People in need, including Syrian refugees living in camps in Lebanon and Turkey, can now have food delivered to their doorstep, thanks to an app that allows Good Samaritans to send them meals, no matter where they are in the world.

This was made possible by Saudi relationship manager Fahad bin Thabet, who described his mobile app, YummCloud, as a “sharing economy” platform.

The new business venture was designed with the help of app developers from India, Ukraine and the US, and after being launched in late April, it was featured on several news outlets, including Cision PRWeb.

“The idea behind YummCloud was to provide home-cooked meals to the users in the most convenient way,” Cision PRWeb said.

“Developers were told to develop an open platform app that will let users buy, sell or send home-cooked meals around them. All a user has to do is to choose the food they would like to eat and get it delivered at their convenience.”

Thabet said that his France-based brother was the inspiration behind his app.

“At that time I wanted to send him food and that was when I had the idea: Why can’t I send him local food?

“I could not find any of our local food there, and this was how the application came up. I said once I can do that, I can send food to anyone anywhere in the world — all I need to do is provide the supplier,” Thabet said.

Part of Thabet’s plan is to help Syrian refugees in Turkey.

“We call these meals ‘humanitarian meals’ — all we need to do is reach them via a social network and get a supplier there. People who sympathize with the refugees — they could be 100 kilometers away or in different parts of the world — can pay online and buy meals for them.”

The 34-year-old humanitarian said whole communities could take part in the “sharing economy.”

“For example, in Africa, there are areas that have people suffering from starvation, but there are other areas that have food supplies, so if you buy the supplies from those areas, they can import them to the starvation-stricken areas. This is what I call a sharing economy.”

It is expected to take two years to develop the app’s international features.

“We can create a market anywhere in the world. All we need to do is add a language, find a delivery company there, and if there isn’t one, people can deliver it themselves.

“We had 500 orders in the first 10 days of the launch in Saudi Arabia.”

Ride-hailing firm Careem has been supportive of the venture, acting as YummCloud’s logistics partner.

“Careem have us covered everywhere — it is operating in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Egypt. Wherever Careem is present, we are there regarding delivery,” he said.

Thabet’s logistical network is set to expand as he has agreements with delivery companies and charities in different parts of the world for YummCloud’s global transition.

“We provide a platform for everyone to help everyone,” he said.