Following the announcement of e&’s transformation as a global technology conglomerate, H.E. Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Alzaabi, chairman of e&, highlighted that the Group’s strong financial performance and stellar business results across the markets where it operates have placed it on solid footing, starting a new chapter of success.
The Group shared how well-placed it was to drive its aspirations through specialist business pillars.
H.E. said, “Our exemplary financials and strong standing in the market demonstrate our strength and capability to take our success to new heights as we refocus our efforts in investing in breakthrough technologies, accelerating in-depth market penetrations and capitalising on solid ventures with key industry players.
“Moreover, the digital revolution and its impact on the business world has given us ample confidence to expand even further through the business pillars.”
Looking ahead, the Group is in a privileged position in the MENA region to capture regional growth opportunities while looking into markets beyond the region. e& possesses an undisputed market position across the MENA region with an ICT market size across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, three of its key markets, expected to grow by more than 15% annually from 2020 to 2025. Moreover, the business landscape has seen an explosive rate of digital disruption, with significant digital white spaces remaining in the MENA region.
H.E. highlighted what needs to happen for the Group to ride the change. He said, “Driven by our track record of success and milestone achievements we have witnessed so far, we are confident in leading the digitalisation conversation. It is our determination to accomplish more for the benefit of our customers and shareholders through our commitment to enhancing the quality of our solutions and services. We are the bridge builders who have mastered the art of combining our scalable technological competencies with our robust telecoms expertise so that we can drive positive change for our customers, unlock more shareholder value and strengthen our global presence.
Through our main business pillars, we are creating a future-ready business model that celebrates our past and embraces the opportunities ahead of us.”
Meanwhile, Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO, e&, further explained the successes that the Group has had in maximising value from the core, expanding and solidifying its regional footprint leadership, as well as the strong financial results. He stressed the importance of embracing a progressive outlook, harnessing a growth mindset to see beyond the world of telecoms so as to create a bright, digital future.
He said, “Technological disruption brought with it winds of change that we’ve never seen before. Instead of us standing at the crossroads, wondering what to do next, we started to ask, “How can we capture and accelerate growth and still stay strong and successful?” The answer is plain to see. Our quest to go beyond the realms of telecom exhorted us to ideate, design and deploy solutions that would transform the lives of our customers and advance the digitalisation journey of enterprises.
Part of this journey involved us taking massive steps to explore adjacencies, looking at how we can create focused digital units, building strong partnerships and exploring collaborative opportunities that would attract out-of-industry partners and investors. We are pleased with the progress made thus far, indicating that the Group is ready for growth, quipped with clear strategic imperatives that will accelerate digital transformation.
While our robust financial performance has given us a clear snapshot of our readiness to embark on this new journey, we are also constantly focusing on how our work impacts people’s lives. One of the key reasons that we have been able to rise to any challenge and stay agile constantly, is because we believe that we are making a difference in the lives of millions. Enhancing customer experiences and empowering societies have always been our driving forces in everything we have done in the past and what we will achieve in the future.
We will continue to step up and innovate at every opportunity presented to us in a time of accelerated digitalization,” he explained.
During the Q&A session, responding to Telecom Review’s questions on e&’s growth strategy in the enterprise space, Mr. Dowidar said that the conglomerate has plans to explore new markets in Africa, Europe and Asia to sustain its growth momentum.
Meanwhile, Salvador Anglada, CEO, e& enterprise said that the company will be collaborating with partners in areas such as AI, machine learning and clouds computing to deliver the most innovative solutions for an exceptional customer service experience.
Addressing other questions on VoIP service providers such as WhatsApp to be operational in UAE, HE Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Alzaabi said that the call would be taken by the telecom regulator to unblock internet-calling applications in the country.