Zain’s annual Ramadan campaign spreads messages of sharing, giving
Company kick-started campaign in partnership with many entities
KUWAIT: Zain, the leading digital service provider in Kuwait, announced the launch of its annual campaign for the holy month of Ramadan, which kickstarted this year in partnership with many social and charitable organizations in the country. The campaign features a wide range of charitable, entertainment, esports, and cultural programs throughout the holy month.
As the pandemic situation continues, Zain was not able to pursue its aspirations of sharing the joys of Ramadan with the community as it usually does every year via an extensive array of social initiatives, programs, and visits. Nevertheless, Zain has sought to select special initiatives that can inspire the values of giving and sharing while abiding by health measures to protect the safety of the community.
Zain’s program of various charitable and humanitarian initiatives planned for the holy month comes in line with the company’s Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility strategy that closely focuses on giving back to the community. The company carefully selected the activities and programs that most presented an added value to all segments of the society in light of the current circumstances due to the pandemic. In this report, Zain showcases the initiatives and programs it will undertake during Ramadan this year:
Ramadan supplies
Zain already kicked-off its Ramadan campaign before the beginning of the Holy Month by delivering ‘Ramadan Machla’ (food supplies) in collaboration with its Strategic Partner, the Kuwait Food Bank. The initiative aimed at catering to underprivileged families’ needs before the arrival of the Holy Month and during the pandemic. Zain delivered the supplies to the Kuwait Food Bank storage facility at Sulaibiya with the presence of Kuwait Food Bank Vice Chairman Meshal Al-Ansari. This year, over 10,000 individuals are set to benefit from the supplies provided by Zain, which were distributed via special drive-thru routes that were built for this purpose in an effort to abide by health measures and protect everyone from the danger of infection.
Zain also offered vouchers in collaboration with Oncost, one of Kuwait’s biggest grocery markets, to give each family the opportunity to choose specific supplies as per their different personal needs. The company delivered the vouchers to a number of nonprofit organizations, including the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) with the presence of KRCS Chairman Dr Hilal Al-Sayer, and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor’s Social Care Centers with the presence of the Assistant Undersecretary for Social Care Musalam Al-Subaie. Vouchers were also offered to the Kuwait Food Bank and the Patients Support Fund Society.
Zain Quran App
As it does every year, Zain offers its free Quran App, which the company gifts to its customers during the holy month of Ramadan. The app offers the best Quran reading experience on iOS, Apple Watch, and Android devices. The app features a user-friendly interface and many great features, including reading all pages of the Holy Quran, downloading and listening to the Holy Quran in the voices of over 20 famous reciters, read Tafseer (interpretations) to understand the meaning of verses, searching the whole text of the Holy Quran, as well as synchronizing usage between multiple devices.
The app also includes a dark mode feature for easy reading in the dark, prayer times and Athan notifications, Qibla direction, and much more. Customers can download the app for free by searching ‘Zain Quran’ in the App Store and Google Play Store.
Partnership with Give
This year, Zain continues its fruitful partnership with Give, which started last Ramadan to encourage the spirit of giving during the Holy Month. Give is the only online platform of its kind for donations in Kuwait, and the non-profit aims at facilitating donations and encouraging giving by connecting donors with registered and certified charities in Kuwait. The platform also helps donors look for charity projects and opportunities in one place, as well as process their donations safely via a secure payment gateway.
All the charities listed under Give are certified and licensed by the official authorities in Kuwait, and there are currently 162 various charitable projects featured on the platform. The current list of certified charities includes: the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS), Direct Aid, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Nouri Charity Society, Rahma International Society, International Islamic Charity Organization, Rohamaa Baynahum Charity, Global Charity Association for Development, Al-Sidra Association for Psychological Care of Cancer Patients, Al-Najat Charity, and more.
Give includes many features that can benefit donors, including ease of access to charities and their projects through the website or smartphone app, using filters to look for certain projects, comparing projects between different charities, reading full details about each project to make an informed decision, view donation history and receive notifications about project updates or reports, and more.
KUWAIT TV App
As the Holy Month of Ramadan approached, Zain partnered with the Ministry of Information to develop KUWAIT TV, an all-new app that features the latest streaming technologies. Through this partnership, Zain takes Kuwait TV into the digital platforms era by offering live streaming and Video on Demand (VOD) services for 9 TV channels and 11 radio channels.
During the app’s development phase, Zain was keen on using the most advanced world-class streaming technologies, enabling users to live-stream the Ministry of Information’s TV and radio channels with a single tap and in ultra-high quality. In addition, the app features a Video on demand (VOD) service that allows them to choose and enjoy their favorite selected shows instantly from anywhere and at any time, including the most-viewed Ramadan shows.
Users can now download the KUWAIT TV app from the App Store for iOS devices and the Play Store for Android devices. The app features 9 TV channels: Kuwait, KTV2, Al-Arabi, Ethraa, Al-Qurain, Stay Home, Sports, Sports 2, and Al-Majlis. The app also features 11 radio channels: Holy Quran, Kuwait FM, Public Program, OFM, Super Station, Al-Shsabiya, Program 2, EASY 92.5, and Retro Arabic Music.
Every Ramadan, Zain is keen on diversifying the content of its campaign to include cultural and recreational programs. This year, Zain sponsors ‘Stories with Hamad’, a talk-show hosted by Kuwaiti media personality Hamad Al-Ali on atv. Ali redefines the talk-show genre with a refreshed perspective by addressing many humanitarian, historical, and art topics that meet the interests of all age groups.
Zain’s sponsorship of this show comes as part of its keenness on supporting and encouraging the creative ideas of Kuwait’s youth in all areas, including art and entertainment on social and traditional media channels. Such programs receive great interactivity from audiences during the holy month of Ramadan, especially that this show aims at highlighting a number of issues that are of great interest to the Kuwaiti community.
Esports championships
With the increase of interest in esports recently, especially with lockdown measures imposed by the pandemic, Zain saw the importance of launching a number of esports championships via its new platform Zain esports during the holy month of Ramadan. This year, the biggest titles in gaming are set to feature in Zain’s competitive championships, including PUBG, Fortnite, and FIFA21.
The championships will give amateur and professional gamers the opportunity to win various prizes in a fair and competitive environment, as Zain ensures that all its esports tournaments must be held in accordance with UNICEF’s guidelines to ensure Child Online Safety and prevent cyberbullying, hence creating a safe space for all interactions between the players.
Zain also sponsors Duwaween, an app for playing cards tournaments, which is set to feature a tournament where Zain will offer many valuable prizes during the holy month. The app was developed by Kuwaiti entrepreneurs and is considered the first of its kind in the GCC and Arab region. The app reached its climax with more than 350,000 users competing in the paper games of Kout, Balot, and Hand. The app is available on all main smartphone operating systems: iOS, Android, and Huawei.
Nutrition tips with Diet Ninja
During the Holy Month of every year, Zain is keen on supporting health and sports programs to encourage adopting a healthy diet and exercising during the Holy Month. This year, Zain partners with Kuwaiti social media personality Fahad Al-Yahya, known as Diet Ninja, to broadcast recorded messages on the most important nutrition tips during Ramadan.