25 May 2023, Hiroshima, Japan - Baghdad is home to a growing community of entrepreneurs looking to make a mark. However, without the proper experience and tools, many of these aspiring business owners struggle to make it through the tough initial startup stages. 

Hayder Alla’ Abdulzahra is a motivated young Iraqi entrepreneur who is committed to making a difference. On top of his professional roles as a dentist in the public sector and brand manager for his family’s creative agency, Hayder is preparing to launch his startup: an app that will facilitate Iraqis’ access to medical services. 

As a healthcare worker, Hayder has an insider’s view of how the Iraqi medical system works and the challenges it faces – challenges that include high prices, lack of access to appropriate care, and corruption. For example, Hayder believes that some doctors push for medications or supplements that the patient might not need. 

Maybe you need one medication, but you get prescribed nine medications and supplements, because [the doctor] is benefiting from that. This is not professional at all. We need to fix this, he says.

To improve access to medical services, Hayder’s app will provide users with online medical consultations, medical advice, tutorials, printed prescriptions and other services like online orders. While there have been similar apps on the market, they were not well-developed and none of them succeeded. 

With his vision, and experience in health care and brand management, Hayder is in a unique position to successfully launch his app. To maximize his chances and build his entrepreneurial skillset, Hayder turned to the UNITAR entrepreneurship training programme.