Dr Saira Siddique

health executive and startup founder

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Dr Saira Siddique is a health executive and startup founder who became CEO of the Punjab Health Insurance programme. Born in Bahawalpur, she graduated in 2000 and completed a master's in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She says the seed round for her company closed at 1.8 million US dollars, the highest ever raised by a solo female founder in Pakistan.

Early life and background

Siddique was born in Bahawalpur. She grew up as one of three sisters, with one brother. Her father wanted her to become a doctor. [1]

Education

Siddique completed her FSC in Rawalpindi. She was ranked first on merit at one medical college and third at King Edward Medical College, and she graduated in 2000. She completed a master's in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her master's focused on the financing side of health and on using technology to improve efficiency. She also went to the University of York. [1]

Career

During her house job, Siddique felt she wanted to do something that was not focused on an individual patient. She joined USAID after returning to Pakistan and became a project manager there. She later worked with the British government's UK Aid programme, then called DFID. [1]

Siddique left a good job with a development bank. She spent six months working with the NHS and joined a department that worked on emerging economies. She was also given an opportunity to work in Germany with Allianz, an insurance company whose main office is in Munich. [1]

Punjab Health Insurance programme

A Prime Minister noticed Siddique's work and suggested she do it for the government. She joined the government in 2015 and was taken on as CEO of the Punjab Health Insurance programme. The programme later became known as the Sehat programme. [1]

The first programme her team started was in Chitral. Her team began providing insurance to people below the poverty line, and a limit of about 800,000 rupees per family per year was set. Siddique says her team reached about 18 million people with savings products, and her team covered about 18 districts. She says about 750,000 people used the facilities her team provided, and about half of them moved out of poverty. [1]

Healthcare technology company

Siddique says her team built a mobile application for hybrid care that connected online and offline care. She says her team onboarded about 7,000 healthcare providers from across Pakistan. She says her team provided treatment to about 300,000 patients. She says online consultations cost less. [1]

The company started as a B2C service. It became a platform that could also be white-labelled. The company became a partner of 13 insurance companies in Pakistan, and it then began working with telecom companies. [1]

Siddique says she had already invested about half a million US dollars from her own pocket. She says the first yes from an investor, for 400,000 US dollars, came after her 111th pitch. She says the seed round closed at 1.8 million US dollars, the highest ever raised by a solo female founder in Pakistan. The company raised 0.8 million US dollars in a bridge round. She says the company's latest funding round of 6 million was oversubscribed. [1]

Siddique spent about a month in the Middle East assessing markets. She says the company was given an initial half a million and told to show the model working in Saudi Arabia. She says the company was the first company from outside Pakistan to receive Ministry of Health approval, within a month. The Saudi business entered as a technology partner and acts as a SaaS provider. [1]

Siddique says the company charges about 100 dollars or 300 riyals per user per month. She says churn is almost zero. She says repeat customers were 38% at the time, and she says each patient brought the company a margin of about 15 to 17%. [1]

Siddique says the company has reached 14 million US dollars in revenue in six months, not GMV. She says the company had a GMV of 61 million US dollars, of which 9.53 million was revenue. She says 56% of the company's gross profit comes from Saudi Arabia. [1]

Siddique says the company has three main revenue streams in Pakistan. She says the company charges 15% because it also acts as an insurer provider. She says a revenue share of about 20% comes from the company's services. She says the company's call centre runs from Pakistan, and that 107 staff are based in Pakistan and 13 in Saudi Arabia. [1]

Views

Siddique says doctors no longer need to write notes by hand. She says that for 240 million people the impact becomes very large. She says she preferred coming to Pakistan, because systems abroad are already built while in Pakistan they still have to be built. She says the Pakistani ecosystem, during a boom when funds were available, was not yet ready to invest in healthcare of this kind. She says the company always grew first so that it could justify its case, and then went to the investors. [1]

Personal life

Siddique's husband is an oncologist. Her mother-in-law helped her pursue her career. She has two daughters, and the younger one is also abroad. She says she mentors young women and her own daughters. [1]

Siddique was in a road traffic accident on a motorway. The driver died at the scene of the accident. She was told she was paralysed from the neck down. She says she had about 14 surgeries on her back and spinal cord, and that her Canadian citizenship helped her get treatment in the US. [1]

Siddique spent about three months in Riyadh on the ground. She has lived in Riyadh for two years. [1]

Timeline

2000
Graduated.[1]
2015
Joined the government.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2025-09-15 Saira Siddique's medIQ builds in Pakistan and earns in Saudi Arabia Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Dr Saira Siddique?

Dr Saira Siddique is a health executive and startup founder. She joined the government in 2015 and was taken on as CEO of the Punjab Health Insurance programme. She says the seed round for her company closed at 1.8 million US dollars.[1]

Where did Dr Saira Siddique study?

Dr Saira Siddique completed her FSC in Rawalpindi and a master's in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She also went to the University of York. She graduated in 2000.[1]

Where is Dr Saira Siddique from?

Dr Saira Siddique was born in Bahawalpur. She grew up as one of three sisters, with one brother. She has lived in Riyadh for two years.[1]

What did Dr Saira Siddique do at the Punjab Health Insurance programme?

Dr Saira Siddique was taken on as CEO of the Punjab Health Insurance programme. Her team began providing insurance to people below the poverty line, and the first programme her team started was in Chitral. The programme later became known as the Sehat programme.[1]

Where has Dr Saira Siddique worked?

Dr Saira Siddique joined USAID after returning to Pakistan and became a project manager there. She later worked with the British government's UK Aid programme, then called DFID. She also spent six months working with the NHS.[1]

What did Dr Saira Siddique say about her company's funding?

Dr Saira Siddique says the first yes from an investor, for 400,000 US dollars, came after her 111th pitch. She says the seed round closed at 1.8 million US dollars, the highest ever raised by a solo female founder in Pakistan. She says the company's latest funding round of 6 million was oversubscribed.[1]

References

  1. Saira Siddique's medIQ builds in Pakistan and earns in Saudi Arabia . Thought Behind Things , 2025-09-15.
Show the source passages (76 statements)
  1. Dr Saira Siddique was born in Bahawalpur. I was born in Bahawalpur.
  2. She grew up as one of three sisters, with one brother. we are three sisters, uh, a very dominated, female-dominated house and one brother
  3. She completed her FSC in Rawalpindi. jise CB College kehte hain, uh, Pindi ke andar. Toh wahan se maine FSC kiya
  4. Her father wanted her to become a doctor. My father wanted me to be a doctor.
  5. She was ranked first on merit at one medical college and third at King Edward Medical College. I was merit number one in RMC and merit number three in King Edward Medical College
  6. She graduated in 2000. If I tell you that I graduated in 2000.
  7. Her husband is an oncologist. so my husband, he is an oncologist
  8. Her mother-in-law helped her pursue her career. it was like my saas helping me, uh, to pursue my career
  9. During her house job she felt she wanted to do something that was not focused on an individual patient. mujhe yeh feel ho gaya tha during my house job, ki I want to do something jo ke ek individual patient pe na ho
  10. She completed a master's in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. mera jo masters tha public health ka, jo maine London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine se kiya tha
  11. Her master's focused on the financing side of health and on using technology to improve efficiency. uska main focus was actually, uh, the financing side of health and how to, uh, bring in health technology to improve efficiency
  12. She joined USAID after returning to Pakistan. Toh I came back to Pakistan, ghar wapas aayi aur maine foran jo hai, uske baad I joined, uh, USAID
  13. She became a project manager at USAID. Toh I, uh, became a project manager with USAID
  14. She later worked with the British government's UK Aid programme, then called DFID. phir maine British government ke saath kaam kiya, uh, UK Aid ke naam se, us waqt DFID hota tha
  15. She left a good job with a development bank. Aur phir main sab kuch choda, achi bhali, uh, you know, KFW Development Bank ke saath meri naukri thi
  16. She went to the University of York. I went to University of York
  17. She spent six months working with the NHS. After working with NHS ke saath kaam kiya, 6 mahine
  18. A Prime Minister noticed her work and suggested she do it for the government. Prime Minister ne un ko dekha, unhone kaha yaar aap bada interesting kaam kar rahi hain, kyun na aap yeh kaam aa ke government ke liye karein
  19. She was taken on as CEO of the Punjab Health Insurance programme. Mujhe as a CEO liya gaya for a program jisko kehte hain Punjab Health Insurance program
  20. The programme later became known as the Sehat programme. Sehat program hua, Sehat Insaf program hua
  21. The first programme her team started was in Chitral. jo pehla program humne start kiya woh humne start kiya Chitral se
  22. Her team began providing insurance to people below the poverty line. humne jo poverty line se jo neeche log hain unko insurance dena shuru ki
  23. A limit of about 800,000 rupees per family per year was set. ek family ke liye takreeban jo limit rakhi gayi thi woh 8 lakh rupaye salana rakhi gayi thi
  24. She says her team reached about 18 million people with savings products. humne takreeban 18 million logon tak saving products ko pahunchaya
  25. Her team covered about 18 districts. is takreeban 18 districts humne cover kiye is dauran
  26. She says about 750,000 people used the facilities her team provided, and about half of them moved out of poverty. humne takreeban jo hai 7.5 lakh logon tak jo use ki jinhone facilities wahan tak pahunchaya, khandan tak aur unhone istemaal kiya aur woh poverty se nikle unmein se aadhe
  27. She was given an opportunity to work in Germany with Allianz, an insurance company whose main office is in Munich. mujhe ek opportunity mili Germany mein kaam karne ki, Allianz ek bahut badi insurance company hai jiska jo main office hai woh Munich mein hai
  28. She joined a department that worked on emerging economies. maine us department ko join kiya jo ke emerging economies pe kaam kar raha tha
  29. She joined the government in 2015. maine government ko join kiya tha 2015 mein
  30. She was in a road traffic accident on a motorway. I had a road traffic accident motorway pe
  31. The driver died at the scene of the accident. unfortunately driver jo hai woh he died on the spot
  32. She was told she was paralysed from the neck down. aap jo hai neck down paralyzed hain
  33. She says she had about 14 surgeries on her back and spinal cord. I have I had about 14 surgeries jo meri back ki sirf spinal cord ki hui
  34. She says her Canadian citizenship helped her get treatment in the US. main Canadian citizen thi to uski wajah se jo hai wahan pe aur US mein mujhe bahut behtareen ilaaj ka mauka mila
  35. She says her team built a mobile application for hybrid care that connected online and offline care. humne ek application banayi, mobile application jisme jo hai hybrid care jo basically online, offline connected ho
  36. She says her team onboarded about 7,000 healthcare providers from across Pakistan. hum poore Pakistan se takreeban 7000 healthcare providers ko onboard leke aaye
  37. She says her team provided treatment to about 300,000 patients. humne 300,000 3 lakh mareezon ko jo hai woh ilaaj diya
  38. She says online consultations cost less. aap online jab jaate hain to aapko consultation jo hai woh cheaper padti hai
  39. She says she had already invested about half a million US dollars from her own pocket. Woh maine half a million apni half a million US dollar apni jeb se laga chuki hui thi
  40. She says the first yes from an investor, for 400,000 US dollars, came after her 111th pitch. the first yes came after 111th pitch. And that first yes was for 400,000 US dollars
  41. She says the seed round closed at 1.8 million US dollars, the highest ever raised by a solo female founder in Pakistan. humne jo raise kiya woh humne 1.8 million seed stage funding close ki and that was the highest ever raised by a female solo female entrepreneur in Pakistan's history
  42. She says repeat customers were 38% at the time. repeat customer hamara us waqt 38% tha
  43. She says each patient brought the company a margin of about 15 to 17%. hamara har mareez jo hai woh takreeban humein 15 to 17% ka margin deta hai
  44. The company started as a B2C service. humne B2C se start kiya tha
  45. The company became a platform that could also be white-labelled. we got converted into a platform jo ke white label bhi ho sakta tha
  46. The company became a partner of 13 insurance companies in Pakistan. soon we became partners of 13 insurance companies in Pakistan
  47. The company then began working with telecom companies. humne jo hai phir telecom ke saath kaam karna shuru kar diya
  48. She spent about a month in the Middle East assessing markets. ek mahina maine Middle East mein spend kiya aur humne har market ko assess kiya
  49. She says it was the first company from outside Pakistan to receive Ministry of Health approval, within a month. ek woh pehli company thi from outside Pakistan jisko mahine ke andar approval mil gayi Ministry of Health ki
  50. She spent about three months in Riyadh on the ground. basically 3 mahine ke liye I was in Saudi in Riyadh
  51. She has lived in Riyadh for two years. Maine ab do saal se main Riyadh mein rehti hoon
  52. She says the company was given an initial half a million and told to show the model working in Saudi Arabia. Toh initially unhone half a million hamein diya aur kaha isko Saudi mein chala ke dikhao
  53. The company digitised 500 hospitals, 100 pharmacies and 50 labs. pehle humne 500 jo hain hospitals ko digitize kiya, humne 100 pharmacies ko digitize kiya, humne 50 labs ko digitize kiya
  54. Saudi Arabia has more than 5,000 mid-tier and multi-specialty clinics. Saudi mein is waqt 5000 se upar mid-tier aur multi-specialty clinics maujood hain
  55. The company identified 15 cities where hospitals need its technology. humne 15 shehar aise identify kiye jahan ke haspatalon ko hum hamari technology ki zaroorat hai
  56. She says the company plans to reach 25% market share within two years. Uh ki 25% of the market share jab ho jayega hamare paas aur inshaAllah taala it's workable, woh hum do saal ke andar hamara plan hai usko karne ka
  57. The company raised 0.8 million US dollars in a bridge round. apna phir ek bridge round jo hai usko .8 million humne raise kiya US dollars
  58. She says the company's latest funding round of 6 million was oversubscribed. humne abhi hamara round jo 6 million wala hai woh oversubscribed tha
  59. She says churn is almost zero. churn bahut kam hai, it's almost zero
  60. She says the company charges about 100 dollars or 300 riyals per user per month. takreeban 100 dollar ya 300 riyal jo hai per per user per month lete hain
  61. The Saudi business entered as a technology partner and acts as a SaaS provider. we entered as a technology partner, technology play. So Saudi mein to hum we act as a SaaS
  62. She says the company has reached 14 million US dollars in revenue in six months, not GMV. is saal humne alhamdulillah in 6 months hum jo hai 14 million kar chuke hain, 14 million US dollars in revenue, not in GMV
  63. She says the company had a GMV of 61 million US dollars, of which 9.53 million was revenue. we had a GMV of 61 million US dollars, jisme se 9.53 was actually the revenue
  64. She says 56% of the company's gross profit comes from Saudi Arabia. hamara 56% gross profit Saudi se aata hai
  65. She says the company has three main revenue streams in Pakistan. we have actually uh in Pakistan three main revenue streams
  66. She says the company charges 15% because it also acts as an insurer provider. hum we uh then charge 15% because uh we are also acting as their insure as an insurer provider
  67. She says a revenue share of about 20% comes from the company's services. takreeban 20% jo revenue share hai woh hamara services se aa jaata hai
  68. She says the company's call centre runs from Pakistan. So whole call center is running from Pakistan
  69. She says 107 staff are based in Pakistan and 13 in Saudi Arabia. 107 log Pakistan mein baithe hue hain jo ki support kar rahe hain aur Saudi mein 13 log hain
  70. She says doctors no longer need to write notes by hand. ab doctor ko haath se notes likhne ki zaroorat nahi padti
  71. She says that for 240 million people the impact becomes very large. 240 million logon ke liye, toh impact bahut bada ho jata hai
  72. She says she preferred coming to Pakistan, because systems abroad are already built while in Pakistan they still have to be built. mujhe Pakistan aana zyada acha lagta tha because bahar systems bane hue hain, wahan pe log system ke andar kaam kar rahe hain aur hamare yahan jo hai humein systems banane hain
  73. She says the Pakistani ecosystem, during a boom when funds were available, was not yet ready to invest in healthcare of this kind. Jo Pakistani ecosystem tha jisme boom aaya hua tha, funds the, woh abhi is tarah ki healthcare mein invest karne ke liye tayar nahi tha
  74. She says the company always grew first so that it could justify its case, and then went to the investors. So we always grew first so that we can justify and then we went to the investors
  75. She has two daughters, and the younger one is also abroad. apni dono betiyon ko maine ab my younger daughter she is also abroad
  76. She says she mentors young women and her own daughters. main bahut saari ladkiyon ko mentor bhi ab karti hoon aur apni betiyon ko bhi main mentor karti hoon