For Dubai-based entrepreneur Avinav Nigam, the idea of building an AI-powered hiring platform did not begin as a business opportunity. It began with loss, frustration, and a determination to fix a system that had failed people close to him.
Nigam, an IIT Bombay alumnus and founder of TERN Group, created an artificial intelligence-driven recruitment platform designed to make global healthcare hiring transparent, efficient, and ethical. His mission took shape after two deeply personal experiences revealed the human cost of broken recruitment systems.
A Personal Tragedy That Sparked a Mission
Years before launching the platform, Nigam lost a close friend who was undergoing chemotherapy in the United Kingdom. Due to staff shortages and limited hospital capacity, she was asked to leave the hospital.
When her condition worsened, and she returned for treatment, it was too late.
Within a day, she passed away.
The experience left Nigam with a stark realization that inefficiencies in healthcare staffing are not just operational challenges. They can cost lives.
This tragedy became the first turning point in his journey toward building a better recruitment system.
$60,000 Lost to Recruitment Fraud
Another incident made the problem impossible to ignore.
Nigam’s nanny, a nurse from Gujarat, dreamed of working in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. To secure a job, her family paid $60,000 to a recruitment agent, even selling their home to raise the money.
When she arrived in the UK, the job did not exist.
The entire opportunity was a fraud.
The loss devastated her family and exposed the scale of exploitation faced by healthcare workers seeking opportunities abroad.
According to Nigam, such scams continue to affect thousands of job seekers globally.
Building a Fair Recruitment System
These experiences led Nigam to build what he describes as a fully AI-powered end-to-end recruitment and career development platform.
The system aims to eliminate intermediaries and reduce the risk of fraud by directly connecting healthcare professionals with employers through verified digital processes.
Artificial intelligence is used to conduct structured interviews, evaluate clinical reasoning, and identify qualified candidates remotely. The platform also verifies credentials and documents to ensure authenticity and transparency.
Nigam describes the platform as a way to create equal opportunity for healthcare professionals worldwide.
The goal is simple. A fair system where candidates can access legitimate jobs without exploitation.
AI Hiring in the UAE Healthcare Sector
The platform is already being used in the UAE to support healthcare recruitment.
It is helping hire nurses for Emirates Health Services, which operates 134 hospitals and healthcare centres across the country.
The AI-driven system allows candidates to be assessed remotely while ensuring standardized evaluation and faster hiring cycles.
Automated verification processes reduce the risk of fake documents and fraudulent placements.
This approach improves efficiency for employers while protecting candidates from unethical recruitment practices.
Beyond Hiring. Career Growth Support
Nigam’s platform goes beyond recruitment.
Artificial intelligence agents track professional development over time, helping healthcare workers plan career paths and improve their skills.
The system can provide guidance on career progression, identify burnout risks, and recommend development opportunities.
Nigam believes that supporting healthcare workers throughout their careers is essential for building resilient health systems.
A Mission Driven by Purpose
For Nigam, the platform represents more than a technology product.
It is a response to personal experiences that revealed how vulnerable job seekers and patients can be when systems fail.
By removing bottlenecks in hiring and preventing recruitment fraud, the platform aims to ensure that qualified healthcare professionals reach the places where they are needed most.
Nigam’s vision is rooted in a simple belief.
Better hiring systems can save lives.
Avinav Nigam during the launch of the AI-powered, end-to-end recruitment platform at the World Health Expo at Dubai Exhibition Centre.
