RETHINKING HEALTHCARE

Surgeon-turned-entrepreneur Mohamed Amin, Co-founder and Group CEO of Elaj Group, is on a mission to build data-first diagnostics and healthcare delivery in the Middle East. With plans for an IPO in 2024, he wants to construct a new narrative around healthcare.

- JAMILA GANDHI

In March 2023, Saudi-headquartered Al Borg Diagnostics inaugurated one of its largest reference laboratories in the Middle East. The state-of-the-art facility will carry out tests and analysis in molecular genetics, analytical chemistry, newborn screening, electron microscope, and digital pathology, and host an academy that will train and qualify laboratory personnel. "This is one project I'm deeply proud of and has been in the making for over two years now," says Mohamed Amin, Co-founder and Group CEO of Jeddah-based Elaj Group, which owns Al Borg Diagnostics. "Historically, we send many samples to the U.S. and Europe for testing outcomes. Now we're betting on our own capabilities, with an investment north of $40 million."

It's the latest in a pipeline of consistent technological investments across the serial entrepreneur's businesses. Amin co-founded Elaj Group in 1994. Today, it is the holding company for 10 subsidiary entities in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, Italy, and the U.K., with the major revenue drivers being Al Borg Diagnostics, GNP Hospitals Group, and Delta Medical Labs.

Amin co-founded Al Borg Diagnostics in 1998 as Al Borg Medical Laboratories and, by 2004, had expanded it into all major cities in Saudi Arabia. By 2016, the company had also reached Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the U.A.E. The company rebranded to Al Borg Diagnostics in 2021. Today, it has 85 international accreditations and is the largest chain of privately-owned laboratories in the GCC, with a presence in Ethiopia and Sudan and plans to expand further into Africa. Over 16.5 million tests are performed annually at Al Borg Diagnostics branches, which serve around 15,000 visitors every day.

Meanwhile, Egyptian holding company Tawasol Holding, cofounded by Amin in 2012, today has seven subsidiaries and primarily invests in and operates healthcare providers in Africa, having led a consortium with Limevest to acquire ANMC in 2022 for $50 million.