Zulekha Daud

Zulekha Daud is the Managing Director of Zulekha Hospitals in the UAE. She set up Zulekha Hospitals in 1992 and Forbes Middle East recognized her contributions to the field of healthcare by including her in the list of 100 Indian Leaders in the UAE. The Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai awarded her the Dubai Quality Award.

Zulekha Daud was born into the family of a construction worker. She graduated with an Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur, India. She specialised in gynaecology.

Daud moved to the UAE in 1964, becoming the first female Indian doctor to practice there. She first worked at the American Kuwait Mission Hospital, while her husband was an ophthalmologist in Ras Al Khaimah. Before the federation was formed in 1971, facilities in the UAE were basic, some areas lacked electricity and supplies; equipment that Zulekha had to use were rudimentary. She has attended to more than 10,000 deliveries across her career and it is her work in this field that earned her the moniker ‘Mama Zulekha’.

The first Zulekha Hospital was set up in Sharjah, in 1992. It began as a 30 bed facility and the Zulekha Group has now expanded to include another hospital in Dubai along with 3 medical centers and a chain of pharmacies. Today, the Zulekha Group is considered to be one of the largest private healthcare networks in the Emirates. Between the two hospitals and three medical centers, the Zulekha Group treats about 550,000 people annually.

In 2004, Daud set up Zed – a vocational and training center and a charitable trust in Nagpur. Her other efforts in India include the ‘Clean Drinking Water’ cause engineered in and around Nagpur. She has also begun adopting non-functional educational institutes around the area.

In 2010, Daud put together a financing deal of $24 million with the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group to offer hospital care in India and the UAE. According to the plan presented, $21 million would be put toward a 189-bed strong hospital in Nagpur, India and $3 million would go toward an energy-efficiency project in the Zulekha group’s Sharjah facility.

• International Women’s Day excellence award on the 11th International Women’s Day Excellence Awards in Dubai. (2012)
• Recognised as one of the top gynaecologists in the UAE and honoured by Sheikh Dr. Majid Bin Saeed Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Ruler’s Court (Ajman) at the National Conference on Women’s Health at Gulf Medical University (GMU) Campus. (2012)
• Lifetime Achievement – Healthcare Award (2012)
• Zulekha Daud placed 20th in the Economic Times' 2013 list of Most powerful Indian in the Gulf.(2013)
• Placed in Forbes Middle East top 100 Indian leaders in the UAE. (2013).
• Listed as one of the 20 most influential global Indian women. (2015).
• Outstanding Contribution of an Individual to the Middle East Healthcare Industry Award. (2015)
• Ranked 33 in arabianbusiness.com’s list of 50 richest Indians in the GCC.
• Dubai Quality Award at the 21st Business Excellence Awards Ceremony. This was recognised by the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.(2015)