From the ashes of crisis to the summit of innovation... A journey of persistence and achieving global recognition.

Dr. Ahmed Fathy is one of Egypt's most prominent entrepreneurs, who have transformed crises into opportunities, leaving a clear footprint in innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly in the pharmaceutical and environmental sectors.

Dr. Fathy was born in Kuwait in 1975, and returned to Egypt after the invasion of Kuwait, where he completed his education at Cairo University, specializing in tourism guidance, He then worked for several years in major tourism companies, while also obtaining advanced diplomas in marketing and project management, which supported him later in his entrepreneurial career.

In 2001, he launched his first startup, but due to his lack of management experience at the time, he incurred several financial losses, Rather than being discouraged, this motivated him to focus on studying management and strategic planning until 2007, when he decided to launch his second project in the general services sector, in which he achieved remarkable success that ended with a successful exit in 2010.

Following the January 2011 revolution and the subsequent collapse of Egypt's tourism sector, Dr. Fathy decided to shift his career path towards his true passion in innovation and development, and started working as an independent expert in marketing and business development, he was then offered a position on the development team at Gravity Medical Science Academy, which represented the Oxford University of Medical Sciences in the Middle East, and there his relationship with the pharmaceutical sector began to strengthen, particularly given the large number of pharmacists in his family.

His responsibilities at the Academy increased, and he was promoted several times until he became General Manager in 2016 after successfully signing expansion agreements with entities in the Arabian Gulf, Iraq, Jordan and North Africa, he was honored in the UK for this achievement, but despite this distinguished career, he decided to return to entrepreneurship, and resigned in 2017 to establish a private project aimed at improving the resilience of Egypt's pharmaceutical sector.

Dr. Fathy began offering practical solutions to improve pharmacy performance, over the years, he regularly shared his ideas in pharmacists' groups through social media until he became known within the sector in a distinctive way, his communication with pharmacies and professional syndicates increased, as they sought to benefit from his expertise and ideas, as he always noticed the escalating issue of expired medicines in pharmacies (especially independent ones), and the losses caused by the distribution companies not accepting them back, he decided to study this issue in depth and find sustainable, innovative solutions.

At the end of 2017, he was offered an opportunity through the Presidential Youth Program, he presented a strategic project to develop the pharmaceutical sector in front of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, which won the President's admiration and support, but government changes hindered the follow-up, however, Dr. Fathy decided to move forward, and established his company 'MEDEX' in 2019 using his own resources and with the support of friends and close associates.

The company initially faced the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic, which put it under great financial pressure, however, the team continued to work with unwavering faith in the idea and delivered orders to pharmacies themselves, this commitment contributed to building strong trust within the pharmaceutical community and enabling the company to withstand the crisis and resume operations in late 2020, the company built a digital network connecting thousands of pharmacies, facilitating the exchange of stagnant medicines, thereby improving ROI, reducing pharmaceutical waste, and raising the efficiency of drug availability, and in cooperation with many pharmaceutical companies, the company provided services to compensate and safely dispose of expired medicines, the network eventually became one of the most important service providers for the pharmaceutical sector.

Dr. Fathy received a scholarship from the British Ambassador to Egypt to obtain an MSc in Innovation and Development from the University of Leeds, he presented the MEDEX model as his graduation project, which received the highest ratings from supervisors at the university, he then developed the model to include connecting households to the pharmacy network to collect unused and expired medicines, (which are estimated to be worth more than 90 billion Egyptian pounds in Egypt alone) instead of unsafe disposal in garbage or sewage.

In 2021, MEDEX launched the first smart application that works as a logistics network for pharmacies, initially operating only in Cairo and Giza, despite limited funding it quickly achieved tangible results, expanding to several new governorates at the invitation of pharmacists' syndicates in those areas. Cooperation agreements were signed with 16 out of 26 syndicates nationwide.

In late 2022, the team began preparing to establish a national network to collect unused and expired medicines from households, while offering a direct financial reward system to motivate citizens to participate, after the collection and sorting of medicines, the unused medications are donated to specialized charities, and the expired ones are first separated from high-quality packaging materials and supplied to recycling factories, and some of the expired medicines are used to produce thermal energy suitable for sustainability in manufacturing processes, and finally the rest are safely disposed of under the supervision of official authorities.

The model has been selected to represent Egypt at international forums in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and Dr. Fathy has also been nominated to join the UN SDGs program, becoming the first Arab member in this context, meanwhile, a prestigious German university has agreed to fund the operational trials of MEDEX's scientific research model.

Between 2021 and 2024, Dr. Fathy has received numerous awards and recognition from local and international organizations, in 2023, the Ministry of Environment selected him to participate in the official Egyptian delegation to the COP28 conference in Dubai, where he presented the project to many international bodies and conducted several successful business visits that culminated in signing agreements with investors and government bodies in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman. Upon returning to Egypt, he met with many leaders from the pharmaceutical, environmental and sustainable development sectors, to promote innovation and technology in national industries, as well as to foster collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Dr. Fathy has been participating in university lectures and workshops for years, and dedicates an essential part of his time to mentor and guide many startups with his expertise in innovation and development, he also leads a team of university students to who use artificial intelligence and modern technology to provide effective and sustainable solutions.

He is currently preparing to launch an international conference titled "HANDS for GOOD", through which he aims to bring together all the entities that have contributed to or supported the MEDEX network (past, present and future), in order to garner support for his national project and forge partnerships between the government, private and community sectors. The conference will emphasize the importance of 'Partnerships for the Goals' (SDG 17).

He is also set to represent Egypt and Africa at international innovation and sustainability forums and conferences in 2025 and 2026.

Recently, Dr. Ahmed was honored by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Youth and Sports, Dr. Ashraf Sobhy, Head of the International Working Group, Eric, Beltone Investment Company's CEO, and MSMEDA Chairman, Mr. Basel Rahmy. This recognition was for winning the Startup Power Entrepreneurship Competition. Ahmed Abou Hashima Group and MSMEDA secured first place among 1158 Egyptian and Arab companies.