My Final Year Project: Turning Uncertainty into Innovation

Unlocking Market Potential with the Relative Attractiveness Index

When I first heard about the idea behind the Relative Attractiveness Index (RAI) for my final year project, I’ll be honest—I had no clue what it even meant. I remember sitting in front of my laptop, searching everywhere for examples or existing tools, and coming up empty. There weren’t even many research papers to lean on. It felt like I was trying to build something from the ground up, with almost no roadmap.

That challenge was both intimidating and strangely exciting. I realized if I could pull this off, I’d be creating something genuinely new—something that could help businesses make smarter, data-driven decisions about global expansion.

How I and my Team Built RAI from Scratch

The idea behind RAI was simple: give companies a way to compare countries using real economic and healthcare data, so they could pick the best markets for their needs. But with so few references, every step felt experimental.
I focused on three main factors:

• GDP: The economic backbone of any country.
• Healthcare Expenditure: Especially important for pharma and biotech.
• Labor Force: Because people power every industry.

One of my biggest strokes of luck was stumbling on datasets from the World Bank that update regularly. Finding reliable, dynamic data was like striking gold—it meant the tool wouldn’t go stale and could keep providing fresh insights.

From Confusion to Creation: Building Pharmascope

The first version of RAI was honestly just a mess of spreadsheets and trial-and-error formulas. But I wanted to make it accessible and interactive, so I built Pharmascope as a web app using Streamlit.
Some highlights (and headaches) from the journey:

• Interactive Visuals: Adding real-time charts and maps was way harder than I expected, but seeing the results was incredibly rewarding.
• Customizable Weights: I knew different industries would care about different factors, so I made sure users could adjust the importance of each variable.
• Geocoding Integration: Mapping countries with Nominatim was a challenge, but it really brought the data to life.

There were days when I wondered if I’d bitten off more than I could chew, but each breakthrough made the late nights worth it.

What I’d Do Differently (and What’s Next)

Looking back, there’s a lot I’d improve:

• More Local Insights: Numbers are powerful, but I’d love to add qualitative info—maybe country snapshots or expert commentary.
• Broader Data Sources: Adding factors like political stability or ease of doing business would make the tool even more robust.
• Forward-Looking Analytics: Predicting market trends is the dream, and it’s definitely on my wish list for future versions.

This project taught me that sometimes, building from scratch is the only way to make something truly original.

Why RAI Matters (and Why I’m Proud of It)

For anyone in biotech, pharma, tech, or manufacturing, RAI can help take the guesswork out of market expansion. It’s not perfect, but it’s a big leap from relying on gut feelings or outdated reports.
Most of all, I’m proud that what started as a confusing assignment turned into a working tool that could actually help real businesses. If you’re curious to see how it works, or just want to poke around under the hood, check out the Pharmascope project on GitHub.

Thanks for reading—and if you have feedback or ideas, I’d love to hear from you!
Have you ever had to build something without a roadmap? I’d love to hear your story—drop a comment or reach out!