Nasser Al Misned, Founder of Fadfad
Twenty-year old Nasser Al Misned, a first-time entrepreneur and communication student at Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), still remembers the day when his professor gave his class an assignment to come up with business proposals. To his surprise, all the students in the class came up with various proposals related to mental health.
“At that moment, I realised that this was something that was very needed here in Qatar, and something that has never really been done before. And so I came up with the idea of Fadfad,” Al Misned said in an interview with The Peninsula.
Today, Fadfad, which literally means ‘to vent’ in Arabic, is a Qatar-based startup company founded by Al Misned. The company launched its mobile application app last week, arguably the first of its kind in the country, which will provide digital emotional support such as anonymous one-to-one or group counselling and coaching services to the community.
“When I conceptualised the idea for the app at the time, my target audience were definitely students in particular. Because I feel like the university years are the vulnerable years we go through. As teenagers, we go through a lot. However, with time, I learned that mental health does not really have an age target. Older people also have mental health issues, just as much as young people do. The app is for all,” said Al Misned.
Having the vision as well as the resources for his business idea, the next thing Al Misned focused on was in building the right team. The Fadfad app now features life coaches who are experts in mental health & fitness, relationships, nutrition, leadership, and business & career.
Born from his own personal experience, Al Misned said the company values the data privacy and anonymity of its members. “I’m the type of person who loves to vent. But I’d rather vent to someone I personally don’t know. And Fadfad is completely anonymous. As a member, you can choose to turn on or turn off the camera. We care about the privacy and anonymity of the members. We want them to feel comfortable to the extent that they can even distort or change their voice in the app so they can vent in a safe space,” he added.
Maud Daniel, Managing Director at Fadfad, said members who use the Fadfad app will not only have a safe space to vent where they can be listened to; they can also establish, track, and achieve goals for personal or professional growth with the coaches.
“This programme is for every nationality, age group, and every sort of topic that they want to work on in their lives. Many people feel unhappy or stuck in their life, career, relationship, or in their health. They just feel unwell. FadFad is a place where you can assess aspects of your life where you want to change something. We can track objectives and follow up. Or when you just simply need to be heard. It’s a neutral space where there’s no judgement. Because sometimes you just need to FadFad or vent when you feel down. It happens to everyone. When you are not feeling super well and just need to talk to someone who will not judge you. And we are that person,” said Daniel.
She added that members, who may show symptoms of clinical depression and might need further clinical treatment, will also be referred to appropriate medical channels.
Daniel said Fadfad seeks to target residents in Qatar first, and plans to expand in the future in the Middle East, and globally.
“In the second phase (this year), we’re also planning to enter into e-commerce and set up an e-shop with personalised top notch products that improve well-being. We are also considering working with schools and the younger population, as well as tapping into B2B, partnering with ministries or companies that want to have a neutral partner to discuss their employees’ problems at work or problems in life affecting work,” she added.
