This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Telecoms 150 Report 2026.
Surpassing the USD4 billion brand value milestone for the first time in its history, Zain has also achieved its highest-ever Brand Strength score in 2026, marking a defining moment for the brand. In a recent interview with Brand Finance, Bader Al-Kharafi, Vice-Chairman and Group CEO of Zain, shares how the company’s 4WARD – Progress with Purpose strategy, investments in digital innovation, and commitment to sustainability and customer experience have driven Zain’s continued rise as one of the region's most admired telecoms leaders.
Interview with Bader Al-Kharafi, Vice-Chairman & Group CEO, Zain
This year, Zain surpassed the USD4 billion mark for the first time in its history and achieved its highest-ever Brand Strength score. What were the key factors contributing to this performance?
Vice-Chairman
& Group CEO,
Zain
As one of the region’s most admired and recognisable brands, this milestone reaffirms Zain’s four decades of leadership in mobile and ICT innovation. Nearly two decades after the launch of the Zain brand in September 2007, our continued rise in brand value reflects the passion, creativity and strategic investment that have shaped a bold and progressive identity built on compelling customer experiences.
Our ‘4WARD-Progress with Purpose’ corporate strategy, anchored in innovation and digital transformation, has inspired a multitude of award-winning campaigns and industry-leading initiatives across Sustainability, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity. These efforts have fostered deep trust and affinity among our customers and employees alike.
Our ranking as the number one telecommunications company and among the top three employers across the MENA region on Forbes’ annual World’s Best Employers list for 2025 reflects our commitment to building a thriving, diverse and inclusive workplace comprised of 8,000 talents.
Today, Zain connects and empowers 50.9 million customers across its eight markets and engages over 35.5 million followers on social media. The 4 billion views and 1.5 billion interactions achieved during 2025 reaffirm the strength of our advertising and marketing investments, positioning Zain as one of the region’s most loved brands.
In recent years, Zain has successfully expanded into growth areas such as fintech and Insurtech. Which strategic brand investments over the next 3–5 years will be most critical to strengthening Zain’s brand resilience?
Our individual and enterprise offerings encompass a wide array of socioeconomic beneficial and needed services. Various Fintech services we rolled out, including wallets, micro-finance and remittance services, are driving financial inclusion across our footprint.
Moreover, our Insurtech rollout, mainly device and motor coverage, is expanding to include additional coverage options and is witnessing strong uptake.
Digital customer-centric services such as Dizlee, an API-driven digital monetisation platform, enable and scale a wide range of digital services across the Group’s operating companies through a unified ecosystem, witnessing exponential customer growth and driving brand engagement.
The platform delivers digital content and gaming services, Direct Carrier Billing (DCB), messaging solutions, digital authentication, network APIs and other value-added services, offering 289 live services across 58 active partners, reflecting strong partner confidence and increasing market adoption with millions of daily users.
Furthermore, ZainTECH has positioned itself as a leading ICT service provider for governments and businesses across the region, offering Cloud and digital solutions and delivering remarkable revenue growth. Supporting this is our Global M2M offering, positioning Zain as the regional partner of choice by addressing challenges faced by OEMs operating in or entering the region.
By providing a unified solution that ensures compliance and simplifies connectivity, Zain empowers global manufacturers to connect to the Middle East, accelerating digital transformation and driving socio-economic growth.
Similarly, our wholesale carrier and subsea cable entity, Zain Omantel International (ZOI), has launched new digital corridors connecting the Middle East to Europe and Asia.
Ranked #1 ASN in the Middle East and the only regional network among the top 100 globally out of 70,000 networks, ZOI operates the most interconnected IP network in the region, enabling hyperscalers, ISPs and enterprises to achieve superior performance, greater efficiency and smarter connectivity.
These strategic services further strengthen the Zain brand as the mobile and ICT provider of choice for individuals, governments and businesses across the region.
Sustainability is central to Zain’s DNA and is embedded in your current 4WARD strategy. How are Zain’s latest sustainability initiatives strengthening brand differentiation and contributing to long-term value creation?
Zain witnessed significant upgrades across multiple global Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) indices during 2025, highlighted by an improvement in its Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) ESG rating from ‘BBB’ to ‘A’ as of September 2025. Additionally, our score in the S&P Global ESG Index rose above the global telecom average, while we also surpassed the global average in the FTSE4Good Index.
In Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (IDE), Zain leads through initiatives empowering women, youth, and people with disabilities, while promoting mental well=being in the workplace.
Aiming to support the regional startup ecosystem and foster innovation, we expanded the Zain Great Idea (ZGI) Accelerator programme beyond Kuwait to include Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Customer Delight is a core pillar of your corporate strategy as you transform into TechCo. What are the priority focus areas across the customer journey, and how is AI used to enhance experience, engagement, and satisfaction?
We operate on the ethos of ensuring exceptional customer experience at every touch point of the Zain ecosystem.
Empowering the individuals, businesses, and governments we serve to enhance their livelihoods, increase their digital footprint, and streamline their operations for greater success is key. The proof is in our Net Promoter Scores (NPS) across all our markets that have witnessed high ratings improving.
Zain’s ‘4WARD-Progress with Purpose’ strategy was built through active and iterative engagement with numerous Zain personnel across the business. 4WARD is designed to deliver sustainable value over the 2025– 2030 timeframe enhancing the Zain brand, with a clear focus on:
+ Accelerating the core through B2C customer delight initiatives, B2B partner-of-choice positioning, and continued growth in ICT, fixed, and converged connectivity.
+ Expanding growth platforms via regional data centres, fintech portfolio expansion, and scalable digital infrastructure.
+ Embedding AI across the business to improve efficiency, personalisation, and unlock new revenue models.
+ Driving margin resilience and capital efficiency through ecosystem synergies and disciplined efficiency through ecosystem synergies and disciplined investment.
+ Creating long-term shareholder and societal value, enabled by people, collaboration, inclusion, and sustainability commitments.
We are confident that ‘4WARD-Progress with Purpose’ will continue to unleash Zain’s full potential in transforming from a Telco to a purpose driven TechCo conglomerate providing ‘Better Lives and Lasting Connections’ for all.
