Built as a platform that provides in-home as well as online services for people with pets, Vetwork was launched in early 2019 by Fady Azzouny, who makes it a point to introduce himself as “co-founder, CEO, and pet owner” when talking about his startup. “Our main mission is to make pets healthier, and pets owners’ lives easier,” says Azzouny, who has previously worked on two other entrepreneurial ventures in the veterinary industry. “We provide basic animal healthcare services that can be done at home. We also have Vetwork care that includes grooming, dog training, dog walking, and pet sitting, and a Vetwork stall where we sell pet products including dry food, fresh food, and accessories.”

With ample experience stemming from his previous experience in the veterinary industry (with his current co-founder Abdelreheem Hussein) and having already graduated from 500 Startups’ accelerator program, Azzouny already had a wealth of knowledge under his belt while starting VetWork. But even so, Azzouny says it was TAQADAM’s help last year that ensured his startup made it through the COVID-19 crisis relatively unscathed. “I honestly don’t know if we would still be here had we not joined the program,” he admits. “The guidance, the mentors, and the spirit of the program itself- it all helped us immensely. I’m an Egyptian so obtaining relevant data about the Saudi market was only possible for us through TAQADAM.”

By adding features such as online services and complementary healthcare kits, as well as working with animal care shelters, Vetwork has thus managed to persevere as a business, and Azzouny is now gearing up to build its future as well. “I’m a veterinarian, and the biggest problem for us is that our patients cannot speak,” he says. “So, I want to give the animals a voice. That is my crazy dream! I want a dog to be able to enter the clinic, and directly tell the vet that he is not feeling well- not literally, of course! But with the help of a wearable device that reads the important metrics of the animal’s body, this device can help us with telemedicine as well. And KAUST has the technology and the people to help realize that dream!”

Source Credit: Entrepreneur