No point in doing business without a social angle, says Thumbay Moideen

Dubai - Thumbay Group founder recalls his journey from a timber merchant to a UAE healthcare doyen

The Thumbay Group, which has major stakes in the UAE's healthcare and medical education industries, is expanding at break-neck speed. With business interests spanning 14 verticals, the conglomerate has set its sights on the wider GCC, India, South Asia and Africa to expand geographically.

Thumbay Moideen, founder and president of the Thumbay Group, offers a valid reason behind this growth strategy. Being the first private academic hospital in the UAE, that now boasts four Thumbay Hospitals in Ajman, Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah, the group cannot depend on the UAE's thin population alone to fill up its beds.

"The UAE is thinly populated. I can't dream of a 1,000-bed hospital. We are focusing on Ghana to build a university and hospital, much larger in scale than our Ajman facility. We have acquired land. We also plan to have other streams such as engineering there," says Moideen during an interview with Khaleej Times.

The group is already working on a 100+bed hospital in Qatar. Talks are ongoing for a nursing school in Saudi Arabia while it is also eyeing Egypt and other African countries for expansion. In India, the Thumbay Group has opened a hospital in Hyderabad and is planning a facility in Bengaluru and Maharashtra as well.

Meanwhile, back in the UAE where Moideen scripted his success story in 1998, the group's subsidiaries are firing on all cylinders.

Construction is on at a 400-bed teaching hospital attached to the Gulf Medical University (GMU) in Ajman, which has students of over 73 nationalities and faculty and staff from over 22 countries. Other two facilities coming up in the same campus include a dental hospital for the Dental College and a rehabilitation centre for the Physiotherapy College. "We want to finish construction in 15 months," Moideen adds.

"Every business of ours is growing. Our dream is to scale up our existing businesses at least 10 times more in the next five years. It's going as per plan," says the third-generation entrepreneur who hails from Mangalore in India.

Allied industries

The key to Thumbay Group's success has been to diversify into industries allied with its core businesses, viz. healthcare and education. Apart from outlets in the UAE, Blends and Brews Coffee Shop has now diversified into India and Qatar. "The dream is to have 100 outlets in two to three years. We are building in Al Ghurair Centre, Wafi Mall and other leading malls," Moideen shares.

Body & Soul Healthclub and Spa has five operating units spread across Ajman, Dubai and Sharjah. Plans are afoot to open a massive branch in Dubai soon. The group runs five Zo & Mo Opticals outlets, Thumbay Clinics, Thumbay Pharmacies, diagnostic centres, Nutri Plus Vita stores and five Terrace restaurants. "We have one opening in Rolla, Sharjah, and Fujairah soon," says Moideen.

The Thumbay Group currently has a 4,000-strong workforce. "With ongoing projects, we should reach more than 6,000 in the next 1.5 years. The dream is to touch a 15,000 workforce by 2020," the founder observes.

The group treats around 5,000 patients per day across all Thumbay hospitals and clinics in the UAE. Among all its units, the 250-bed Thumbay Hospital in Ajman is the busiest as it treats more than 2,000+ patients a day and handles around 600 deliveries a month.

The group is also betting big on its medical tourism wing and plans to open representative offices in 20 countries. Its main target markets are Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan and India. "Knee replacement and general executive check-ups are popular treatments among our patients. Our dream is to have around 1,000 medical tourists a day in five years' time," says Moideen.

Family is anchor

Moideen's elder son Akbar is the vice-president of the healthcare division of Thumbay Group while his younger son Akram handles the construction unit, which supports the group's expansion. For instance, there is construction and renovation work on at five clinics in Ajman, Sharjah and Dubai. About 1.2 million sq ft is currently being built by the construction company.

Moideen's wife is an artist and home maker. "She has stood by me all through. The journey wasn't easy. So, success is sweeter in hindsight," he adds.

Hailing from a successful business family which dabbled in timber and real estate, Moideen's biggest challenge during his early days was to step out of his father's shadow and create an identity for himself.

"I had several role models in my family. I've imbibed a few of their qualities. They were God-fearing, pious, family-oriented, generous, hard working and committed to their business. I try to emulate this in my daily life and corporate culture. For instance, our medical school sponsors around 20 per cent of students. We have a lot of CSR activities as well. There is no point in doing this business without a social angle. I learnt charity from my family. It's a part of our corporate culture."

Divulging his secret to success, Moideen says: "You should dream big. It doesn't cost much. I really think big for my business."

- deepthi@khaleejtimes.com

• Business