Former IAS officer Dr. Syed Sabahat Azim experienced a life-changing event when his father passed away during surgery at a private hospital in Kolkata. This tragedy motivated Azim to leave his position as an IAS officer and pursue entrepreneurship.
In 2010, Azim founded Glocal Healthcare Systems (GHS), an affordable healthcare chain. Speaking to a business daily, he explained that his father’s death served as a turning point, as he realized, “If such disaster can happen to my father due to lack of medical facilities, then it can happen to any citizen of India.”
Azim now dedicates much of his time to Kolkata and other regions of West Bengal. He once shared with IANS, "I did my medical degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), a constituent of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Then I joined the administrative service and served in various positions, including Secretary to the Chief Minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar. But I was feeling restless to do more, something that could give me satisfaction as a human being."
In recognition of his efforts to provide affordable healthcare in rural India, Azim was named the Social Entrepreneur of 2020 by the World Economic Forum's Schwab Foundation for Social Enterprise.
"I come from Uttar Pradesh. I am a small-town person who has spent most of his time during service in rural India. I always felt the urge to make the world a better place in a sustainable way. Primarily, as human beings, we all have multiple identities, be it our nationality, religion, or as the person we are in real life. But none of them are important. I want to be known for the works I do in life. That is the only predominant factor," he said.
Azim started GHS with a 30-bed health center in a village. Since then, his hospital chain has expanded significantly. "We have presence in various West Bengal districts, including Birbhum, Bankura, Murshidabad, Burdwan, Darjeeling, and Nadia," he noted.
