As we near the end of 2019, many of us will begin thinking of our New Year’s resolutions for 2020. Amongst the endless possibilities of resolutions, one of the most common is to exercise more, or adopt a healthier lifestyle—if only we had the motivation to stick to our goals throughout the year. Many gym memberships end up going to waste because we simply can’t find the time or need someone to motivate us to go.
Imagine that you were rewarded for every step you took. That every step equated to a form of currency that you could then use to redeem rewards. That simply by walking you could earn a free flight or perhaps your favorite spa treatment. Would you take more steps? Hayatech thinks you would too.
Hayatech is reimagining the approach to wellness with a unique employee health program that aims to foster an ecosystem around wellness through incentives, gamification, and rewards.
Hayatech works directly with corporates and wellness providers to incentivize employees to adopt healthy habits. They do this by providing a software as a service and connected hardware platform, upon which users can sync their favorite wearable, including Apple Watch, Google Fit, Fitbit, and more to access the Hayatech mobile application. Through using the platform, employees can measure their movement progress and participate in personal best and team up competitions, promoting a community around wellness.
Hayatech was founded by CEO Frederick Bastin, CTO Mohamed Salih, and COO Sandra Knight. Fred comes from a background in asset management and strategy consulting, specializing in transactional advisory services. Mohamed has 27 years across the public and private sector in digital transformation and technical project management, shaping health policy with the Supreme Council of Youth and Sports. While Sandra worked as a healthcare software developer and instructional designer at John Hopkins Aramco Healthcare and championed company-wide wellness initiatives by nurturing a speaker series on integrating personal wellness practices in the workplace.
The founders of Hayatech are working to transform sedentary lifestyles in the Gulf. Currently, 73% of deaths in the GCC are due to lifestyle-related illnesses, or illnesses purely born out of unhealthy habits. According to a study done by the World Health Organization, the GCC hosts the highest rates of inactivity in the world, with Kuwait at 67%, Saudi Arabia 53%, and Bahrain at 57%.
An unhealthy lifestyle leads to a more disengaged workforce, which can cost corporations 10-15% of economic output impacting increases in health costs, sick leave, and lost productivity. Hayatech aims to reimagine the way we approach our health, resulting in happier and longer lives.
Hayaech proudly participated in the 2019 Brinc MENA accelerator program. Since their participation in Brinc’s cohort, Hayatech has also been active in other areas of the ecosystem.
They won 1st place in the Seedstars Manama competition, giving them the opportunity to represent Bahrain at the upcoming MENA Regional Seedstars competition in December. Hayatech was selected by MIT Pan Arab Federation and Tamkeen to exhibit at TechCrunch in Silicon Valley in September 2019. Most recently, Hayatech was selected to participate as part of the StartUp Bahrain delegation to Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal in November 2019.
Sounds impressive, right? We have even more exciting news! Hayatech is partnering with a Bahrain-based corporate for a pilot program that has an ongoing commitment to corporate social responsibility. Stay tuned with Hayatech and keep your eyes peeled to learn more details soon!
Make sure to follow Hayatech on Instagram to keep up with their latest news, and check out their website to learn more.
Stay up to date with all our other startup news by signing up to our newsletter.
