Karachi, December 26, 2019: An innovative tech start-up from Pakistan, doctHERs has been selected as a winner of the ‘International Tiger Challenge 2019’, held in Bangladesh recently by MIT SOLVE. Since 2015, doctHERs has been providing gender-inclusive employment to female healthcare providers, up-skilling female frontline health-workers (nurses and midwives), equipping them with technology and deploying them in SMART telemedicine clinics inside factories as well as in over 1500 villages across Pakistan.
There they connect health-seekers to a global network of licensed, female doctors. As part of the Tiger Challenge for international applicants, doctHERs’ proposed to replicate the SMART telemedicine clinic model in the readymade garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh.
Tiger IT Foundation has allocated a pool of $2 Million which will be invested in the ‘top’ three winning-teams of the ‘International Tiger Challenge 2019’: doctHERs, “connecting women, improving health, transforming lives”, Drinkwell – “Water as a Service” and Feelix – “AI Respiratory Healthcare”. This equity-based investment will enable these ventures to accelerate their growth in Bangladesh and other emerging markets they are operating in, including Pakistan.
The Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of doctHERs, Dr. Asher Hasan, said that: “It is a matter of great pride for both doctHERs and Pakistan that we’ve been recognized by MIT SOLVE and the Tiger IT Foundation in this manner. This reinforces Pakistan’s image as an innovative nation with a vibrant and entrepreneurial tech industry.
He further stated that: “We are committed to supporting the progressive vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and Tania Aidrus, the new Chief of the Digital Pakistan initiative. As digital innovators, we need to integrate our efforts and accelerate towards a fully ‘Digital Pakistan’, a Pakistan that provides all of its citizens with opportunities for socio-economic development and is able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.“
The final phase of the International Tiger Challenge was conducted in Bangladesh and was adjudicated by a distinguished panel of venture capitalists, angel investors, garment industry-leaders and government policymakers. The panel evaluated innovative solutions presented by 14 global finalists at an event curated by MIT SOLVE that was also streamed live and viewed by a large online audience.
The Tiger IT Foundation was created in early 2019 to create a bridge between technology & innovation to fulfill societal & environmental needs. It inspires and fosters broad-based initiatives for healthcare, education, environment and transportation-safety, by providing investments to improve the quality of life in South Asia.
