Chapter
06
In 2023, Zain Kuwait launched Kaspersky Safe Kids, an all-in-one parental control app to protect children online.
Zain Jordan’s Basma Line is now revamped to Basma Line+, which is a mobile bundle package tailored for deaf and mute customers. The revamped line was developed through focus group sessions conducted with the target audience.
Zain Omantel International FZ LLC (ZOI) was established in partnership with Omantel in May 2023. Through this partnership, ZOI aims to establish itself as the Middle East’s premier international wholesale services provider. Throughout the year, four main projects have emerged under this partnership that span Zain and Omantel’s operating markets.
Established the Zain Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion University (DEIU) in collaboration with the highly rated IE University in Spain, extending the opportunity to 2,000 Zain employees to participate in an inclusive online Digital Transformation program.
Launched in 2023, ZYxGreenSkills is an initiative that focuses on the development of green skills, as the company recognizes the importance of equipping young individuals with the knowledge and tools related to circularity and addressing the impacts of climate change.
Continued to provide counseling and therapy sessions offered by Kuwait Counseling Center to Zain employees Group-wide at no charge.
Red Sea Global and Zain Saudi Arabia unveiled the world’s first zero-carbon 5G network at the Red Sea’s Six Senses Southern Dunes resort, powered 100% by renewable energy from over 760,000 solar panels.
The supplier self-assessment questionnaire is a tool Zain embedded in its process to validate suppliers’ commitment and alignment to Zain’s sustainability policies and ethical principles reaching 441 suppliers this year.
During 2023, Zain worked towards implementing its three-year MoU with Child Helpline International (CHI) to facilitate child helplines across its footprint. The partnership aims to mobilize, facilitate, and support child helplines across Zain’s markets of operation.
Annual Revenue (USD m)
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Zain Bahrain continued to develop its ‘Natawasel’ service, the first sign language video call center at government health centers in the Kingdom. 27 health centers across Bahrain are equipped with video call services, and successfully logged more than 891 calls to date.
For the fourth consecutive year, Zain Bahrain continued its partnership with the Supreme Council for Women to offer the Girls for Tech program powered by Clever Play, an organization that embeds STEM learning in children’s education, training 585 girls in 2023.
Zain Bahrain collaborated with Our Sea Remediation and Waste Management entity to offer a beach clean up service using ‘bebot’ robotic technology, which operates solar panels to generate its energy. This technology helps keep marine shorelines free from waste and pollution.
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Under the third edition of the Women in Tech mentorship program, Zain Iraq successfully delivered a total of six sessions for each student from 26 different universities. In 2023, Zain experienced a 60% growth in the number of applicants year-on-year, and increased the number of mentees to 136 women and mentors from 14 experienced Zain employees to 22.
The Ra’idat Program, a local competition initiated by the French Embassy in Iraq and executed in collaboration with Zain Iraq and the Station, the first co-working space for entrepreneurs in Baghdad, aims to support and empower Iraqi females in their entrepreneurial pursuits. In 2023, the program achieved participation of over 150 females.
In 2023, Zain Iraq’s TowerCo company commenced deploying solar and hybrid solutions resulting in CO2 emission reduction by 3.3% year-on-year.
Annual Revenue (USD m)
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In 2023, Zain Jordan reached 10.3 million people through its social media channels, on topics that touched on climate change, water, waste management, and plastic pollution.
Zain Jordan’s Basma Line Bundle was revamped based on focus group feeback from People with Disabilties in 2022.
Zain has a longstanding relationship with the 110 Jordan River Foundation (JRF) helpline that has operated since 2007. Zain Jordan continues to support the helpline by providing cellular service through microwave and sim cards. In addition, the company continues to zero-rate outgoing calls from Zain users.
Annual Revenue (USD b)
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Zain Kuwait partnered with the national e-learning platform, Baims, to spearhead the digitalization of the education sector, specifically tailored for high school and university students across five MENA countries (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan and Turkey). Over the past year, the platform recorded 30 million views. The outreach extends to over 150,000 active monthly users, showcasing the platform’s dynamic role in facilitating educational engagement. Baims includes 500 exclusive content creators and tutors and is considered one of the top 50 e-learning companies in the MENA region.
Zain Kuwait continued its longstanding partnership of 25 years with the Kuwait Dive Team. Zain Kuwait provided a fully equipped boat for the dive team to run their marine protection operations in 2023.
Zain Kuwait is currently collaborating with the Kuwait National Child Protection Office to introduce the 147 National Child Helpline and is working on a campaign aimed at raising awareness about child protection and the helpline, set to launch in Q2 2024.
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In 2023, Zain Saudi Arabia formulated an official partnership with the National Family Safe Program after conducting multiple stakeholder engagement sessions to understand the deficits the helpline currently faces.
Launched the core bundle titled Lifetime that provides a 50% discount for people with disabilities. On Purple Saturday, Zain Saudi Arabia launched a social media campaign in partnership with the Association for People with Disabilties (PwD), reaching 18,500 people. Subscriptions to the service grew by 247%.
In 2023, 3,093 participants from Zain Saudi Arabia subsidiaries, vendors, and partners underwent the ‘Be aware-Be secure’ cybersecurity and awareness training, reinforcing a robust cybersecurity culture across the organization and its extended network. The plan is to customize the program for university students as well.
Annual Revenue (USD m)
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Due to the civil conflict that erupted in Sudan, Zain undertook various initiatives to help support the citizens of the country. To ensure secure communications and information dissemination, Zain launched different bundles to help support the community.
Prior to the conflict, Zain Sudan worked on an official agreement with the Family and Child Protection Unit. This involved expanding the main call center building with support from the Italian agency in Sudan. 14 agents were trained by Zain Sudan to operate the call center, with this initative aimed to enhance Zain Sudan’s responsiveness to child protection issues.
Full-Time Employees
In South Sudan, tremendous efforts were exerted to mitigate climate change, including Zain migrating 55 sites from diesel generated-battery hybrid to solar solutions resulting in a 10% reduction in CO2 emissions year-on-year.
Zain South Sudan reached 556,203 people this year through its engagement activites on social media. Some of the topics that the company focused on included water conservation, and plastic pollution.