Her startup was founded to save Egyptians from her difficult experiences. Combining her digital marketing skills with her passion to serve the population, she developed a mobile app used by 75,000 people in Egypt. 

Doaa Aref (photo) is the co-founder and CEO of Chefaa, a healthcare startup she launched with Rasha Radi in 2017. Chefaa allows users to discuss with pharmacists, through a mobile app available on AppStore and Playstore, scan their medical prescriptions to order the drugs they want to buy, and get them delivered to their doorsteps.  

Currently, the startup claims 75,000 users in Egypt. To develop its services and enter new markets, Doaa Aref launched a fundraising operation that brought in several investors including Newtown Partners, Global Brain, and GMS Capital Partners. The amount raised was not disclosed but Doaa Aref is confident about the impact the funds would have on Chefaa. 

 “I believe this venture round is pivotal not because it will only help us scale our validated business models, but because it will also help us capitalize on untapped market opportunities. We are confident Chefaa will dominate over a much larger market share in the next two years,” she said. 

Chefaa was created to save users from the tribulations Doaa Aref went through at one point in her life. Indeed, when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, she had a hard time traveling to get her medications, as she was living alone, and even accurately following the treatment plan. 

"I passed through many problems, I really didn’t know how to handle medicine. And when I got better and started to do some market research I found out that everyone literally has these problems. We need a solution. That’s how I got the idea for Chefaa," she explained. 

No one would have guessed Doaa Aref would go into the healthtech industry. In 2008, she graduated from Tanta University with a BSc in Agricultural Sciences. In 2010, she enrolled in Alexandria University where she got her diploma in quality control in 2012. In 2013, she got her  MBA in business Administration and Management from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Shipping. Despite her various diplomas, she was more attracted to the marketing world.  

From 2006 to 2012, all through her university studies, she held various marketing positions for firms like  Mega Trade Co, Radwty For Advertising Services, Just4arab E-Magazine, and Maven Agency For Advertising Services. In 2015, she decided to get proper digital marketing training with the Digital Marketing Training Center, where she got a social media diploma. Up till her sickness and subsequent creation of Chefaa, she held digital marketing positions with Seven Agency, Mnbaa, Speakol, and Stylish Eve, among others. 

Melchior Koba