ZAIN 2022 All Rights Reserved
18
Our Products and Customers
The Challenge
Barriers experienced by people with disabilities related to digital accessibility include lack of literacy and digital skills, affordability, and perceived irrelevance of mobile services for people with disabilities.
Zain’s Response
In Sudan, Zain continued to provide youth with discounted data bundles reaching 6.2 million youth subscribing to the service.
The Challenge
According to UNICEF, the pandemic impacted more than 110 million children in the region due to school closures. Such closures highlighted the inequity in the region where students did not have the resources to continue attending school.
Zain’s Response
This year, the company developed a human rights policy statement in which 100% of newly registered suppliers are signatories to the policy statement.
The Challenge
Online risks in gaming for children and youth are significant and can lead to long-term negative effects on their wellbeing and health. Some of the risks include online game addiction, contact with strangers, online gaming effects on behavior, and exposure to inappropriate content.
Zain’s Response
Zain launched a Child Online Safety Booklet in collaboration with UNICEF that promotes safe esports and games to schools and universities. The booklet aims to educate students, parents, and academic administrators on the risks children and youth may face while connected online or gaming, and provide tips and tools on how to address them.
Inclusive access to our products and services is crucial to ensuring no one is left behind. At Zain, we continue to make sure that we increase access to our networks through digitization. The wide range of products and services offered by Zain spans two main streams; core and non-core. Under non-core products and services, the company assessed the needs of the markets in which it operates, and developed a suite of verticals that range from e-health, e-education to e-gaming and financial services.
Zain Group API Program
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, Zain launched its Group API Program in 2018 that allows the company to establish partnerships with credible entities and become the global digital services hub in the MENA region. To date, 105 million transactions have been processed through the program with a reach of 49.6 million customers. Seven countries are on board, with the plan of reaching 10 by the end of 2022. This year, OSN, Bigo live, Apple app store, Google Play store and Qualtrics were added onto the program.
Zain B2B Growth
Zain Business continues to play a prominent role in Zain markets, with unmatched capabilities and extensive industry expertise. Zain offers a comprehensive portfolio of over 70 mobile, fixed, IoT, cloud, and cyber security solutions while mobilizing a large team of over 1,000 skillful employees to meet the connectivity needs of governments and enterprises. While global demand for digital communication continues to rise, corporations are also facing cost-cutting pressures driven by the impacts of COVID-19. In this regard, Zain Business continues to extend tremendous support to its local communities through cybersafe and innovative digital solutions that facilitate remote working, optimize supply chain operations, and help businesses reduce their spending through discounted monthly packages.
Zain Business has also played a major role in supporting local economies and governments as well as health and educational sectors. The company cooperated with health ministries to ensure the safety of the population, and with educational institutions to facilitate effective and accessible remote learning. Significant examples of Zain’s support of its B2B communities include:
- Launch of Edunation, an online education platform in Jordan
- Ongoing discounted mobility offers for small and home offices in Iraq
- The launch of a secure remote working solution in Kuwait and the continuous role Zain plays in the enhancement of MoH’s Shlonik app (an integrated Covid-19 health and quarantine management platform).
- Unlimited data and voice calls for corporate customers in Saudi Arabia
Zain esports
Zain esports was created after assessing our customers’ behaviors, market trends, and demands as well as identifying the opportunities that lay within this industry. Armed with insights, Zain decided to consult with international esports agencies to understand the business case and leverage the opportunities to generate value by cross-scaling and upscaling Zain’s existing products and services.
Launched at the end of 2020, Zain esports was established with the aim of creating a gaming ecosystem that nurtures gaming talents in the region. Zain esports created a platform where gamers can meet, compete, and learn from one another. To date, six tournaments have been conducted, with 13,448 registered players and 330,000 viewers. The tournaments were launched in partnership with a variety of esports organizations and developers including:
- Valve: created dedicated servers to host Zain esports CS:GO tournament with custom branding and design
- Riot: Initiated talks to host esports events exclusively through Zain esports in the region
- Ubisoft: Established an exclusive partnership to be a main sponsor of events held in the region and the ability to host Zain esports events supported by the Ubisoft team.
- EA: Hosted largest non-World Cup exclusive event in the region, which has led to an annual tournament partnership.
- Tencent: Established relationship to host multiple PUBGM events in the region. Three events were conducted in 2021.
Zain recognizes that children and youth are exposed to online risks through the gaming industry. As per the collective report launched and developed in partnership with Childhood USA, “Despite being age restricted, many games do not operate effective age verification. Because of this, children can often access forums and chat functions that are not moderated. They may also be exposed to age-inappropriate sexual and violent game content, cyberbullying, and grooming in the forums and chat rooms.”
As a response, Zain launched a pilot partnership with a school based in Kuwait where Zain supplied the esports club with gaming PCs, streaming setup equipment, gaming chairs, and connectivity. In addition, Zain in collaboration with UNICEF created a Child Online Safety Booklet that was shared with students, parents, and teachers to educate them on the risks they might face online and how to mitigate them. The booklet is publicly available on Zain esports’ website and was also shared across all of Zain’s operating markets. Each market communicated the booklet through its respective social media channels and relevant stakeholders which included students, teachers, parents, caregivers and school administrators. The booklet reached a total of 6,500 people.
A challenge experienced when communicating the booklet was measuring the effectiveness of the resource tool on the users. As such, Zain is continuing to collaborate with UNICEF and academic institutions to generate mechanisms that capture the impact of the booklet on students’ and teachers’ behavior. Through such activities, Zain continues to work on addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 16.2, calling on ending all forms of violence against children by 2030.
Zain Drone
Zain Drone, a subsidiary of Zain Group, was established in 2018 for the Kuwait market with a focus on drone powered solutions as a service. In 2019, Zain Drone established an entity in Saudi Arabia and continued to explore opportunities in Jordan and South Sudan.
As a newly established entity, Zain Drone emphasizes the importance of engaging with cross-sectoral stakeholders from government entities to scientific institutions, in order to be able to progress the drone industry. In collaboration with governmental institutions, Zain Drone identified challenges related to their process of detecting violations and inspections in industrial sectors. In 2021, Zain Drone engaged with the Public Authority of Industries in Kuwait to assess mechanisms that deploy drones to detect industrial violations during the last cycle of drone surveying. Areas of focus in the partnership include field inspection in the renewable energy sector, as well as providing support services to agriculture. Throughout the year, Zain Drone prepared three cycles of its drone surveying assessment to ensure a holistic approach to its designs.
Zain Drone will be engaging with scientific entities based in Kuwait such as the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) and Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science (KFAS) to assess mechanisms where drone technologies can play a role in assessing and gathering insights and data efficiently. Through its engagement with KISR, Zain assessed the usability of infrared camera to effectively detect algae in salt water near desalination plants in Kuwait. Zain Drone also partnered with Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science (KFAS) and The Scientific Center of Kuwait (TSCK), where Zain Drone’s technologies and progress monitoring services were deployed to gain an accurate status on the expansion of the scientific center.
In Saudi Arabia, Zain Drone used a similar approach of engaging with different entities, such as the Municipality of Tabuk, to establish its presence in the Saudi market. To monitor the development and construction of the Madina Development project, the Municipality of Tabuk used Zain Drone technologies, and Zain Drone collaborated with Sadara Chemical Company on inspecting ground flares and tank inspections.
The services offered by Zain Drone are of value to different sectors including but not limited to oil and gas, energy and utilities, network sites and infrastructure, agriculture, construction, media, logistics, defense, contracting, and many others. Based on R-economy, drone technologies have great potential to be used to address Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and through Zain Drone’s projects in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the company plays a role in meeting the following goals:
Goal 8: Economic Growth and Employment
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Goal 13: Climate Action
In 2019, Zain Drone managed to receive certification for ISO 9001:2015 (international standard that specifies the requirements for a quality management systems) and became the first drone service provider in the region to obtain the certificate. In 2021, Zain Drone successfully demonstrated its adherence to the standard’s requirements as the certificate was renewed.
Zain Drone’s solid in-house expertise, engagement with international experts, collaboration with regional governmental entities, as well as the accessibility to latest technology and communication allows the company to effectively address the needs of its clients.
Access to Communication for Vulnerable Segments
BASMA LINE+
Ensuring the company provides inclusive services, Zain Jordan launched Basma Line+, a mobile bundle package targeting the deaf and mute community in 2019. This tailored bundle provides 3,000 minutes of video calls, 12 GBs of cellular data, 60 local minutes and 2,000 minutes of voice calls to address the community’s specific needs. Offered at a discounted rate, there are 329 people from the deaf/hearing impaired community who subscribe to the service.
FREE BASICS V2
The Freebasics.com service offered by Zain Iraq provides users access to Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and a selection of additional websites, free of charge. The service provides Zain’s customers the ability to communicate with family and friends at any time through their mobiles and smart devices. In 2021, a total of 2.7 million beneficiaries utilized this service, with a year-on-year growth rate of 2%.
Disability Line
Towards the end of 2021, Zain Kuwait launched two postpaid packages dedicated to PWDs in collaboration with the Communication & Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) and the Public Authority of the Disabled in Kuwait. To be eligible for this offer, the customer must be a member of the Kuwait Society for the Handicapped. As this service is newly launched, Zain is committed to holding frequent stakeholder engagement processes with all parties involved to ensure we enhance the service and look into developing additional solutions. The discounted packages offer two different price plans that include local voice calls, video calls, internet capacity, devices, and SMS and MMS. Details below:
Plan Price | kwd 10 | kwd 20 |
|---|---|---|
Local Min | 300 Min | 1,000 Min |
Video call Min | 1,500 Min | Unlimited |
Internet Capacity
| 30GBs | 100GBs |
Commitment Period
| Sim only | Sim only or 24 month with a device |
Devices | NA | Smartphone or Tablet device with installments |
SMS & MMS | Unlimited | Unlimited |
As per the sales rules provided by CITRA, such offers are eligible for the below disability types with the following conditions:
- Intellectual Disability: Zain is prohibited to sell any line or service for the mentioned group. A sponsor is required for any new service transaction if the customer already has an existing line.
- Physical Disability: Zain is allowed to sell any type of service or line to the mentioned group. In case the customer’s disability prevents the signature and verification process, a sponsor is required in that case.
- Visual impairment: Zain is allowed to sell any type of service or line to the mentioned group, with a requirement of a sponsor.
- Hearing and speech impairment: Zain is allowed to sell any type of service or line to the mentioned group, with a requirement of a sponsor. A representative from Kuwait’s Deaf Association can replace the requirement for a sponsor.
Youth Community Offers
Targeting the youth segment in Sudan, the Youth Community Offer are discounted mobile packages that provide users with the ability to call other subscribers at a discounted rate of 0.111 SDG/minute. The offer provides Zain the opportunity to tap into the youth segment as it represents 64% of the country’s population. Through this offer, youth who heavily rely on mobile communications can access such packages equitably. To date there are 6.2 million youth subscribing to the service.
E-health Services
Shlonik Application
Launched to minimize and manage the spread of COVID-19, Shlonik is an innovative application assisting the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Kuwait to quarantine citizens and residents to alleviate pressure on medical workers and to provide protection and healthcare services during times of isolation and quarantine. The application was developed in 2020, within a span of just two weeks with Zain developers working diligently with best-in-class techniques. The application ensures that people residing in the community adhere to regulations and safety precautions during their quarantine period. Shlonik started off by assisting the government with evacuation plans of citizens by digitally quarantining individuals. Following the success of the application, the MoH mandated that all positive cases, suspected cases, and citizens and expats flying into Kuwait download and be monitored by the application. Services offered through Shlonik include:
- Communicating statistics and news
- Adhering to self-quarantine procedures
- Listing of health centers and pharmacies
- Medical consultation and support
- Quarantine countdown indicators
- Notifications through SMS and in-app messages
- Production of a quarantine completion certificate
Shlonik also introduced a version of telehealth that has benefited 503,000 patients since inception. The self-quarantine process includes visual (3D technology) and audio artificial intelligence to ensure citizens and residents abide by the rules and regulations set forth by MoH. Complete with geofencing technologies and a state of-the-art backend with an embedded alarm system, the MoH is notified if a quarantined individual leaves his/her geofenced location. By digitizing the self-quarantine process, the service was able to alleviate the pressures faced by frontline workers, hospitals, MoH and other related governmental entities. In 2021, 1.77 million people used the Shlonik application.
WASFA
Wasfa is an end-to-end e-prescription and e-dispensing digital platform. By connecting the central medical store, hospitals, polyclinics and prescribing doctors, Wasfa allows the MoH to control end-to-end prescription and dispensing of drugs in Kuwait. Wasfa provides insights and analytics on the behaviors of patients, doctors, and pharmacists to minimize waste and fraud and generate significant savings for MoH as well as introducing the concept of preventive care. Operational in two sites since August 2019, Wasfa generated over 750,000 e-prescriptions. Wasfa introduced the electronic medical record (EMR) system to the MoH to provide doctors and patients a digital medical record that connects all prescriptions from all hospitals and polyclinics nationwide, leading to more efficient medical practices.
Al Tibbi Service
The Al Tibbi service connects doctors to patients online and is considered the largest medical support platform in the region. It provides inclusive access to medical advice around the clock in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Providing access to medical needs, especially for those living in remote areas, it is extremely beneficial as it saves time and money for patients.
Service | Number of Subscribers in 2019 | Number of Subscribers in 2020 | Number of Subscribers in 2021 | Y-O-Y Change | Markets Available | Targeted Community |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basma Line+ | 350 | 353 | 329 | -7% | Jordan | People with Disabilities
|
Free Basics V2 | 1.4 million | 1.6 million
| 1.5 million | -0.1% | Iraq | Youth |
Youth Community Offer | 2.2 million | 6 million | 6.1 million | 3% | Sudan | Youth |
Zain Kids | 80,373 | 319,578 | 1.57 million | 393% | Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia | Children |
Salamtak Insurance Program | 15,894 | 24,736 | 30,437 | 23% | Iraq | Low-income community |
Busuu (launched in 2020) | N/A | 20,330 | 242,980 | 988% | Iraq | Low-income |
Salamtak Insurance Program
2018
Unique Users
0
2019
Unique Users
0
2020
Unique Users
0
2021
Unique Users
0
Total
Unique Users
0
Protecting Customer Privacy and Breaches
Adherence to the GSMA Mobile Privacy Principles continues to be of upmost importance for Zain. Compliance with these principles ensures that best practices are followed on matters related to the privacy and confidentiality of customer data. Protocols in place assure the protection of customer data to avoid data leaks, theft and/or loss. Responses to related issues are executed with the utmost precaution and diligence. Zain complies with all prevailing laws and regulations related to the protection of customer privacy and data and takes steps to align with ISO certification standards related to the matter. Zain is committed to maintaining our customers’ privacy. In 2021, there were no reported cases concerning breaches of customer privacy, data leaks, theft or loss. During the year, Zain conducted an assessment exercise in which it further looked into generating a Group-wide privacy policy that is inclusive to all its markets. All necessary prudent measures are developed to protect customer data on an ongoing basis.
Each of our operating markets have a dedicated data privacy policy that can be found below:
Zain Group:
www.zain.com/en/privacy-policy
Bahrain:
http://www.bh.zain.com/en/copyright/privacy-policy
Iraq:
www.iq.zain.com/en/privacy-policy
Jordan
www.jo.zain.com/english/Pages/terms.aspx#privacyPolicy
Kuwait:
www.kw.zain.com/en/privacy-policy
Saudi Arabia:
sa.zain.com/en/privacy-policy
Sudan:
www.sd.zain.com/English/Pages/privacypolicy.aspx
South Sudan:
zain.com/en/privacy-policy
Engaging with Customers:
At Zain, we undertake a variety of activities on a proactive basis to ensure that our interactions with customers are positive and productive. Customer experience is of material importance for the company, and as such, a variety of engagement tools are used to track customer interaction and identify potential areas of improvement.
Identifying Market Challenges and Opportunities for our customers:
Zain’s Customer Context
Challenges
Customer satisfaction rates due to congestion in some areas on our networks
Competitive market prices
Cultural mindset shift from traditional touchpoints to digital
Opportunities
Shifting customers from traditional channels to online platforms increasing efficiencies
Increase fiber-based households through area expansions and strategic agreement to increase fiber-to-the-home market share to offload traffic on networks
Create competitive advantage across channels by expanding reach for points of sale
To address this context, Zain’s commercial focus areas are based on the below data measurements:
- Follow-up surveys that track the experience of customers within our stores and call centers. Zain has a centralized process to help the company monitor and track related KPIs.
- Continuous tracking of customer sentiments through interview, SMS and phone surveys. Through the company’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys, Zain tracks customer dissatisfaction rates and creates actionable plans to address them.
- Maintaining feedback and suggestion forums on all Zain websites. Zain also leverages its social media channels and call centers to receive customer feedback.
- Zain looks to engage with its customers even if the customer is not facing any issues. In addition, dedicated staff are held accountable to respond to customer comments and messages through social media.
- Customers can be called back based on their survey feedback to better understand their needs and enhance their experience.
Zain took a cohesive and strategic approach to ensuring customer care continuity during lockdown periods across its markets. As lockdowns were imposed across our operations, Zain secured laptops and tools (softphones, VPN, virtual desktop infrastructure and data dongles) for its customer-facing staff, so they would be able to resolve queries while working from home. In addition, social media and website support teams have also been equipped with these resources.
