< PreviousFORGING A (FEMALE) FUTURE: INSIDE EITC’S BOUNDARY-BREAKING WOMEN’S COUNCIL, A MIDDLE EAST ICT INDUSTRY FIRST EITC, parent company of du, has formed the first Women’s Council for the ICT industry in the Middle East. Noora Al Mansoori tells Ben Mack it’s long overdue – and just the beginning as more women in the region go into ICT careers. Much ink has been spilled covering how we’ve long had a problem in getting more women into STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers – and getting women to stay in STEM careers. But there’s a difference between talking about the issue and actually doing some- thing about it. Yet things are being done – and the Middle East is no exception. In fact, the first Women’s Council for the ICT industry in the Middle East was launched earlier this year. Known as the EITC Women’s Council, the “EITC” in the name refers to Emirates Integrated Tel- ecommunications Company, the parent company of Dubai-based telco du. “The Women’s Council is representa- tive of the growing need for diversity with- in our day-to-day operations,” explains Hanan Ahmed, who is the EITC Women’s Council chairwoman. Globally, gender diversity, or the lack of it, is being held to account across many sectors. The ICT industry is no different. The way that women work is under the microscope as ideologies shift that allow more flexible working conditions and that enable women to take charge of their careers and professional aspirations. For example, roles that were traditionally male-orientated are now being filled by women, which signals that corporate cultures and society are motivating and encouraging us to take positions without having to face obstacles that hindered progress in the past.” Noora Al Mansoori “Together we will form a consortium of like-minded advocates who are passionate about women’s empowerment and align- ing the company’s visions to effectively promote inclusivity within the workplace, within the industry, and within the commu- nities of our beloved country.” Noora Al Mansoori, official spokes- woman for the Women’s Council, expands on this – and the great importance of the Women’s Council. “The challenges women face in today’s ICT sphere are different from previous dec- ades,” she explains. “Globally, gender diversity, or the lack of it, is being held to account across many sec- tors. The ICT industry is no different. The way that women work is under the micro- scope as ideologies shift that allow more flexible working conditions and that enable women to take charge of their careers and professional aspirations. For example, roles that were traditionally male-orientated are 20CommsMEA September 2019www.commsmea.com INTERVIEW EITC WOMEN’S COUNCILCouncil also supports global perspectives on workplace diversity. Al Mansoori says du presently has employees from more than 70 different countries. “Because of this, it is essential to build a culture of collaboration and a happy and balanced workforce that embraces diversity and inclusion,” she explains. “By creating a Happiness and Tolerance Department [at EITC], we have taken the first step toward celebrating our diversity mix and developing a platform for promot- ing gender and cultural differences compa- ny-wide.” Of course, multiple studies have also shown that, on average, companies with more women in leadership make more money, too. But Al Mansoori again stresses the Women’s Council has a greater purpose – and that she hopes it could inspire other ICT companies in the Middle East to form their own Women’s Councils. “EITC is a company that holds a proud status as an enabler of transformation in the UAE,” she explains. “With the formation of the EITC Wom- en’s Council, we are proud to be expanding our transformation footprint and capabili- ties further to empower our workforce and to be recognised as a leading company for gender balance. The main purpose behind taking the lead on this is to achieve the goal of enabling women to play a bigger role in the company’s future – and in the progress of the country’s development.” She concludes with one last piece of ad- vice that she says applies to everyone. “In Dubai. We don’t define you by your gender, your nationality. We define you by your skills.” In Dubai. We don’t define you by your gender, your nationality. We define you by your skills.” Noora Al Mansoori now being filled by women, which signals that corporate cultures and society are mo- tivating and encouraging us to take posi- tions without having to face obstacles that hindered progress in the past.” In addition to Al Masoori, the initial EITC Women’s Council leadership team consists of Hanan Ahmed (chairwoman), Dr Alia Al Serkal (vice chairwoman), Dr Mansoor Habib (council advisor), Aisha Rawert (council member), Dr Raffaella Bianchi (council member), Mona Gulaid (council member), Maryam Thani (council member), and Jennifer Gonzalez (council member). Al Mansoori says the Women’s Council is something that was long overdue in the region. “Gender equality is no longer a taboo sub- ject in the corporate world as companies seek to achieve balanced workplaces. The same can be seen if we canvas the global leadership front and the various strata of our communities. In the UAE, the govern- ment made a landmark announcement recently that the Federal National Council will consist of up to 50% women. This pow- erful motion empowers us to encourage [the] idea further. With the Women’s Coun- cil, we now have the platform to do so.” Though the council is only in its infancy, Al Mansoori explains a number of outcomes are expected. “We have been busy devising innovative ways to empower EITC’s female quotient of workers. To kick-start the council’s gender diversity agenda, we recently hosted over 100 EITC women employees in a full-day workshop to mark 100 days since the coun- cil’s inception. “Overall, the council has its sights set on creating awareness, encouraging dis- cussion, and driving positive actions to- wards building a workplace that supports gender balance.” Women make up about 29% of EITC’s workforce at present. In addition, recent figures from EITC reveal that 40% of new recruits are female. The Women’s Council also comes amid numerous other initiatives to recruit more women by telcos throughout the Mid- dle East. For instance, Saudi Arabia’s STC recently appointed Fay Al-Alshaikh as product portfolio strategy general manager – becoming the Saudi telco’s latest female executive. Earlier this year Dr Moudhi Al- jamea became the general manager of the ICT School at STC Academy, and Maha Al- Nuhait became manager of STC’s sustain- ability programme. At this time last year, STC did not have any female executives. Bahrain’s Batelco, Kuwait’s Zain, and others have also announced initiatives to recruit more women. Al Mansoori says attitudes may indeed be changing throughout the region when it comes to women in ICT, but there is still some work that needs to be done before equality is achieved. “In previous decades, the allure of the UAE for talented professionals from across the world was high. While this trend is still apparent, attracting and retaining quality job seekers or current employees has be- come more difficult for some businesses as they adjust to the changing demands from employees. As the workforce has become more dynamic, diverse, and educated, the talent pool has evolved to crave workplace cultures that provide collaborative, posi- tive and innovative environments for them to flourish.” She adds: “Gender diversity is becoming a priority for many workplaces, and we can see this through the increasing representa- tion of women in management roles. While there is always room for improvement, the foundations are in place for positive or- ganisational development. The effects of this can be lucrative for companies, and the UAE is definitely on the route towards achieving potential.” The establishment of the Women’s 21CommsMEA September 2019www.commsmea.com INTERVIEW EITC WOMEN’S COUNCILThe CommsMEA Awards are coming up in November. Time is fast running out to be able to get involved in this industry leading event COMING THIS NOVEMBER: THE 2019 COMMSMEA AWARDS Here’s the thing: the annual CommsMEA Awards are com- ing up soon. Very soon. As in, this November. They’re getting closer with each passing mo- ment. When they do take place, the Awards – as always – are expected to attract scores of luminaries from the telco and tech industries from throughout the Middle East and Africa (and possibly beyond), including top executives, movers, shakers, shot-callers, rising stars, and more. Oh, and there’s also a chance to be a sponsor – meaning a chance to be seen by the most important people in the industry. Booking a table or even getting your name/logo on all sorts of things as a spon- sor is a fairly simple process. If interested in sales and branding opportunities please contact Andrew Cover on +971 4 444 3502 or email andrew.cover@itp.com. Take our word for it that this is some- thing you won’t want to miss. That is, not if you’re keen on something that could, potentially, be life-changing. Stranger things have happened, yes? But act fast – time is running out. GET INVOVLED Want to be a sponsor of the 2019 CommsMEA Awards? Congrats! You’ve made the right choice. Contact Andrew Cover on +971 4 444 3502 or email andrew.cover@itp. com for more information and details. We’ll see you there! The trophies given out to winners at the 2018 CommsMEA Awards. There were a lot of smiles at the 2018 edition of the CommsMEA Awards. Avaya’s Faten Halabi, le, and CommsMEA editor Ben Mack. WANT TO ENTER THE 2019 COMMSMEA AWARDS? Head to www.commsmea.com/awards. Hurry- the deadline is Thursday, 12th September. UPDATE 2019 COMMSMEA AWARDS 22www.commsmea.comCommsMEA September 2019 CommsMEA sales manager Andrew Cover served as the MC of the 2018 edition of the event. The main sponsor of the 2018 CommsMEA Awards was Huawei. THE 2018 COMMSMEA AWARDS WINNERS Last year’s winners were: Business Service Initiative of the Year • Avaya, Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Batelco • Highly commended: Orange Mali + Mahindra Comviva Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign of the Year • Huawei • Highly commended: Zain Group Internet of Things Solution of the Year • Etisalat Digital • Highly commended: du Middle East and Africa Telecom Operator of the Year • Etisalat • Highly commended: Kuwait Telecommunication Company VIVA Most Innovative New Service of the Year • Virgin Mobile UAE • Highly commended: Orange Mali + Mahindra Comviva Network Infrastructure Initiative of the Year • Ericsson + Zain Iraq • Highly commended: Ooredoo Oman Outstanding Customer Service Award • Virgin Mobile UAE • Highly commended: VIVA Bahrain Regulatory Initiative of the Year • TRA Bahrain Smart City and Network Initiative of the Year • NXN • Highly commended: Vodafone + Standard Chartered Bank Telecom Group of the Year • Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa • Highly commended: Etisalat 5G Trailblazer of the Year • Huawei Lifetime and Industry Service Award • Elfatih Erwa, Zain Sudan UPDATE 2019 COMMSMEA AWARDS 23www.commsmea.comCommsMEA September 2019www.commsmea.comCommsMEA September 201924 INTERVIEW ALI AL ZAHIDBAGHDAD IS SAFER THAN CHICAGO ZAIN IRAQ CEO ALI AL ZAHID War And weak customer spending is a nightmare for most companies, But not Iraq’s largest telco. Led by its ambitious CEO, Ali Al Zahid, Zain Iraq is witnessing a surge in profits By Ramia Farrage Baghdad is safer than Chicago, at least ac- cording to the CEO of Zain Iraq. “A consultant based in Chicago asked if we can have a meeting outside Iraq, not in Baghdad, because they feared the security situation. “I reminded them that in the first six months of the year, they had 221 people killed in Chicago. At the same time in Baghdad, we had 145 people unfortunately being killed,” explains Ali Al Zahid. If you’re second-guessing his seemingly far-fetched statement, you might want to think again. Under Al Zahid’s leadership, the country’s largest mobile operator has only gotten bigger. In 2018, its net profit surged 70% year-on-year to total an impressive $49 million compared to $29m in 2017, with full-year revenues reaching a whopping $1.1 billion, a 3% rise from the previous year, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached $423m, up 11%. His secret? A young team fearless enough to take the company (part of leading MENA telco Zain Group) in a new direction. “With my entrance, one of my requirements was being able to choose who was working in the team. I was able to put these people in place. It was natural growth and a no-brainer that these people would be in charge in their positions today.” Al Zahid chose wisely. His team’s first move was to downsize operating costs and improve security by mov- ing the company’s headquarters from 50 villas to a single tower in Baghdad. Their next move – naturally – was investing in digital. So far, it’s paying dividends. Zain Iraq claims the country’s largest telecoms market share at 43%, fol- lowed by Asia Cell with 38% and Korek with an esti- mated 19%, while revenue market share puts it at nearly 40%, Asia Cell at 43% band Korek at approximately 17%. And with these impressive numbers, the CEO is content with the results. “Our revenues in digital have increased dramatically and we are the leading operator in terms of data customers. In every survey, we can see we are the number one operator of choice in terms of quality of network and quality of data,” he says, grinning. And why not boast about your numbers if you’ve outdone competitors despite having two disadvantages: 25CommsMEA September 2019www.commsmea.com INTERVIEW ALI AL ZAHIDversus the same period in 2017 – a nine percent increase to 16 million users. Al Zahid credits “a very aggressive sales approach” but claims his team’s power point is knowing its strengths and weak- nesses. In a bid to tackle them, the company improved its point of sales and expanded it to over 18,000 lo- cations, while revamping its network in Kurdistan. The company’s ambi- tions remain high: 2019 net profit is expected to climb by at least two dig- its and even more by 2023, though Al Zahid is reluctant to reveal the figure. He is, however, eager to share his pursuit of a 4G license this year. He sus- pects the Iraqi government will not charge for the license considering Zain Iraq’s massive $5bn investment in the licensing and rebuilding of 4,700 towers across the close geographical proximity to war and a customer with little spending capabilities. It could be a nightmare for most compa- nies. But not for Zain Iraq. “Asia Cell and Korek started in the much more secure North in Kurdistan which means they never witnessed the civil war that we witnessed so at the same time, they were able to have a secure base with a bigger wallet. “We have more cus- tomers but our customers aren’t as wealthy as the customers in the North,” Al Zahid says. It hasn’t stopped the telco from expanding its 3.9G servic- es across the country and restore 97 percent of war-damaged sites in the West and North. This, combined with various customer acquisition initiatives, especially in core regions, won the telco over 1.3 mil- lion customers in the first quarter of 2018 Zain Iraq has had to contend with conflict and weak customer spending when building its local business. We need to have a team that understands the youth trends and the things that are hip” $522m Zain Iraq’s revenue in the first half of 2019; up 14% compared to the same period last year 26CommsMEA September 2019www.commsmea.com INTERVIEW ALI AL ZAHID According to company CEO, Ali Al Zahid, Zain Iraq's network is already 4G enabled. All that's needed is a green light from the government to launch the service. nation since 2004. “We need the govern- ment to award the 4G license. In terms of network, ours is actually 4G ready, but what is required is that we get the green light from the government to be able to launch 4G. So we are hoping that we are talking about summer or fall to launch 4G. It would help tremendously – not us, be- cause we have to put up a huge investment, but it would help the customer base, and it would help the demand in terms of data for the Iraqi population who are currently using a 3G network like a 4G network. We really need the 4G network to satisfy the needs in the country,” he says. The operator’s infrastructure invest- ments were largely made possible by the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) financing package, allowing it to expand further into Iraq’s previously unserved areas. A member of the World Bank Group, the IFC loan put $269m towards helping reconstruct Iraq’s telecom operations and spur economic growth. The debt package includes $100m from the IFC’s own ac- count and a further $169m in mobilisation. The financing helped Zain Iraq enhance its capacity and quality of its 3G network. “We know how strict IFC is about pro- viding loans,” Al Zahid says. “They went into a very long assessment of the company, the direction, the strategy, 27CommsMEA September 2019www.commsmea.com INTERVIEW ALI AL ZAHIDthe management team, even the firefight- ing system. It’s helped us to secure the investment going forward in terms of 4G and even 5G which the Iraqi government is saying they want to implement in the next two years. Therefore, the loan from the IFC is just helping us to do what is neces- sary to be done.” These are the figures the undersecre- tary for Administrative and Financial Affairs at the Iraqi Ministry of Commu- nications, the German Ambassador to Iraq, and global technology company SAP announced last month at an event on the future of Iraq’s digitisa- tion. As the Iraqi government advances Vision 2030 and invests in reconstruc- tion, Iraq’s real GDP growth is set to nearly triple to 8.1% in 2020, especially thanks to an increase in diversified economic growth, according to a recent report by the World Bank. “Achieving Iraq Vision 2030’s nation- wide transformation goals requires a government with real-time insights across every ministry and level of gov- ernment,” said Dr Karim Mezel Shebbi, Undersecretary for Administrative and Financial Affairs at the Iraqi Ministry of Communications. “Public-private partnerships, such as with SAP, can provide digital govern- ment services that can make Iraq’s government more responsive and predictive to citizens’ needs, and fos- ter new levels of diversified economic growth and youth job creation.” Showing the strong trade oppor- tunities, the European Union (EU) is Iraq’s second-biggest trade partner. Bilateral trade ranked at €16.6bn ($18.5bn) in 2017, according to a recent report by the EU. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION DRIVES IRAQ’S VISION 2030 Nationwide digital transformation is driving Iraq Vision 2030’s diversified economic growth and job creation, and will spur GDP growth by 8% in 2020. The nation’s massive youth population – 50 percent of Iraq’s 38.7 million inhabit- ants are below the age of 25 – has helped the telco profit from its superior product. “If the youth can’t access internet then there’s going to be no increase in our youth segment. We need to have a team that understands their trends, things that are hip and things we need to focus on going forward,” Al Zahid states. It is through a number of initiatives that his team is capi- talising on Iraq’s crucial youth market. They include the “Hassa Eliya” or “Now for Me” market- ing campaign which focusses on inspiring and empowering young Iraqi talent by encouraging them to explore their skills and potential by inviting them to present their business ideas to the Zain Iraq team. A total of 8,700 entries made it to the final round of the competition. “It was a pure youth empowerment programme where we focussed on giving the youth a platform where they can share their ideas and their hopes and their de- mands,” Al Zahid says enthusiastically. It was the same campaign that inspired him to start a Zain incubator which helps aspiring entrepreneurs develop their ideas with the telco’s own technical and $25m Zain Iraq’s net income in the H1 of 2019; a 39% rise compared to the same period last year Zain Iraq has invested heavily to enhance the capacity and quality of its 3G network. 28CommsMEA September 2019www.commsmea.com INTERVIEW ALI AL ZAHIDmanagement team, as well as on-the- ground consultants that provide support in setting up small businesses. But the initiative is not solely to help young Iraqis fulfil their entrepre- neurial dream. It’s helping Al Zahid’s team identify market trends. “We believe in such ideas because the Iraqi market needs young new entrepreneurs and I think it’s not only part of our social responsibility to do this but it’s helping us to understand and to feel the market,” Al Zahid admits. It’s also winning Zain Iraq new customers as the team keeps track of popular products and makes them readily available before their competitors. “We are the only operator offering [PubG - player unknown battle- grounds]. Millions are playing it around the world and we were the first operator who made a direct agreement with them, which means you can actually buy edi- tions of this game directly through us. We are trying to follow a certain trend that’s in the market and we are trying to set up new things where we see the potential for growth,” Al Zahid says. Part of what distinguishes Zain Iraq’s new leadership team from its more tra- ditional predecessors is the fact that it’s championing gender diversity, with female employees at the telco having grown to comprise 29% of employees. By the end of 2019, the goal is to raise the number to 33 percent. Not only are female employees growing in numbers, they’re moving up the corporate ladder to secure more powerful positions. For the first time in its history, the telco has appointed a woman to the senior lead- ership team: Rasha Barakat, chief human capital officer. “Iraq was always, in the past, a quite open society but it changed during the years of the dictatorship and now we’re trying to support females in taking more of a leading role in the company. “When we give women support within the organisation, they are able to contrib- ute as much as their male counterparts,” says Al Zahid. And it is their male counterparts who he is targeting to drive gender equality across the nation. Each senior leader within the organisation, starting from directors to chief executives, is required to participate in female empowerment lectures. “We know that supporting females alone in a big company like this is not go- ing to make it. We need to emphasize on the male side what female empowerment means, the challenges they are facing in an organisation and in a society like ours and discover how we can actually support this going forward,” Al Zahid says. Perhaps the nation’s biggest private investor after oil companies may get investors to think twice about Iraq – not in terms of its safety, but in terms of its opportunities. 16 million The number of customers served by Zain Iraq. It also added 600,000 users in the first half of 2019 When we give women support, they are able to contribute as much as their male counterparts” Rasha Barakat was Zain Iraq's first senior female hiring when she was appointed chief hu- man capital officer. 29CommsMEA September 2019www.commsmea.com INTERVIEW ALI AL ZAHIDNext >