#1 The Power of Collaboration
Your 60-second Gulf health innovation brief brought to you by Seha Strategy.
💪🏽Local and International partnerships go from strength to strength as the GCC region increase collaborations, whilst hospital numbers in the region reach record numbers.
Latest News
🤝 Saudi German Hospital Group joins forces with Mayo Clinic- SGH will integrate Mayo Clinic’s clinical knowledge and resources to enhance patient outcomes, elevate quality of care and accelerate innovation. This week, SGH hospitals in Ajman, UAE, and Cairo, joined the Mayo Clinic Care Network. Over the next three years, five additional SGH hospitals across Saudi Arabia and the UAE will join the network, creating an unprecedented ecosystem of shared expertise.
💰 $50 million fund launched for MENA Tech Start-ups and SMEs - Saudi🇸🇦 investment firm Sukna Capital and US venture debt provider Partners for Growth (PFG) will deploy up to $50 million in high potential tech companies and small and medium-sized enterprises across the Middle East.
✍🏽GCC Health Ministers meet to discuss plans for regional health systems. Key take aways include a Gulf Health Committee for Innovation and Digital Transformation, which will no doubt galvanise innovation regionally. There was also discussion on enhancing co-operation in tackling drugs to protect the regions youth and a focus on expatriate worker medicals.
Innovation Watch 🚀
🩸 Ultrahuman Expands Blood Testing to UK and UAE, Launches Health Report Tool - Jumping onto the wellness and longevity sector that is booming in UAE🇦🇪 and UK 🇬🇧 right now, Ultrahuman is expanding into the UAE, Saudi Arabia, UK and Australia. They analyse 60 biomarkers across metabolism, cardiovascular health, immunity, thyroid, and liver function. The test includes analysis, personalised supplement recommendations, lifestyle guidance, and Blood Age scoring. The service initially supports blood work and will expand to CT scans and MRI reports.
🇸🇦Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia is using innovation to help Syria’s health system through cross-border innovative digital health support. As an example a 35-year-old patient suffering from an acute heart attack received timely treatment led by doctors from Seha Virtual Hospital in collaboration with doctors in Syria.
🧠 Tele-psychiatry takes a leap forward in Dubai with a new service approved by Dubai Health Authority that allows tele-consultations, so patients can now receive professional psychiatric care online, with the same commitment to quality and patient care as in-person visits
Seha Strategy Signal of the Week 📡
Collaboration opens doors and enhances healthcare
Saudi German Hospital Group are not the first to create a bridge with other centers of excellence, but their strategy shows how powerful collaborations can be. By aligning itself with the world-leading health innovation organisation, SGH and their patients and staff all benefit from incredible new resources at their disposal.
What this means for other organisations:
Creating a competitive advantage as a healthcare organisation is not just about serving a large number of patients at once. It’s about enhancing depth and quality of care in meaningful ways and staying ahead of trends in healthcare that can impact individuals and society in real terms.
Knowledge sharing - exchanging knowledge brings about new ideas, new models of working and new ways of seeing things as well as introducing new medical techniques and equipment that can transform lives.
Innovation co-operation - by pooling expertise and reducing barriers, co-development of new innovations that are regionally specific to the GCC can come about - to the advantage of everyone who lives in the region.
Local talent development - Want to up-skill staff? There is no better way than through learning from and working with the best.
Saudi German Hospital joining Mayo Clinic Care Network isn’t just about clinical excellence—it’s a procurement signal. SGH operates 12 hospitals across Saudi, UAE and Egypt. Mayo Clinic partnership means they’re now benchmarking against US standards, not just regional ones.
Other examples of strategic partnerships and collaborations:
John Hopkins and Tawam Hospital, UAE establishing a cancer centre of excellence.
Kings College Hospital London - now in Jeddah and the UAE
Events/Opportunities 📅
Events coming up:
🩺21-23 October 2025 International Family Medicine Conference and HealthCare Future Summit at Dubai World Trade Center 21-23 October 2025. This annual events co-located, bring together Family Physicians and Public Health experts in 3 days of shared learning.
📢 27-30 October 2025 Global Health Exhibition - at Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Centre in Malham. This is Saudi Arabias premier health exhibition - one not to be missed. 500+ exhibitors, MOH procurement teams attend.
🚀 4-8 November 2025 8th ZIMAM Digital Health Forum - held in Dubai. This year’s theme, “Promoting Talent-Centric Digital Health Innovations,”. Key sessions will explore the advancement of healthcare through Real-World Evidence, championing equity in expertise for underrepresented patient and physician groups in tech-driven healthcare and more… great for networking.
Seha Strategy | Navigating Gulf Health Innovation and Strategy
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P.S. I help healthtech companies and GCC health organisations navigate strategy, innovation and technology in meaningful ways. See some of the companies I've worked with here.