ITC Business Council Highlights: Rana Farrukh Tufail

Rana Farrukh Tufail – Board Member of the Business Council for Digital Commerce.

Meet Rana Farrukh Tufail, a distinguished Board Member of the Business Council for Digital Commerce within the International Trade Council. He currently holds the pivotal position of Director of Marketing and Business Development at Almania Drugs Store, a prominent player in the Middle East’s healthcare industry since 2004.

Almania Drugs Store, under Rana Farrukh’s leadership, stands as a Master Importer, Distributor, and Brand owner, specializing in Home Care medical devices. They distribute their “AME” brand to major pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics across 17 countries in the Middle East, with a dedicated sales office in Pakistan.

Rana Farrukh’s journey into this industry is intertwined with the vision of Almania’s Chairman, Dr. Tayyab Mustafa. Driven by the desire to innovate and bring cutting-edge products to the market, Dr. Mustafa, a highly respected figure in the Middle East’s medical field, founded Almania Drugs Store in 2004. Rana Farrukh, one of the company’s first employees, embarked on this journey at a young age and worked on a commission basis. With the company’s support and blessings, he pursued higher education, obtaining both a Bachelors in Pharmacy and a Master in Business Administration.

Throughout his career at Almania, Rana Farrukh Tufail has demonstrated exceptional leadership, learning directly under Dr. Tayyab’s guidance. He has been instrumental in the development of the AME brand since its inception in 2004, successfully expanding its distribution network to 17 countries with numerous sub-distributors and hundreds of individuals working on the brand daily.

One of his proudest professional accomplishments is maintaining Almania’s competitiveness in a challenging market, even during the height of instability, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Their commitment to professionalism, friendly service, and the mantra of offering Effective, Reliable, and Affordable products has earned them unwavering customer loyalty.

Rana Farrukh acknowledges the industry’s evolution toward e-commerce, offering customers the convenience of making health-related choices from the comfort of their homes. Pharmacies are increasingly purchasing in bulk due to soaring rents and declining profits.

Challenges lie ahead in regulatory affairs, particularly the transition to the Medical Device Regulation (MDR), which has introduced disruptions and additional costs to the home care management field.

Looking to the future, Rana Farrukh anticipates continued price wars in the industry but is particularly excited about the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology innovations in healthcare.

His advice to newcomers in the industry is to focus on product quality and value rather than entering the market solely on price terms or through sales promotions. In the face of setbacks, Rana Farrukh and his team maintain a resilient spirit, echoing the philosophy that success is about enduring hardships and moving forward.

His role model and inspiration in both life and business is Dr. Tayyab Mustafa, from whom he learned invaluable lessons and had the privilege of experiencing professional growth from a young age.

Beyond his professional life, Rana Farrukh has a passion for meeting people and learning about different cultures. He is a dedicated student of comparative religion and is currently pursuing the memorization of the Holy Quran.