Hanan Saab: Eyes on the Future

Hanan Saab

Eyes on the Future

By Marah Bukai

In the midst of extreme political turmoil and social unrest in Lebanon, Hanan Saab has emerged with determination and optimism for the future of her country

Born and raised in Lebanon, Hanan Saab has developed a pharmaceuticals sales company which has met the growing needs of the Lebanese population. Saab was inspired by her father, who owned one of the oldest pharmacies in Lebanon until it was destroyed during the Lebanese civil war in 1980. Rebuilding this family legacy and providing for the people of Lebanon have motivated Hanan Saab to build a new company despite the economic, social, and political instability of Lebanon.

Saab was educated at the University of Beirut and later became a pharmacist at the American University Hospital. During this time, she developed a growing dedication to providing access to scarce or non-existent resources for the people of Lebanon. Her time at the American University hospital opened her eyes to the opportunity that she had to make life better for her fellow Lebanese citizens. She says, “I could see that there was the potential to get certain medical products and make them available on the market, and I felt that I could do much more than this….I wanted to create something that would provide self-fulfillment for me while creating jobs for other people. And this is exactly what happened.”

Saab is the founder and leader of Pharmamed, a company which secures pharmaceuticals which the citizens of Lebanon have been unable to obtain.

Building New Business

The procurement of hard to find and effective medications is an ambitious undertaking. She is constantly researching the latest findings and participating in conferences which will expand the company’s information base. She says, “We research the new medications that are coming to cure certain disorders, say a particular form of cancer, so that when a doctor diagnoses a patient, there is a particular medication available and we can provide it.” She continues to explain that her company is “willing to go the extra mile to make the medication available for people even if the return is not very high.” The fact that the comfort of the patients is Saab’s highest priority is proof that her company was founded based on the desire to make better a situation which was plaguing the country.

The normal risks of building a new company were compounded by the uneasy political situation inside of Lebanon. Hanan Saab explains, “There were lots of risks. When I started my company, everybody thought it was crazy to enter a market already saturated with distributors and to sell products that might not result in a quick return.” In addition to the business fears which could impact the future of Saab’s company, her friends reminded her that she had a steady income which her family was already dependent upon. Saab however, knew that she had to try to make a difference, regardless of the outcome. She remarks, “I didn’t know that it was going to work; I just knew that I was willing to work hard to sell things that would make a difference in peoples’ lives.”

Sustainability Based on Core Values

The risks and fears associated with beginning a new business were well founded, however, Hanan Saab was fortunate to succeed in her aspirations. She founded a company which originally included only one employee, herself, and now is provides jobs for 25 employees and medication for numerous consumers including hospitals, pharmacies, governmental organizations such as the Ministry of Health, and the military. In order to strengthen her employee community, Hanan Saab has taken many steps to make her company sustainable for the future.

She has encouraged her employees to take personal responsibility within the company. She remarks, “Pharmamed will grow with the employees; we will all grow together, along with the sense of knowledge, expertise, and success. You have to give employees the opportunity to explore what they want and increase their expertise and back them…. This is why I always involve them in the business and in coming up with new ideas that will improve it. I tell them that we are a company that is growing and will continue to grow with the efforts of all the people that are in it….They are the people that make a difference in the company, they are the future.” In developing a team with shared responsibility, Hanan Saab is creating a durable and lasting employee base which can continue to expand and develop with creative ideas and dedication to a shared vision.

In addition to developing a community of competent employees, Hanan Saab recognizes the potential for women in the marketplace. She explains, “Women have a capability to create businesses and I believe that if they focus well, they can be capable of achieving great economic growth for our country. In Lebanon we have so many resources that are not explored and women in my opinion are one of these resources—in terms of their education, their insight, and their creativity. It makes me happy to think that my company is contributing to the welfare of 25 families. Now, imagine if we had 10,000 companies created and established by women, just how many jobs and how many families that would affect. The positive impact on our economy and on our nation’s families would be enormous.”

With her optimism and vision for the future, Hanan Saab recognizes that she can expand outside of Lebanon. She explains, “We have already started this process and we are gradually growing the market abroad in order to fill in the gapes if we have difficulties here. We have representation in Jordan and we now have a distributor in the Emirates. We have registered products for an American company in Egypt and I’m exploring the viability of our products in Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.”

Working with Passion

In broadening her scope to outside of Lebanon, Hanan Saab is recognizing the potential for growth throughout the region. Inspiring women to become part of her business and looking to inspire entrepreneurs world wide to pay attention to problems and develop ways to address them despite social and political barriers is a particular passion.

Saab is a role model for any aspiring businesspeople. She is proof that success can be achieved, even in a country devastated by civil war. Saab recognized the needs of the people of Lebanon and she took on their suffering as if it was her own. She took the risks necessary to found and operate her own business which strives everyday to meet the needs of people afflicted by pain.

By providing relief and possibilities for the future for those suffering from cancer and other painful diseases, Saab is contributing to building a country which looks after those people who are not receiving the attention they deserve. In addition to this individual level of aid, Saab provides inspiration for Lebanon with an optimistic future, where businesses can be successfully built, and where people can take the initiative to solve problems which may seem overwhelming. Even on a larger scale than the country, Saab is a role model for the women of the Middle East who are constantly confronted with challenges of balancing their time between family and business. She is proof that changes can be made and that a vision can be fulfilled with unyielding tenacity and dedication.