Katherine Olives
VeriPAD, winner of the 2016 Zahn Social Impact Prize, has come a long way since Demo Day. After spending the summer in our Accelerator Program, VeriPAD announced they will spend the next three months in the Merck KGaA Accelerator in Nairobi, Kenya. The program offers funding, as well as mentorship and technical support for budding entrepreneurs in Africa. It will also allow them to reach their target market directly.
VeriPAD aims to tackle the counterfeit drug crisis in the developing world. By combining an easy-to-use app with a Paper Analytical Device (PAD), VeriPAD gives doctors, pharmacists, and patients confidence knowing whether the drugs they're taking are real or counterfeit.
VeriPAD co-founders Bishoy Ghobryal (CEO) and Da Wi Shin (CFO) started VeriPAD as part of their senior design project for biomedical engineering. Ghobryal discovered a need for the product while traveling to visit family in Egypt. During these visits, he'd bring suitcases full of common medications we take for granted–medications his family would otherwise purchase without assurance of their validity. By collaborating with a researcher at Notre Dame, they took the current PAD technology a step further, knowing that they needed to bring this assurance straight to the average consumer.
During the Zahn Accelerator Program, VeriPAD conducted market research in Kenya and strengthened their team by adding Y-Lin Nguyen, COO and chief of their marketing efforts. Nguyen thanks the Zahn Social Impact Prize for kickstarting their efforts and giving them a sense of validation. However, it's the team's tireless work that brought them to the prestigious Merck Program.
In Nairobi, the VeriPAD team is focused on researching the local market and testing their product, while also attending workshops to improve their business plan and customer acquisition. They aim to launch to in Kenya this January.
Learn more at veripad.co and follow them on social media @veripad