GES 2017
Held in Hyderabad, India from November 28-30, 2017, this year’s GES attracted well more than 1700 seasoned and emerging entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders from 140 countries across the world under the theme “Woman First, Prosperity for All”. Major focuses were emerging industries, including energy and infrastructure, health care and life sciences, financial technology and digital economy, and media and entertainment.
“Imagine visiting the doctor without ever leaving your house.” Those are the first words uttered by young tech entrepreneur Arifa Mohamed to describe her start-up company, iMed, which is about to revolutionise the medical industry in Guyana.
“Imagine your medical prescription being delivered through your phone. Imagine having an on-demand cardiologist, psychiatrist, primary-care physician, or any specialist. This is the power of iMed – Guyana’s first ‘virtual doctor’ initiative, an app that enables the end consumer to access licensed health-care practitioners in an affordable way.
“This initiative aims to tackle a few of Guyana’s social issues, including: 1) Inefficient public health systems; 2) our Indigenous communities’ limited access to health care; 3) geographic limitations across the country, and 4) expensive private health care. The second phase of this project aims to use the app as a health tracker, pills reminder, and offline knowledge bank. The third phase of this project aims to develop mobile add-on medical devices that analyse blood, track health, and do ultrasounds.
With two partners and a team of volunteer app developers, the start-up’s founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is determined to make the ‘Uber for medicine’ a reality, aiming for a mid-2018 launch. “We’re currently in mobile development and are working to create a network of health-care practitioners,” she says.
Fresh from the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) 2017, in India, a fired-up Mohamed, who was hard at work despite a bad bout of the flu picked aboard, said her experience there has made her even more focused. “GES 2017 was nothing short of amazing and life-changing…. [it] exposed me to a greater level of understanding of the current trends, and innovative and disruptive industries that are flourishing and making international waves throughout the entrepreneurial community.”
She said one of the major advantages of GES 2017 was its success in bringing entrepreneurs of all ages, experiences and accomplishments from 140 countries around the world into one venue.
“Every true entrepreneur deserves to experience an event like GES 2017. It will quickly propel your business/venture to heights and directions that you didn’t even know possible! I’m now back in Guyana with a wealth of new knowledge, connections, mentors, and a massive network of exciting entrepreneurs and new business opportunities for myself and other Guyanese… I must say thank you again to the US Government for sponsoring my trip and thank you to the Government of India for hosting us! Massive kudos for investing in the success of female entrepreneurs around the world,” the East Coast Demerara resident said.
At just 25 years old, Mohamed’s drive and commanding presence belie her years, as she juggles working as a Business Development Manager for a social media marketing company, spearheading iMedGY’s mobile development, her legal studies, and a new engagement. But the University of Guyana law student has long been a go-getter and fearless, moving from the Essequibo Coast to Georgetown at the age of 16 by her lonesome to pursue her tertiary education. A former Anna Regina Multilateral School student, Mohamed says Facebook Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sheryl Sanberg is her dream mentor, explaining that Sanberg, one of US’s most influential female executives, has helped to dramatically boost revenues at Facebook and also founded Lean In, a non-profit to support women’s empowerment.
In reflecting on her own journey into digital business, the millennial said: “You can’t do it alone. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Starting something is hard, especially something that is a bit out of the norm. There are so many moving pieces and factors to take into account that it can become really overwhelming, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. I’ve been lucky to have reached out to a few persons outside of Guyana who were very helpful!”
Armed with her smartphone and her go-to app Cortana, Mohamed is ready to make Guyana a healthier place virtually.
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