We caught up with Chiraz Jaafar Maalej (pictured above), founder of PharmaForma, as she took us through her entrepreneurial journey.
Who is Chiraz Jaafar Maalej and what is PharmaForma?
Chiraz Jaafar Maalej is a Tunisian-born pharmacist (now based in Mauritius) with more than 10 years of experience in France. She is fascinated by the power of technology in transforming and creating new solutions. Her brainchild, PharmaForma, is an Edtech platform that provides e-learning modules for pharmacists across Africa through a user-friendly web and mobile platform.
Why PharmaForma?
Story behind PharmaForma
PharmForma is borne out of Chiraz’s experiences and observations in Africa and Europe. Born in Monastir, she grew up admiring a pharmacist in her neighborhood, whom she dreamed of looking and being like her.
At the time, her brothers and sister were often sickly. Chiraz would retrieve empty bottles, filling water and dyes in them to prepare colorful potions. While her girlfriends played doctor, she played pharmacist. She prescribed imaginary prescriptions and dispensed her mixtures to her siblings. Unbeknownst to her, she was already preparing herself for a professional career.
Later, while working as a pharmacist in France, she realized the importance of continuous learning and upskilling in an ever-changing work environment. She was inspired to act and find a solution. She founded PharmaForma, a distance learning platform that brings added value to the pharmacy professions by expanding their knowledge and improving their pharmaceutical skills in French-speaking countries such as Mauritius.
PharmaForma stands out for its educational and interactive program that uses cognitive science through interactive e-learning modules to improve learning and memorization. It develops digital tools for the pharmaceutical professions with scientifically relevant and optimized online content. The content is in the form of synthesized courses, allowing pharmacists to learn at their own pace and integrate long-term concepts. To make learning more enjoyable, it incorporates fun activities such as practical exercises and quizzes to evaluate learner’s progress. The goal is to accompany the learner in their educational journey, supporting and giving them necessary advice.
Mission
PharmaForma’s mission is to provide African pharmacists with easy access to high-quality e-learning modules that support their professional development and help them to provide better healthcare for their communities.
Vision
PharmaForma’s vision is to become the go-to platform for pharmacists in Africa, offering a high-quality professional development resource that enables pharmacists to provide better patient care.
Accreditation
PharmaForma was accredited as Continuous Professional Development (CPD) provider in Mauritius, a testimony that its programs meet the quality requirements of professional training.
What is the long-term impact of PharmaForma?
PharmaForma is an e-learning platform for pharmacists in Africa that seeks to make a significant improvement in the quality of healthcare services in the region. By providing high-quality e-learning resources to pharmacists, it aims at empowering them to offer better care to their patients and improve healthcare outcomes in their communities, resulting in life quality improvement, increased economic productivity, and reduced healthcare costs.
What lessons have you learned so far?
Chiraz believes in the importance of user feedback and continuous improvement. “Digital for better Healthcare,” she says, “is a very challenging ecosystem that requires cogent strategies to navigate through the opportunities that come along the way.” She recommends flexibility, adaptability, and openness to change in the business model or product during moments of uncertainty and in the evolving healthcare landscape. She credits the ability to pivot and adjust quickly as the necessary recipe for success. We close with one of her favorite quotes.
Knowledge is the only thing that increases when we share it”
Sacha Boujmeda
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