Introduction: Ahead & Growing
Zain is the pioneer of mobile telecommunications in the Middle East and now a major player on the African continent.
We began life in 1983 in Kuwait as the region’s first mobile operator, and since the initiation of our “3x3x3” expansion strategy in 2003, we have expanded rapidly.
Today, we are a leading mobile and data services operator with a commercial footprint in 23 Middle Eastern and African countries with a workforce of over 13,000 providing a comprehensive range of mobile voice and data services to over 70 million** active individual and business customers (September 30, 2009).
In the Middle East we operate in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq ,Saudi Arabia and Sudan as Zain, and in Lebanon as mtc touch (under a management contract). Please note that Zain in Sudan falls under the Middle East management umbrella.
In Africa, Zain (formerly known as Celtel) offers telecommunications services in (please click on country link to access the website of each country)- Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
On March 14, 2009, Zain in a 50/50 partnership with Al Ajial Investment Fund Holding acquired 31% of Wana, the third mobile telecom operator in Morocco.
Listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, there are no restrictions on Zain shares as the company’s capital is 100% free float and publicly traded. The largest shareholder is the Kuwait Investment Authority (24.6%).
Zain's corporate strategy can simply be summarized as "3x3x3", an ambitious, sustainable expansion strategy that will see Zain become a leading mobile services provider on the global stage by the end of the year 2011. Initiated in year 2003, it is this strategy that will make Zain a global player in three stages: regional, international and global, with each stage completed in three years. In essence, through acquisitions, partnerships and green-field opportunities, Zain aims to achieve in nine years what other companies have taken more than 27 years to achieve.
At the beginning of 2007, Zain launched ACE -an implementation strategy to realize the target of the 3x3x3 vision. ACE seeks to extract superior value from existing assets through three main thrusts: Accelerating the growth in Africa; Consolidating the existing assets; and Expanding into adjacent markets. Through implementation of the ACE strategy, Zain's new goals by the year 2011 are to attain:
- a US$ 6 Billion EBITDA
- exceed 150 million customers
- to become one of the top ten leading mobile telecom companies in the world by market capitalization.
This year, Zain announced a strategic program on its ACE agenda, named ‘Drive11’, which will enable it to achieve ultimate efficiency in value creation. As a result, Zain will put increased focus on customer-facing functions and will enhance its control on other functions by centralizing them or by outsourcing them to strategic partners. This program comes at a vital stage of the company’s expansion vision. It will maximize economies of scale and realize significant efficiencies, providing the company with the necessary thrust to capture the large growth potential in the markets in which it operates.
In addition to securing the best possible returns for shareholders consistent with a high standard of corporate governance, Zain considers itself defined by a commitment to excellence in providing world-class mobile / data services and an ethos of corporate social responsibility in supporting communities, offering employment and creating business opportunities wherever it operates.
It is important to Zain that its economic, social and cultural projects have a positive impact on the people of all the countries in which we operate.
