IDH launches new subsidiary “Wayak” to offer data-driven healthcare support
(Cairo and London) – Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (“IDH,” “the Group,” or “the Company”), IDHC on the London Stock Exchange, a leading consumer healthcare company with operations in Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Nigeria, announces the launch of its new Egypt-based subsidiary “Wayak” to invest in data mining and artificial intelligence platforms. Wayak will leverage the Group’s patient database to capture new growth opportunities in the healthcare management space and offer targeted services to its customers.
With a database covering more than 13 million patients, of which c.10% suffer from chronic diseases, Wayak will allow IDH to build electronic medical records of patients and better cater to their needs with new value propositions. These include building patient healthcare profiles, home-delivery of medications, diagnostics testing reminders, referrals to service providers under IDH’s network with discounted prices as well as follow-up services, amongst others.
Wayak is a joint venture that is 94% owned by IDH and 6% owned by renowned data analytics scientist and angel investor Dr. Khaled Ismail through his angel investment fund HIMangel. Dr. Ismail will serve as the managing partner, acting as CEO for the first three years of Wayak’s operations. He previously served as the managing director of Intel Mobile Communications and was a senior advisor to the Egyptian Minister of Communications. Dr. Ismail holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Commenting on the Joint Venture, Dr. Hend El Sherbini, Chief Executive Officer of IDH, said “Wayak falls directly in line with our strategy to diversify the Group’s services and capture growth opportunities in an underserved market with strong demand for quality healthcare services. Our unique position with a vast database of some 13 million patients and a nationwide presence through our 420+ branch network will allow us to create our own clinical profiles and leverage data analytics to build targeted services. The new venture will extract favourable synergies from IDH’s current business, and we expect the new services to drive additional pathology and radiology testing and create a new growing revenue base for IDH while enhancing overall patient experience.”
“We are also particularly pleased to be partnering up with Dr. Ismail who brings a wealth of executive and field experience in data analytics along with a track record of start-up successes. We look forward to working with him to help Wayak capture this incredible market opportunity and contribute to the improvement of Egypt’s healthcare system,” El Sherbini added.