require psychological help.
Studies have found depression rates of greater than 5% in the Middle East, above the world average.
