Riskpreneurs venturing into war-torn Somalia

If someone said to you; "I visit Somalia or Afghanistan multiple times a year," you will be forced to wonder why?!

We all have known friends, family members or neighbors who travel periodically to destinations such as Bangkok, Bali, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc., but who and why, on earth, would anyone repeatedly visit trouble-torn areas of the world.

Well!! There is a breed of Indian entrepreneurs- who “see opportunity and advantage” in working in a conflict zone.

Meet Sriram Sekhar, founder of my-healthconnect, a startup that connects patients, especially for the remote area, with doctors for "medical opinion."

Sekhar has made multiple trips to Somalia this year and has a fascinating insight to share on how and why he picked this African country for gaining traction and scaling up his business.

He confesses that working in a war-torn area is a fulfilling experience.

Establishing Credibility
Since the time India emerged as a medical tourism destination; there has been a continuous flow of foreign patients, to India, especially from African countries.

However, there is intense competition among domestic hospital to grab the market share leaving little space for start-ups such as my-healthconnect.

Thus, Sriram was exploring ways to connect with Somalian patients. However, “the paramount thing” on his mind was “how to establish credibility in the foreign market,” says, Sekhar.

He came up with the idea of organizing a medical camp in Somalia with Indian doctors.

Sekhar approached his portfolio of small and medium Indian hospitals with the idea, and one of them offered to send a doctor to the camp.

He then roped-in three regional doctors one each from Somalia, Syria, and Lebanon. The medical camp turned out to be “a win-win for all involved.”

According to Sriram, his start-up benefited on two counts; establishing creditability among locals and introducing my-healthconnect platform to patients.

Community connect

Entrepreneurs tend to have a strong sense of joining and contributing to the society they work in. Similarly, during the week-long visit to the city of Bosaso in Somalia, Sriram took out time to deliver a lecture on healthcare & Career, at the University of Bosaso.“They were the perfect audience to talk to on healthcare and health-related careers,” wrote Sriram in his blog.

Entrepreneurs while chalking their path, in some case, found their journey passing through conflict zones of the world.

They saw opportunity in it; while others focused on danger, difficult or both.

Above all, deeply ingrained in their thought process, is a sense of community services- that stands out prominently.