“The more problems people face, the stronger and more successful they become,” was how Reham Sadek started talking to Daily News Egypt (DNE). Sadek is the founder of the first Egyptian company for medical tourism in Germany, named Safe MedTours. Sadek spoke to DNE about her journey with agency.
Sadek told DNE that she is 41, a mother of 3 children, and graduated from the English department at the Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University in 1990. Sadek worked as a flight steward for many years. Following her marriage she decided to resign, and devoted her life towards raising her children, however, her passion for working, and dreams of success persisted.
Hence, after being a housewife for over 12 years, she decided to completely transform her life and launcher her Safe MedTours company, which is a medical tourism provider in Germany.
Our experiences, whether good or bad, shape who we become
Sadek narrated that in 2014, her mother became ill, hence Sadek took advantage of her expertise in travelling, and used it to search for the best hospitals abroad, hoping to find a hospital specialised in bone diseases, in order to treat her mother at a reasonable cost.
At that time, Sadek gathered significant data on the best medical locations and prices. Subsequently, she contacted them all following her mother’s recovery, believing she could put to use the data in establishing her own medical tourism company.
She highlighted that her entire family supported her decision. Meanwhile, it was a challenging step, as Sadek was living in Egypt without any information concerning German rules, business laws nor German language. She started all the way from scratch. Sadek indicated that biggest obstacle which she faced at first was that she ignorant of business laws.
“Currently I’ve been living in Germany with my family for the past three years. I have learned the German language, and I have a successful business. Hence, I have fulfilled one of my goals, which is being successful,” Sadek declared proudly.
Safe MedTours services
Sadek explained that the company operates as a full-service medical tourism agency. It focuses on helping Middle Eastern patients to receive medical treatment in Germany, through relationships with world-class therapeutic facilities.
“Safe MedTours conducts all the necessary arrangements for Middle Eastern patients, in order for them to receive world-class medical care in Germany. First of all, the company arranges for the initial consultations between patients and doctors, then schedules procedures, travel arrangements—including doctor’s appointments, hotel reservation, chauffeur services, translation service, air booking, visa issuing visa and more.” she stressed.
Reasons for choosing Germany and the Safe MedTours name
Sadek explained that she chose the Safe MedTours name, to express the company’s idea, as MedTours resembles an abbreviation for mMedical tourism, while she chose safe after both her son and father’s names, whom are both called, Seif, which is pronounced safe in English.
Meanwhile, she chose Germany specifically, as it is one of the most economically powerful European countries, in addition, Germany removed all restrictions on investments, which encourage investors, plus, it has a very good health system.
120 patients benefited from Safe MedTours, 90% of which are Egyptian
Concerning the number of people who benefited from the company’s services, Sadek said that about 120 patients were treated since its inauguration, noting that 90% of them are Egyptians.
She elaborated that the remaining 10% came from Arab countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
“Unfortunately, the company does not offer free treatment for low-income people, but what the company offers is wavering the fees from the indigent cases,” Sadek remarked.
Asking her about how she markets her company, Sadek said that at the beginning she relied on social media, however later she participated in countless exhibitions and medical conferences.
“Moreover, I am a life coach and a motivational speaker, so I capitalise on the great number of followers on social media, to market my company,” she said.
Safe MedTours benefited both Egypt and Germany
Sadek explained that Safe MedTours benefited Egypt and Germany, explaining that Germany’s economy profited through the number of patients who booked flight tickets, hospitals, hotels, etc.
Having said that, concerning Egypt, the benefit is indirect, as the company helped Egyptian patients, who were uniformed about what the details of their medical journey.
“I look forward towards promoting medical tourism in Siwa, in order to initiate cooperation between Germany and Egypt. Under this protocol Egyptians can travel to Munich for treatment, and in exchange Germans can travel to Egypt to receive treatment in Siwa.”
