Case Study: Erlkoenig achieves a secure, scalable volunteer-matching platform in 6 weeks for COVID-19 response with Strapi

Erlkoenig delivered a volunteer matching platform for Toyota during the COVID-19 pandemic

Erlkoenig, a smart-city and digital transformation agency, built Lokalhelfer — a volunteer matching platform for Toyota and German public institutions to connect vulnerable residents with local helpers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Facing a very tight six-week delivery timeline and strict public-sector requirements for data ownership and privacy, Erlkoenig chose Strapi’s open-source, self‑hosted headless CMS to meet those constraints.

Using Strapi, Erlkoenig migrated from Contentful and rebuilt the matching functionality on a Node.js/React stack, delivering a responsive PWA that supports 30 services with a 2.2‑second page load time. Strapi’s data-centric approach, self‑hosting, and roles/permissions enabled full control of sensitive data, automated workflows, and rapid scaling for city-level administration — allowing the team to ship the platform in six weeks and prepare for regional and international expansion. Strapi enabled the secure, fast rollout and operational control required by public institutions.

Erlkoenig

Dominic Land

Chief Executive Officer