When Dr. Omar Shoukry Sakr had the opportunity to read for his Ph.D. in Geneva, he was astounded by the range and quantity of scientific equipment available compared to what he had access to in Egypt. The lack of resources meant Egyptian scientists outsourced their samples to European and U.S. experts. This practice had been a long-standing contributor to the historical underrepresentation of scientific output from the African continent.

Upon returning to Egypt, Omar immediately set in motion a way to reduce this disparity and founded Nawah Scientific to foster and grow homegrown research and innovation.

It is the first private research center in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and offers world-class, accredited analytical and scientific services online and on demand.

The name Nawah – Arabic for ‘nucleus’ – reflects his vision to become a beacon of scientific excellence and a catalyst for scientific growth and exploration in the MENA region and other parts of Africa. Now, scientists have access to state-of-the-art facilities and reliable expertise on their doorstep. They send their samples to Nawah Scientific for experimentation and analysis, and the results are returned to them online.

The company started with the pharmaceutical industry but is diversifying its scope of services to the agricultural, chemical, and oil industries. Nawah Scientific has extended its reach to universities and companies outside MENA to Malaysia, U.K., and Switzerland and has processed more than 400,000 samples.

Omar keeps the wheels of research and development in constant motion, working to establish novel testing protocols that push the boundaries of scientific discovery and service quality. His ambitious plan is to expand quickly in Africa, dominate the market on the continent, and then pursue an IPO.