Zain showcases its digital strategy at IoT conference

Company participates in ‘IoT: Driving Kuwait’s Digital Future’ confab KIB sponsors 2nd B2B4SME symposium

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 9: Zain, the leading digital service provider in Kuwait, announced its participation in the ‘IoT: Driving Kuwait’s Digital Future’ conference organized by Oliver Wyman in collaboration with Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East. The event, held at Jumeirah Hotel, witnessed the participation of many public and private sector executives and officials.

The event witnessed the presence of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) Salim Al Othaina, Director General of the Kuwait Ports Authority Sheikh Yousef Al Sabah, Director of the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) Qusai Al Shatti, Zain Kuwait’s Chief Technical Officer Nawaf Al Gharabally, Zain Kuwait’s Chief Enterprise Business Officer Hamad Al Marzouq, as well as a number of experts, professionals, and leaders from the ICT sector.

Zain’s participation in the conference came to highlight the company’s leadership in further pushing the digital transformation wheel in Kuwait through empowering a smart life and an efficient business sector. Being one of the biggest integrated digital service providers in the region, Zain considers itself an active partner in creating the future of smart life in Kuwait.

During his opening presentation at the conference, Zain Kuwait’s Chief Technical Officer Nawaf Al Gharabally said: “the effects of digital transformation has reached beyond the telecommunications sector, extending to healthcare, finance, education, and other sectors”.

Al Gharabally continued: “By

For the second consecutive year, KIB sponsored the B2B4SME symposium, which was organized by the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises of Kuwait (ASMEK). The symposium took place on Dec 5 at Shaheed Park 2.

As part of the symposium, KIB took part in a number of discussions with symposium participants to shed light on the importance of entrepreneurs, as well as Kuwait’s favorable entrepreneurship conditions and start-up friendly business environment. He also discussed benefits and risks of managing different types of businesses in this part of the world.

KIB’s sponsorship of this symposium

Al Marzouq speaking during the panel discussion

using the most advanced Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, companies across various sectors connect their devices together, giving them unprecedented advantages that boost speed and operational efficiency. Today, we can see many companies failing for not adopting the changes that come with digital transformation”.

Al Gharabally added: “Digital transformation is not only impacting businesses, but even cities and entire nations, and this is currently the focus of our digital transformation strategy at Zain. We consider ourselves an active partner in achieving the goals of the Kuwait National Development Plan that stems from His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah’s conceptualized vision of a new Kuwait by 2035, where we participate alongside the public

KIB officials at the B2B4SME symposium. came as part of its ongoing commitment to social responsibility towards entrepreneurs. The Bank actively seeks to sponsor events that aim at nurturing entrepreneurs, providing them with a platform for exchanging experiences and expertise.

Additionally, KIB believes in the importance of small businesses in helping boost the local labor market through the active participation of the private sector and the participation of youth in national economic development.

Moreover, KIB has a specialized function for financing SMEs, the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Division, which consists of a

sector in executing the seven pillars of the New Kuwait vision to enrich economic development and digital diversity by offering our latest innovative solutions to empower a smart life, a safe community, and a highly efficient business sector”.

During his participation at the panel discussion during the conference, Zain Kuwait’s Chief Enterprise Business Officer Hamad Al Marzouq said: “Internet of Things (IoT) technologies play a great role in the digital revolution witnessed by businesses around the world, as they offer a wide range of applications that rely on IoT-specific solutions to develop new tools that reinforce services offered by businesses and enterprises from both the public and private sectors”.

Al Marzouq added: “With the fast-paced advancements in technology,

group of experts, specialized in this type of business.

Through this Division, the Bank is adamant on providing easy and simplified banking and financing solutions that meet the needs of these businesses, as well as diversifying its financing portfolio and expanding its SME financing services.

The symposium aimed at supporting entrepreneurs and owners of SMEs through various means, namely: connecting them with relevant government institutions and organizing valuable events and activities which open doors to new possibilities and opportunities for entrepreneurs.

enterprise productivity and service efficiency are changing, and that’s why we at Zain are committed to investing in in IoT areas to offer its technologies and innovative solutions to the government sector and business community in Kuwait. Zain’s digital transformation journey began two years ago with the our partnership with the Ministry of Electricity and Water through the Smart Meters project. In addition, early this year, we launched the all-new Zain LIFE brand, which consists of a portfolio of flexible digital services that include an array of innovative services for consumers and businesses, further enriching Zain’s leadership in offering the latest digital transformation applications”.

According to Oliver Wyman, Internet-connected devices are expected to increase worldwide to

Al Gharabally speaking during the conference

between 50 to 100 billion devices by 2020, with a notable increase of 15 billion devices from 2014. These connected devices, including self-driving cars, drones, and heartbeat regulating devices, will be a part of the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) sector that is worth billions of dollars. These devices will also contribute to offering large quantities of data that will help, through analyzing and processing, make enormous developments to systems and services because of the deep valuable information it provides.

The IoT sector in the GCC is witnessing fast-paced growth in as many telecom operators replace their traditional infrastructure with the latest fourth generation (4G) services through fiber optics. Telecom operators in the region have also reached advanced stages of 5G technology testing, which will play a vital role in empowering IoT technologies.

Zain considers itself an active partner in creating the future of smart life in Kuwait, as well as empowering the community though the use of advanced technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Smart Cities, and more. This motivated Zain to take part in this conference to enrich the role played by private sector companies in achieving the developmental goals of the country.

Zain’s strategy is centered around digital transformation leadership and empowering the community to enjoy a smarter portable lifestyle, as well as using advanced technology and Zain’s long experience to enable an easier and more flexible life.

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Members, media & well-wishers.