Welcome to Global Good’s Impact Interview series. This series shares the stories of people and companies driving meaningful change in society.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your role?
I’m Ismaeel Mahmood, Founder and CEO of Mahmood Global Holdings (MGH). My focus is on building innovative solutions to urgent real-world problems, particularly in healthcare.
SmileRequest, one of the companies I founded, addresses the UK’s NHS dentistry crisis. Millions of patients struggle to access care, while practices are overwhelmed and the system is fragmented. My role is to ensure SmileRequest bridges these gaps through technology, modern workflows, and intelligent systems — creating a fairer, more efficient, and accessible NHS dental ecosystem.
How did your company come about, and what was the motivation behind SmileRequest?
Watching the NHS dental crisis unfold made it clear that the problem wasn’t simply a lack of dentists — it was the absence of an intelligent, connected system linking patients, practices, and workforce needs. Patients faced hundreds of phone calls, long waits, and confusion, while practices struggled with high administrative burdens, unpredictable patient flows, and outdated systems. SmileRequest was born to solve this systemic problem. Its mission is to give patients fair access to NHS dental care while supporting practices with smart digital tools. The platform is designed to address the patient side, while our sister company, The NextStep Recruitment, focuses on workforce supply. Together, they form a coherent solution to the NHS dental ecosystem crisis.
The core problem SmileRequest addresses is the inefficient access to NHS dental care for millions across the UK, stemming from a fragmented system rather than a simple shortage of dentists. Patients are left frustrated and with worsening oral health, facing hundreds of unsuccessful phone calls, unclear long waiting lists, and a lack of digital tools or guidance. Simultaneously, dental practices are overwhelmed by high administrative burdens, staff shortages, unpredictable patient flows, and limited capacity to triage urgent cases. SmileRequest was created based on the insight that the real issue is the absence of an intelligent, connected system to bridge the gap between patients who need care and practices that provide it.
SmileRequest utilises a suite of proprietary AI and digital solutions to fundamentally modernise NHS dental care, driving both patient access and practice efficiency. The platform incorporates a Smart Priority-Based Booking Algorithm for fair appointment distribution, AI-Powered Symptom Triaging to assess urgency and route patients correctly, and Geo-AI Clustering to optimise patient-to-practice distribution. Additionally, a Dual-Sided Marketplace Optimisation system connects patients with available appointments and helps align recruitment efforts, all supported by a Preventive Care Prediction engine that uses data to promote long-term oral health outcomes.
Can you describe your SmileRequest’s mission and values?
SmileRequest’s mission is to make NHS dental care accessible, fair, efficient, and modern, anchored by core commitments to reduce inequality, support practices with modern tools, ease patient confusion, build digital infrastructure for UK dentistry’s future, and ensure no patient is left behind. This long-term national infrastructure initiative tackles critical social impact issues: it combats the NHS Dentistry Crisis and its resulting pain and worsening oral health through intelligent scheduling; addresses Workforce Shortages and Unequal Distribution with intelligent matching to optimize dentist placement; resolves Inequality in Access for rural and deprived regions by using smart triage to prioritize high-need patients; modernizes Outdated Systems by deploying AI-driven tools to reduce administrative burden and focus clinicians on patients; and fosters Patient Empowerment and Transparency by providing clear, real-time information and digital access to minimise frustration.
What are some of the most pressing social issues that your company is working to address through its technology?
SmileRequest ensures real-world impact by tracking measurable outcomes across several key areas. For Patient Access & Health Outcomes, this includes successfully booked appointments, reduced waiting times, and appointment distribution to underserved areas, all supported by compliance with follow-ups via the Smart Recall Engine. The platform also contributes to Workforce Support by alleviating bottlenecks through coordinated scheduling and recruitment insights, and drives System Efficiency by reducing administrative workload and optimising appointment utilisation. Finally, it promotes Social Equity with enhanced access for rural and deprived communities and a reduction in dental care disparities, all while maintaining Continuous Feedback & Iteration using patient feedback and platform analytics, embodying the principle that technology is a force multiplier that enables smarter decisions at scale.
How does your company measure the impact of its work in creating positive change?
SmileRequest’s purpose-driven innovation leverages technology to create a comprehensive solution for the NHS dental crisis, focusing on four pillars of impact. Access & Fairness are ensured through AI-driven scheduling, which provides patients with timely care, especially in underserved areas. It empowers the Workforce by using intelligent systems to match dentists to practices, creating much-needed stability in the ecosystem. This leads to Efficiency & Sustainability as optimised processes significantly reduce wasted time and resources. Finally, Data & AI Insights utilise predictive analytics to anticipate demand, identify potential workforce shortages, and guide long-term strategic trends, with the overarching goal of technology amplifying impact when guided by human needs and social responsibility.
What advice do you have for other companies looking to use tech for good and positively impact the world?
For companies looking to leverage technology for good and achieve a positive global impact, the essential advice begins with a purpose-driven approach—focusing on solving real-world problems rather than just building products. It is crucial to design human-centred solutions by deeply understanding the people being served and to consistently measure impact across social, operational, and human outcomes. Furthermore, successful systemic change requires collaboration across sectors with governments and communities, emphasising the need for companies to be patient and persistent as change takes time. Throughout this process, businesses must prioritise ethics, considering privacy, fairness, and inclusivity, while always aiming to use technology to empower, not replace, human potential and maintain empathy.
SmileRequest is powered by Mahmood Global Holdings, and you can follow Ismaeel on Instagram here or Linked in here
