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Our Strategy

The strategy centered on evolving Zain’s core telecom business to maximize value and build on the company’s strengths to selectively invest in growth verticals beyond standard mobile services, supports Zain’s vision of becoming a leading ICT and digital lifestyle provider.

4Sight is centered on evolving Zain’s mobile telecom business through digitalization, optimization, and modernization to scale up resources in order establish new cores that bring growth for the business and contribute to the economic growth and technological evolution of the region.

The pillars that fall under 4Sight can be summarized as below:

Evolution of Telco:

1. Digital Transformation:

Over the last couple of years, Zain continued to enhance customer experience through digitalization which led to an increase of online transactions. This was achieved by continuously developing the company’s digital channels such as the Zain App, Zbot and Zain esports.

Zain’s digital transformation journey entails a deeper use of analytics in managing operations. A more profound understanding of what individuals need, permits the company to offer tailored, relevant, and timely value propositions. From an operational perspective, Zain’s strategy promotes the more efficient approach of using software defined networks and asset sharing in addition to streamlining the back-end operations for a more rationalized and efficient utilization of effort, energy and physical resources.

2. Enterprise and Government:

Zain is committed to working closely with organizations and businesses to provide necessary connectivity and latest solutions needed to grow their businesses efficiently and effectively.

3. Fixed Connectivity:

Zain firmly believes that superior broadband connectivity will enable and accelerate the evolution of information, education and the digital transformation of societies. Across the footprint, Zain strives to provide reliable fixed connectivity to residential and business customers whether through own deployment of fiber networks or by strategically partnering with third-party providers. This commitment transcends any market limitations, where Zain uses fixed-like technologies to fulfill customers’ needs. Across Zain’s markets, customers enjoy the latest and best broadband connectivity through the technologies offered by the company (5G, 4G and fixed LTE).

4. Portfolio Optimization:

To ensure the company maximizes the use of its resources, Zain actively participates in sharing its assets with other market players. This approach allows Zain to allocate its assets in a more efficient and sustainable way. The direction that the company is following is to sell its towers and lease them back allowing the sharing of passive network infrastructure, fostering a wiser use of energy resulting in a lower carbon footprint.

Growth Verticals:

The new cores that Zain is investing in are all leading the technological evolution and bringing the latest digital developments to the region to evolve Zain’s resilience and embed inclusion across all its digital offerings:

1. ICT:

4Sight places special emphasis on enterprises and governments, helping businesses of all sizes and governments achieve their strategic, operational, and financial objectives. Zain recently launched ZainTech, servicing enterprises and governments across the region is uniquely positioned to play a transformational role across our ecosystem. Zain Tech is the group’s center of excellence providing managed solutions for Cloud, Cybersecurity, Big Data, IoT, Ai, Smart Cities and Emerging Technologies incorporating NXN and Zain Data Park. Additionally, Zain Tech leverages the Group’s unique foot-print and global reach and offers a single point of contact for sales and customer care for multinational corporation.

2. Digital Infrastructure:

As a continuation of the direction adopted by Zain in the recent years of separating the network operations from the telecom business and the ensuing sale of the company’s passive network infrastructure in Kuwait and in Saudi Arabia during the course of next year, Zain entered a strategic partnership with TASC Towers Holding. TASC Towers is an independent tower operating company with a focus on developing markets. With Zain’s vision of becoming a leading digital infrastructure player and TASC’s solid experience and strong operating skills in the field, this digital infrastructure partnership will significantly contribute to the technological and digital evolution of the region.

3. Fintech:

Through the Fintech pillar of Zain’s 4Sight strategy, the company continued to achieve key objectives in scaling its mobile banking services across operating markets. Zain is keen on fostering innovations within the Fintech space through Tamam in Saudi Arabia, Zain Cash in Iraq and Jordan as well as M-Gurush in South Sudan.

The below infographic illustrates Zain’s Fintech journey over the years:

Planning to launch financial services in Kuwait, Sudan, and Bahrain

4. Digital Services:

Digital Health

Continuing to foster a culture of digital transformation, Zain aims to expand the digital healthcare ecosystem within our footprint and transform the patient care journey by implementing a series of digital initiatives. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for digitizing the healthcare sector across the world with the aim to bridge the gap providing solutions that are accessible, inclusive, and efficient.

Zain has been working closely with health authorities (both public and private sector) in Kuwait and other markets in this digitization journey. Key priorities have been selected, and the transformation exercise commenced accordingly.

Zain worked closely with the Central Medical Stores at the Ministry of Health in Kuwait to structure and digitize the national medications list based on latest industry standards. This initiative was the pre-cursor to launching the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) project.
An EMR platform in Kuwait that provides e-prescriptions, e-dispensing, patient medication history, x-ray imagery, and additional personal data via a platform that connects public health care facilities and private polyclinics under one roof via cloud infrastructure. The Ministry of Health intends to connect 163 governmental healthcare facilities, with the aim for doctors and pharmacists to have visibility of each patient’s medication history, allergies and medication needs.
The second phase of the digital healthcare strategy is to connect private healthcare facilities with governmental locations to ensure full awareness on a country-wide basis. We aim to create societal benefit across our footprint by allowing doctors to gain access to best-in-class digital tools to make informed medical decisions for their patients.
The next phase will involve the launch of a nationwide telehealth platform with a focus on enhancing and transforming the overall patient journey.
Zain is also working closely in a public private partnership model to engage in a series of major Hospital Management System (HMS) upgrades across multiple hospitals in Kuwait, ensuring an end-to-end implementation of the digital healthcare roadmap.

To learn more about Zain’s Digital Health initiatives, visit ‘Our Products and Services’.

Zain Group Investment and Digital Transformation:

In 2021, the company continued to move forward in its digital transformation journey to expand its services and better serve its communities across its operations. Zain leveraged on identified opportunities to adapt to the needs of the markets it serves.

Zain Ventures

In light of the pandemic, Zain continued to push the agenda of fostering digital transformation in its operating markets by investing in innovative digital services to create opportunities that bridge the digital divide, ensure business continuity, and advance socio-economic development.

Zain Ventures was established to spearhead Zain’s existing investment portfolio to diversity its reach and open the door to future investment opportunities. Zain expanded its relationship with regional and international venture capital funds such as MEVP, Wamda and Colle Capital, supporting the respective portfolio companies whenever appropriate. Zain also continued its active engagement in strategic direct investments in a variety of startups in the region offering them access to Zain’s wide geographical reach and expansive customer base. During 2021, Zain Ventures achieved the following:

Invested and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pipe, a US-based fintech that successfully developed a trading platform that transforms recurring revenue into up-front capital for growth without debt or dilution. Pipe is one of the fastest growing fintechs, recognized as the world’s first trading platform for recurring revenues with a value in excess of US$2 billion.
Invested and signed an MoU with Swvl, a mass-transit industry leader that offers diversified transit solutions and evolved its services to Software as a Service (“SaaS”) and Transport as a Service (“TaaS”) offerings for businesses, schools, universities and other critical service organizations. Mass transit platforms benefit the environment as they reduce the number of people driving single occupancy vehicles. By increasing mass transit customers, more fuel is conserved, air pollution decreases, and the region’s carbon footprint is reduced.
Investment in ZoodPay, the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) app’s series B US$38 million fundraising round, joining other global investors. The ZoodPay and ZoodMall apps count over 8 million users and ten offices across the Middle East and Central Asia, providing a mobile-only high-quality shopping experience and cross-border services to merchants and shoppers across emerging markets.

Zain Group API: A Single Digital Hub

In 2021, Zain continued to scale various digital services across its footprint with the aim of expanding its reach and increasing accessibility.

To help achieve this, the company operations used multiple services on the Group API Platform to keep their customers connected and engaged with the aim to become the global digital services hub in the MENA region. The platform, established in 2018, allows all Zain Opcos exposing their APIs to the digital economy, with Zain exposing its APIs commencing June 2018 and thereby helping remove a significant barrier to the development of profitable digital partnerships from across the globe, enhancing the roll-out of appealing entertainment and gaming services to both individual and enterprise customers, so as to reap the lucrative opportunities in the digital space.

The API platform allows Zain to connect with various services across entertainment, education and social networking – to ensure that Zain customers had seamless access to quality education (via services like Busuu/Zain Kids) and mental wellbeing (via entertainment/social networking services) during the second wave of COVID. This is also in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) representing “Quality Education” and “Good Health and Wellbeing”.

In line with the SDG 9: “Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure”, the API program has allowed Zain to work with global and regional partners of all sizes, as well as startups. This has also permitted Zain to acquire the skills required to develop and innovate, assisting in the company’s efforts to become a digital leader.

To date, 105 million transactions were processed through this program with a reach of 49.6 million customers. There are a total of seven countries that are on board, with a plan to reach 10 by the end of 2022.

This year, the following list of services were added to the program: OSN, Bigo live, Apple app store, Google Play store, and Qualtrics.

Zain Group API

From its initiation stages, Group API has contributed towards sustainable digitalization.

Group API has become a digital ecosystem enabler where we have provided the right tools to our operations to provide premier digital lifestyle services to their customers.

In order to digitalize sustainably, Group API was able to acquire the skills required to develop and innovate, which are helping Zain become a digital leader.

The Group API platform provides a unique ecosystem in the region with one-stop shop access to international developer communities and digital service providers to a network of seven telecom providers and a reach of 49 million customers. Onboarding and all operational activities are fully digitized to allow easy connections offering tremendous opportunities to skilled and ambitious players to innovate and monetize their services.

Opening up and exposing our APIs has allowed Zain to work with global and regional partners of all sizes, as well as startups, with the Group API contributing to digitalizing the entire economy.

The Group API platform plays a strategic role in attracting and addressing the need to link skilled, innovative and ambitious players – who would traditionally not have access to a region-al telecom leader such as Zain Group, contributing to sustainable development.

The Group API promotes access and offers opportunities to players in the digital world to develop their skills.

ZAIN esports

A sub brand launched in December 2020, Zain esports continued to target the youth of the region and find additional propositions for the multiple broadband services. Throughout the year, Zain esports hosted a wide range of tournaments, along with multiple engagement activities. Zain is inspired by the competitive spirit of the 20,000 plus professional and amateur gamers who have played in the various tournaments held so far and the enormous social media following that we have garnered, which exceeds 40 million views on Zain’s YouTube, Twitch and other social media channels.

By establishing this entity, Zain is able to identify and foster gaming talent in the region in various ways, including:

Selecting commentators for Arabic commentary
Creating a conducive environment for esports content creators
Supporting local social media influencers to promote leagues among local gamers
Creating employment opportunities in the region, given youth unemployment is considered one of the region’s greatest challenges

Zain esports plans to create an esports incubator creating opportunities for aspiring coders and producers to contribute technically to Zain esports initiatives on an ongoing basis.

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