Stemz Global: Striving To Raise The Overall Standards Of Indian Healthcare
Dr. Raman Sodhi
CEO & Managing Director
With the Indian Healthcare market expected to reach $350 Billion by 2025, Dr. Raman says, "Quality, efficiency, branding, customer care and access to care have become critical factors for success for any healthcare services-based business. We at Stemz strive to identify such parameters, find niches for growth and create strategies to tap them quickly. Our focus is to become first movers in selected niches by leveraging technology as our backbone for achieving customer satisfaction and boosting efficiencies. Our multinational and multi-pronged operations use ML and AI to support routine operations, strategy creation and customer experience. We intend to double-down our commitment to Indian Healthcare by raising close to $ 150 million in the next 12-16 months for horizontal and vertical growth".
With its highly experienced team and investor-support, Stemz Global is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to forging a space for itself in the Indian Healthcare market. In this one-to-one interaction with CEO Insights, Dr. Raman highlights the journey of his young business from ideation to inception and beyond.
Tell us about your professional background and experience that helps in molding strategic business modules for your company.
During my time as an MBBS student and an MS (Orthopedics) student, I figured that there were major gaps in the delivery of healthcare - investments for 70-80 percent of population were government- dependent, the `time-to-serve' customers was very high despite the resources at hand and, above all, there was no holistic tracking and management of delivery of services. It is at that time I realized that to serve customers well having medical resources was important but equally important was to focus on the non-medical fronts such as financing, operations and organizational structure. This realization was so compelling that I soon resigned from MS and pursued an MBA from IIM Bangalore instead. It was one of the toughest decisions of my life something I look back at with pride now.
After my MBA, I worked with start ups/newer companies with a focus on creation of new products and service lines, business structuring, team creation and fund-raising through private equity and private UHNWI offices thereby strengthening my overall understanding of operating a business.
After more than a decade of work experience encompassing raising of multi-billion dollar funding across sectors, collaboration with several government entities in Asia, Middle East and Africa, setting up of businesses in over 30 countries, contributing to healthcare policy enhancements, it was in 2016 when I started Stemz Healthcare (trade name of Stemz Global) with the aim of becoming the leading preventive care services provider for travelers.
How has been your journey so far with Stemz global? What are the challenges that you encountered during this journey?
The journey has had its fair share of ups and downs but it is very heartening to see that, in less than half a decade, Stemz has become a pioneer in identity -based medical screening in South Asia and the Middle East. We are present in nine countries with an FTE strength of over 400 ably supported by management teams in India and the Middle East. The past four years have especially been very exciting as we launched 14 visa medical screening centres across six countries including seven centres in India. With half a million customers catered across these countries already, we envisage horizontal expansion as well as volume increase in the next five years.
We encountered plenty of challenges during the journey. Most
of them can be summed up as pertaining to efficient capital deployment, horizontal expansion, multi country expansion, resource planning and readiness, location selection and planning, and process development. In addition, entry into each country had its own unique set of challenges around regulatory structure, industry structure, language, working culture and training needs. Our teams worked round the clock to ensure we tailored our efforts to take into account such unique challenges and our lessons from past experience.
Where are you positioned in the current healthcare segment of India and how do you ensure to leverage the best of emerging business opportunities?
We are firmly placed as a niche preventive healthcare player in the Indian Healthcare market with the intent to increase our reach and expanse through brick-and-mortar as well online business models. Our medical screening and COVID-19 service lines in the country are growing at a rapid pace. India is a critical resource provider for the intellectual capital enhancement of our group as well.
We intend to launch newer business models and technologies to make the most of the emerging opportunities in India.
Tell us about the range of services offered by your healthcare platform along with its unique benefits. Also, throw some light on packages details.
At present, preventive healthcare dominates our efforts in India. Our service offerings can be categorized broadly as COVID-19 Testing/Lab Aggregator Services and Medical Screening (Visa Medical) Services.
As far as COVID-19 Testing/Lab Aggregator Services are concerned, Stemz Global has been recognized as one of the largest aggregators of ICMR-approved laboratories that are specially designed and equipped to conduct the RT-PCR COVID-19 tests in India. We have a network of over 90 laboratories serving 120+ cities through 400+ collection centres. Our network also includes 15+ countries beyond India. Through our online portal, people can book their RT-PCR test (and soon other tests) and choose to either be served at one of our partner collection centres or at the comfort of their doorstep. Our service offering has received industry-wide recognition with notable names such as Indigo Airlines and Go First engaging us to serve their customers.
Medical Screening (Visa Medical) Services implicate a unique service offering which is tailor-made for governments. It included identity-based multi-functional diagnostic tests for tourists, working professionals and employment seekers traveling abroad. Each aspect of the test is customized as per the source country, the destination country and the needs of the client government. Our medical screening centres are located in seven cities in India and globally in 6 countries.
In addition to the above, we are in advanced stages of rolling out wellness management offerings in India and the GCC. Partnering with local governments to bolster healthcare services in Tier-II and Tier-III cities is certainly a focus. The details will be released soon through our media channels.
How would you differentiate your services from others in the market? Explain your USP and what are the various technologies that you deploy across the above services? Also, how do you ensure to make these services accessible and top-notch for your customers?
Each of our service offerings is differentiated compared to the competition. Speaking of our lab aggregator services, we showed great agility in collaborating with dozens of labs in no time and launching a convenient online platform but what differentiated it from the competition is the abundant ease with which travellers could book their RT-PCR tests by simply entering their travel details without having to dive deep into every destination's or airline's travel requirements. Such focus on a specific segment made our solution very compelling to travel companies. As our competion caught up, we added more and more cities to differentiate ourselves by offering RT-PCR tests at all ends of our customers' trips. For example, a customer travelling from India to UAE could book his/her RT-PCR test at both countries on our portal.
Where are you positioned in the current healthcare segment of India and how do you ensure to leverage the best of emerging business opportunities?
We are firmly placed as a niche preventive healthcare player in the Indian Healthcare market with the intent to increase our reach and expanse through brick-and-mortar as well online business models. Our medical screening and COVID-19 service lines in the country are growing at a rapid pace. India is a critical resource provider for the intellectual capital enhancement of our group as well.
We intend to launch newer business models and technologies to make the most of the emerging opportunities in India.
Tell us about the range of services offered by your healthcare platform along with its unique benefits. Also, throw some light on packages details.
At present, preventive healthcare dominates our efforts in India. Our service offerings can be categorized broadly as COVID-19 Testing/Lab Aggregator Services and Medical Screening (Visa Medical) Services.
As far as COVID-19 Testing/Lab Aggregator Services are concerned, Stemz Global has been recognized as one of the largest aggregators of ICMR-approved laboratories that are specially designed and equipped to conduct the RT-PCR COVID-19 tests in India. We have a network of over 90 laboratories serving 120+ cities through 400+ collection centres. Our network also includes 15+ countries beyond India. Through our online portal, people can book their RT-PCR test (and soon other tests) and choose to either be served at one of our partner collection centres or at the comfort of their doorstep. Our service offering has received industry-wide recognition with notable names such as Indigo Airlines and Go First engaging us to serve their customers.
Medical Screening (Visa Medical) Services implicate a unique service offering which is tailor-made for governments. It included identity-based multi-functional diagnostic tests for tourists, working professionals and employment seekers traveling abroad. Each aspect of the test is customized as per the source country, the destination country and the needs of the client government. Our medical screening centres are located in seven cities in India and globally in 6 countries.
We are firmly placed as a niche preventive healthcare player in the Indian healthcare market with the intent to increase our reach and expanse through brick-and-mortar as well online business models
In addition to the above, we are in advanced stages of rolling out wellness management offerings in India and the GCC. Partnering with local governments to bolster healthcare services in Tier-II and Tier-III cities is certainly a focus. The details will be released soon through our media channels.
How would you differentiate your services from others in the market? Explain your USP and what are the various technologies that you deploy across the above services? Also, how do you ensure to make these services accessible and top-notch for your customers?
Each of our service offerings is differentiated compared to the competition. Speaking of our lab aggregator services, we showed great agility in collaborating with dozens of labs in no time and launching a convenient online platform but what differentiated it from the competition is the abundant ease with which travellers could book their RT-PCR tests by simply entering their travel details without having to dive deep into every destination's or airline's travel requirements. Such focus on a specific segment made our solution very compelling to travel companies. As our competion caught up, we added more and more cities to differentiate ourselves by offering RT-PCR tests at all ends of our customers' trips. For example, a customer travelling from India to UAE could book his/her RT-PCR test at both countries on our portal.
Behind the scenes, we devised intelligent and robust mechanism to audit our empanelled labs and equipped our booking portal with high-end algorithms to determine RT-PCR testing requirements based on latest country-specific requirements.
I feel the USP of Stemz Global is the ability to distill business opportunities down to fundamentals and to leverage technology to create quality delivery models. Without a doubt, this is attributable to the immensely talented team at Stemz. Typically, we marry proven IT technologies with new-age ones such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Blockchain.
We continually make significant investments in technology, marketing and talent to further the access and quality of our services.
in your professional journey so far, which are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction - both as an individual and as a director?
There were many inflection points that had a role to play in my development as an individual and as a director or entrepreneur. Though each step where my efforts were 100 percent, whether it was associated with a success or failure, gave me satisfaction, some milestones certainly were more heart-warming than the others.
One of the most satisfying milestones was when I successfully developed and launched a new concept related to aesthetic healthcare during mid 2000s in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Equally endearing was when I led the closure of a deal worth $100 million for an institution in the Middle East in 2008. The successful launch of a non-healthcare sector project in 30+ countries within 18 months with a small startup team in 2013-14 was also very satisfying.
In comparison, leading the growth and evolution of Stemz with a highly motivated team is more than satisfying.
what is your advice/suggestion for the budding leaders in the healthcare segment of India? Are there any mentors that you look up to for inspiration? Also, share your success mantra?
There is a term in Athletics known as `Fosbury flop'. If we see high jumpers arching over the bar, we assume that is the standard technique. But this technique was introduced by an American athlete Fosbury in 1968 Mexico Olympics. He changed the way jump was done, back first, winning the gold medal. He was average high jumper till he changed the method that pushed him above all his competitors.
I believe everyone has that special capability to tailor response to any given situation. If you want to lead, you need to find the unique path based on your ability and available resources. Also there are no magic pills and road to entrepreneurship requires perseverance and continuous self-questioning and course correction. Team is the most critical element that will ensure your success so be humble during success and self questioning during failures.
“The USP of Stemz global is the ability to Distill business opportunities down to fundamentals and to leverage technology to create quality delivery models”
I have had multiple mentors during my career who have guided me in their own ways. Some of them were CEOs of companies, some young individuals and a handful were strangers that crossed path during my journey. They taught me the power of patience how to be steady when things are not going as per plan, along with the importance of commitment, supranormal focus, multitasking and multiple other aspects.
If I were to choose one key factor, I would say perseverance has been the most integral ingredient for the success of Stemz. Despite all the hurdles, our team delivers the results. This culture of result-delivery was cultivated carefully to ensure each team member contributes towards the end goal.
Dr. Raman Sodhi, CEO & Managing Director, Stemz Global
Dr. Raman possesses more than 15 years professional experience encompassing raising multibillion dollar funding across sectors, collaboration with several government entities in Asia, Middle East and Africa, setting up businesses in over 30 countries, contributing to healthcare policy enhancements, and much more.
I feel the USP of Stemz Global is the ability to distill business opportunities down to fundamentals and to leverage technology to create quality delivery models. Without a doubt, this is attributable to the immensely talented team at Stemz. Typically, we marry proven IT technologies with new-age ones such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Blockchain.
We continually make significant investments in technology, marketing and talent to further the access and quality of our services.
in your professional journey so far, which are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction - both as an individual and as a director?
There were many inflection points that had a role to play in my development as an individual and as a director or entrepreneur. Though each step where my efforts were 100 percent, whether it was associated with a success or failure, gave me satisfaction, some milestones certainly were more heart-warming than the others.
One of the most satisfying milestones was when I successfully developed and launched a new concept related to aesthetic healthcare during mid 2000s in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Equally endearing was when I led the closure of a deal worth $100 million for an institution in the Middle East in 2008. The successful launch of a non-healthcare sector project in 30+ countries within 18 months with a small startup team in 2013-14 was also very satisfying.
In comparison, leading the growth and evolution of Stemz with a highly motivated team is more than satisfying.
what is your advice/suggestion for the budding leaders in the healthcare segment of India? Are there any mentors that you look up to for inspiration? Also, share your success mantra?
There is a term in Athletics known as `Fosbury flop'. If we see high jumpers arching over the bar, we assume that is the standard technique. But this technique was introduced by an American athlete Fosbury in 1968 Mexico Olympics. He changed the way jump was done, back first, winning the gold medal. He was average high jumper till he changed the method that pushed him above all his competitors.
I believe everyone has that special capability to tailor response to any given situation. If you want to lead, you need to find the unique path based on your ability and available resources. Also there are no magic pills and road to entrepreneurship requires perseverance and continuous self-questioning and course correction. Team is the most critical element that will ensure your success so be humble during success and self questioning during failures.
“The USP of Stemz global is the ability to Distill business opportunities down to fundamentals and to leverage technology to create quality delivery models”
I have had multiple mentors during my career who have guided me in their own ways. Some of them were CEOs of companies, some young individuals and a handful were strangers that crossed path during my journey. They taught me the power of patience how to be steady when things are not going as per plan, along with the importance of commitment, supranormal focus, multitasking and multiple other aspects.
If I were to choose one key factor, I would say perseverance has been the most integral ingredient for the success of Stemz. Despite all the hurdles, our team delivers the results. This culture of result-delivery was cultivated carefully to ensure each team member contributes towards the end goal.
Dr. Raman Sodhi, CEO & Managing Director, Stemz Global
Dr. Raman possesses more than 15 years professional experience encompassing raising multibillion dollar funding across sectors, collaboration with several government entities in Asia, Middle East and Africa, setting up businesses in over 30 countries, contributing to healthcare policy enhancements, and much more.