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Holger Klinger still fondly remembers his first attempts at fishing as a child in a holiday camp.

At that time it would not have occurred to him that he would one day earn his money with it.

The idea came to him much later when he observed in a Hamburg start-up that the programmers brought their children to the office during the summer holidays.

Together with two colleagues, he developed the concept for Voiio in mid-2018: their own start-up that they founded together in Berlin.

Their mission: holiday care for children.

Voiio offered urban gardening, upcycling or visits to the zoo in small groups.

Voiio didn't have to compete for the little ones and their parents.

At least not directly.

The families should not pay for the care.

Instead, the offer is aimed primarily at companies that want to relieve their employees and at the same time become family-friendly.

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It can be worthwhile for the boss: Your employees don't have to tear themselves apart between work and childcare during the holidays.

Voiio also offers individual tutoring

With the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the company's model was made impossible, says Klinger, who is one of the managing directors of Voiio.

Children's camps and excursions were out of the question.

The lockdown didn't just lock the little ones at home.

The parents also switched to the home office.

For families with smaller children in particular, the situation of contact restrictions became more difficult every day.

When parents have to look after their offspring, they can only work from home to a limited extent.

A crucial test that also burdens employers.

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The need acted like a booster for Voiio.

“In less than four weeks, we developed our entire offering from offline to online,” reports the co-founder.

Instead of visiting the zoo and HSV youth camp, there is now supervised painting, singing together and programming courses for children - all online.

While fun is in the foreground for the little ones of kindergarten age, for the older children it is often about support in homeschooling.

Voiio also offers individual tuition virtually.

If you want, you can upload your homework at the same time.

Apparently, Voiio has come at the right time for companies and their employees.

Because Corona has become a test of strength for everyone - but especially for families.

The number of companies that make Voiio's offers available to their employees has more than doubled to over 350 within a year.

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It starts with a dental practice in Berlin with fewer than 30 employees and extends to corporations such as EnBW, Otto or Henkel with more than 10,000 employees in Düsseldorf alone.

Axel Springer (WELT AM SONNTAG, "Bild") is also one of the customers, as the editorial team learned during the research.

Reporting is independent of this.

This means that more than 350,000 employees and their children have access to Voiio.

The offers can be booked on platforms that are adapted for the respective company.

The demand is increasing rapidly.

In the first three weeks of January Voiio reported 50,000 hours of care.

In the lockdown month of April of the previous year, it was 1500 hours.

There are currently around 60 virtual courses per week.

The number of Voiio employees in Berlin and Hamburg has risen to around 50.

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But what happens after the lockdown?

"We want children and young people to meet again and go out," says Klinger.

The home office will remain part of the future of work - and with it the desire for virtual childcare.

"We are assuming that there will be a hybrid model in the future in which half of our offers are virtual."