Beirut, Lebanon (Enmaeya News) — In a country where healthcare access remains uneven and public infrastructure continues to falter, a new generation of Lebanese university students is stepping up with health-focused startups designed to fill the gaps.
By blending digital innovation with firsthand experience of Lebanon’s fragile medical system, these student entrepreneurs are building tools aimed at making care more accessible, transparent and data-driven.
One such effort is FindMyDoc, a digital platform developed by students at the Lebanese American University. The app helps users find doctors based on specialty, location and hospital affiliation. It also factors in patient ratings for wait times, friendliness and quality of care, offering a weighted average score to guide user decisions.
Designed to address frustrations in Lebanon’s fragmented healthcare system, FindMyDoc has been featured in local pitch competitions and startup incubators, including Smart ESA in Beirut, where it attracted interest from several investors.
University-based innovation hubs are playing a key role in supporting such projects.
At LAU, the Fouad Makhzoumi Innovation Center launched the SPARK program in 2024 to offer students seed funding and mentorship. The program received more than 100 applications, selecting 16 finalists who were each awarded $10,000. Many of the chosen projects focus on healthcare delivery, pharmacy access and medical content platforms.
At the American University of Beirut, the iPark program is offering similar support to students developing digital diagnostic tools and med-tech devices.
Global training programs are also shaping this wave of innovation. In late 2024, LAU students took part in the AI in Healthcare Autumn School in Germany, co-hosted by the University of Bonn and Helmholtz Munich. Participants worked on using artificial intelligence in medical imaging, clinical nutrition and disease prediction for low-resource settings like Lebanon.
Many of these startups aim to rebuild patient trust, expand access in underserved areas and digitize outdated services still reliant on paper records or personal connections.
Still, obstacles remain. Lebanon’s economic crisis, unreliable internet and complicated regulatory landscape continue to limit growth. Most student-led ventures rely on donor funding, pitch competitions or diaspora investment to move beyond the prototype stage.
