CMU-Q grads win INJAZ Best Social Impact

Amnah Ameen and Maryam Al-Sulaiti create app that explains medication side effects and interactions in easy-to-understand language

Amnah Ameen’s mother sought out a nutritionist to improve her health and well-being. The nutritionist recommended a supplement, which Ameen’s mother took. In short course, Ameen’s mother was hospitalized: the supplement contained the same ingredient as one of her prescriptions, and the overload of medications made her very ill.

“It’s difficult to find information about medications that are manufactured for the GCC region,” says Ameen, who is a 2017 graduate of CMU-Q’s Business Administration Program. “We thought if we could build an app that could inform people, it would make a big impact on people’s lives.”

Based on her mother’s adverse reaction, Ameen and classmate Maryam Al-Sulaiti set out to create an information source that could help inform people in Qatar about the prescriptions, over the counter medications, and nutritional supplements they are taking.

“Once we started talking to people about our project, we heard so many stories of similar things happening,” says Ameen.

The idea was a good fit for the team. While Ameen studied business, Al-Sulaiti is a biological sciences student with a particular interest in public health: “I had to step outside my comfort zone: I was a biology student, and I didn’t know anything about business. Amnah pushed me to learn.”

Although Ameen and Al-Sulaiti first developed their idea as a part of the Introduction to Entrepreneurship course at CMU-Q, the team took on the project as though they were being mentored by a professional incubator. For the final presentation, George White, distinguished career professor of entrepreneurship, invited industry professionals to judge the pitches. Ameen and Al-Sulaiti won first place in the competition, and a judge from INJAZ invited them to enroll in the INJAZ Company Program.

“Amnah and Maryam were unsure if they would have the time to devote to the INJAZ program,” says White. “I said to them, if you wait for the right time, it will never come. You have to seize the opportunity when it presents itself.”

The INJAZ Company Program is a 12-week mentorship that guides students through the life cycle of a startup venture. Ameen and Al-Sulaiti were mentored by two volunteer judges from Qatar Business Incubation Center, Safiya Al Mutawa and Alain Valiquette.

Over the 12 weeks, the team built a prototype for Vitality, a web application that takes a person’s health information and current medications, and offers information about side effects and potential drug interactions. In the final competition for INJAZ, the team took the Best Social Impact award.\

As they move forward, Ameen and Al-Sulaiti are looking to include a scan option for medication packaging, as well as Arabic content. “There is a real need for information in Arabic, it will be an important part of the business,” said Al-Sulaiti.

Ameen added, “We wanted to create something for more than profits. We wanted to find something that had a true impact.”