A data-driven solution for healthcare delivery in Pakistan

Published on: June 10, 2019

“You need to change your attitude towards problems,” says Abid Zuberi when comprehending his transition from the corporate world to starting his own company, Oladoc.com (previously known as MyDoctor.pk).

Watch this video to hear him talk about his experience of starting up (01:20), the challenges faced (02:13); his views on our education system (03:29); the state of Pakistan’s economy (04:06), and the vision behind Oladoc (04:46).

The startup traces its roots back to Mr. Zuberi’s three-year-old nephew, whose allergies revealed to him the fragmented nature of the country’s health sector ultimately motivating the creation of MyDoctor.pk in 2016.

“We were the first platform which was thinking on these lines.”

Mr. Zuberi expressed his concerns regarding the culture of incubation in Pakistan, which is deeply invested in nitpicking minor disparities at the expense of ignoring the elements that illustrate the ‘big picture’ of a business. He acknowledges the role of attending Startup Istanbul as a cornerstone for his exposure to the ‘Venture Capital’ world. The in-depth insight into valuation and investors’ perspectives consequently yielded towards their seed funding of $1.1million from the UAE-based Glowfish Capital.

Starting as the first platform of its kind, Oladoc has emerged as Pakistan’s most extensive digital healthcare program connecting doctors to patients and automating the appointment process. In addition to booking more than five hundred appointments every day, Oladoc currently extends its coverage in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi with over two thousand paying doctors on board.

“The vision is to be the go-to solution for healthcare in Pakistan.”

After rebranding from MyDoctor.pk to Oladoc.com, the company has its sights set on extending to other regions, that have healthcare infrastructures similar to Pakistan. Alongside their expansion, Mr. Zuberi intends to focus on creating data-driven products as he acknowledges an abundance of untapped data in the field.

“Pakistan is set to do great things,” says Mr. Zuberi while concluding that the education sector needs to step up to foster entrepreneurial spirit amongst the emerging demographics of the country who could then capitalize on the available opportunities.

For more of our conversations with Pakistan’s established business leaders, visit our YouTube Channel.