Scott Gegenheimer: “Technology is a key enabler for service differentiation and digital advancement ensuring a superior customer experience”

Kuwait City - Zain Group, the leading mobile telecom innovator in eight markets across the Middle East and Africa, today announced a strategic partnership with Apigate, a subsidiary of Axiata Digital, to procure and provide API services via Zain’s API Hub for its operating companies and end users.

This newly formed partnership allows Apigate to deliver a Digital Enablement Hub in support of Zain’s API Hub, as well as a hub-to-hub connection for Zain’s API platforms to facilitate a single technical, commercial, and financial integration. This will enable faster deployment for businesses to distribute and monetize their services. The integrated platform will address multiple operating companies across Zain’s footprint.

Under the agreement, Zain and Apigate will also look to explore further business opportunities of mutual interests and leverage and develop go-to-market collaboration. Established to support the increasingly digital lifestyles of mobile users across the globe, Apigate’s portfolio currently consists of 26 digital brands focused on digital financial services (e-wallets, remittance, micro-insurance and micro-lending), digital advertising and platform services focused on API’s.

Recently at the MWC Barcelona, Zain announced the launch of its Group-wide Application Program Interface (API) Platform with the aim of connecting its operating companies across the region onto a single enablement platform, taping Google’s Apigee Edge API Platform. By exposing its APIs, Zain is removing a significant barrier to developing new digital partnerships from across the globe.

Zain will initially launch the API platform with a pilot phase in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and will be thereafter gradually extended to all Zain operations.

Commenting on the partnership with Apigate, Scott Gegenheimer, Zain Group CEO-Operations said, “Technology is a key enabler for service differentiation and digital advancement, driving our ambition to ensure a superior customer experience. We believe opening up our APIs and partnering with globally renowned entities like Apigate will help us to drive continuous delivery of the best user experience while also expanding our contribution to the development of digital services to a whole new universe of contributors.” Gegenheimer added, “This strategic API initiative is set to bring about greater agility to Zain as it considers new market opportunities, accelerating innovation and expanding revenue streams, bolstering our digital lifestyle provider aspirations.”

Chief Executive of Axiata Digital, Mohd Khairil Abdullah said,” We are thrilled to partner with a valued partner like Zain Group. This marks another important milestone for API businesses to bring longer term value to customers through partnerships such as this in the digital ecosystem and in our partner regions across Apigate’s hubs.”

Zain’s API program is set to give opportunities for large digital players and individual developers alike to be able to launch services to Zain customers in a reduced amount of time. In due course, with the new open source digital enablement platform available at each of its operations, Zain will be able to offer internet service providers, other mobile network operators, and its own customers a host of features.

These group-wide agreements with Axiata Digital’s Apigate and Google’s Apigee will bolster Zain’s efforts to further leverage the capable operations of FOO, a leading mobile digital solutions developer in which Zain holds a strategic stake. FOO’s expertise in implementing and managing this platform played a critical part of the development of the API and FOO will further support the rollout of the API platform and digital services across all Zain markets. ENDS

About Zain Group

Zain is a leading telecommunications operator across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to over 46.6 million active customers as of 31 December, 2017. With a commercial presence in 8 countries, Zain operates in: Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and South Sudan. In Lebanon, the Group manages ‘touch’ on behalf of the government. In Morocco, Zain has a 15.5% stake in ‘INWI’, through a joint venture. Zain is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (stock ticker: ZAIN). We recommend the Investor Community download the “Zain Group Investor Relations” Mobile App. For more please email info@zain.com or visit: www.zain.com; www.facebook.com/zain; www.twitter.com/zain; www.youtube.com/zain; www.instagram.com/zaingroup; www.linkedin.com/company/zain

About Apigate:

Apigate is a subsidiary of Axiata Digital, and part of Axiata Group, one of Asia’s leading telecommunications groups with over 320 million customers and 1.8 million retail touchpoints across eight counties in South and Southeast Asia. Additionally, Apigate’s Mobile Connect Hubs in India and Brazil bring together six Indian and seven Brazilian operators respectively, serving over 936 million customers. Apigate helps Content and Services Providers, Mobile Network Operators, SMEs, Tech Startups, and Developers reach consumers around the world via its Application Programming Interface (API) platform. Through its API Gateway hubs in four continents (Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America), and integration with major application marketplaces, it provides access to mobile phone consumers across every service for direct carrier billing, voice, messaging, mobile money, location and identity. The company enables businesses to serve and charge consumers securely on their apps while simplifying the process required through a single dedicated point of contact. This integrated model increases speed and reach to consumer, and lowers the barriers to doing business. For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.apigate.com.

Press Contact: zakiah@axiatadigital.com +6019-3965078

About Axiata Digital

Axiata Digital Services (AD), the digital services arm of Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata), was established to support the increasingly digital lifestyle of Axiata consumers. In four years, this portfolio now consists of 26 digital brands focused on digital financial services (e-wallets, remittance, micro-insurance and micro-lending), digital advertising and platform services focused on API’s (Application Programming Interface) among which are Boost, BIMA, 11Street, FreedomPop, StoreKing, and AdKnowledge Asia.

Press Contact: salim@axiatadigital.com +6019-2896830

© Press Release 2018