Changemakers: Sarah Al-Hajali

Sarah Al-Hajali EMBAD2016 is at the vanguard of biotechnology. The CEO and co-founder of Dubai-based stem-cell banking pioneer CellSave Arabia has become adept at pushing the boundaries when it comes to change and innovation – especially in the Middle East, where stem cell transplantation is still a very new concept.

“Stem-cell therapy “Stem-cell therapy is the future of medicine, but it’s in its infancy. In the Arab world you have a real challenge because it’s still largely an unknown thing. The irony is that there’s a huge opportunity to do real good with stem-cell research in this region because of the prevalence of consanguinity issues and hereditary, genetic disorders.”

Al-Hajali and her partners started the company in 2006. It is the first organisation of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). “It was really difficult to get investment and to resolve licensing issues initially,” she says. “On the one hand, we had to work closely with government to bring them onside with regulation. On the other hand, we had our work cut out for us building awareness and getting buy-in from families.”

Key to building awareness, she says, is education. For that reason, she also recently opened MENA’s first education centre – the Centre of Excellence in Stem Cell Education – to provide unbiased information to the public to help them make choices.

Education is critical to progress, she says. She’s referring to her own experience, too. “I’m a research scientist by training, so although it was my project to found the company, I recognised that starting up in an unknown environment and driving a new market would be highly risky. My investor partners and I took the decision to appoint an experienced CEO to manage the company initially, while I got up to speed with the strategic and financial implications of running a business. It was a steep learning curve.”