e&, formerly known as Etisalat Group, has recently refreshed its business pillars in alignment with its objectives for geographical expansion, deeper market penetration, profitable ventures and acquisitions, exploring adjacencies will only serve to amplify business growth across all segments.
Commenting on the recent company transformation, Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Alzaabi, Chairman of e&, has highlighted that the Group’s strong financial performance and stellar business results across the markets where it operates have placed it on solid footing start a new chapter of success.
Alzaabi 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.
With an ICT market size across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, e& holds a primary market position across the MENA region. It further expects 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.
Al Zaabi highlighted that owing to the Group’s track record of success and milestone achievements they 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&, stressed the importance of embracing a progressive outlook, harnessing a growth mindset to see beyond the world of telecoms to create a bright, digital future.
“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?’,” he said.
“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 focussed 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.”
Embedding sustainability at the core
Furthermore, Dowidar spoke about the Group’s commitment to the critical role of living by sustainability principles.
He highlighted that they have put several measures in place to address the footprint across the board. E&’s ESG rating was upgraded from ‘BBB’ to ‘A’ by MSCI Global Index after it launched the sustainability framework and enhanced policies in line with international best practices.
“To continue to deliver on the agenda of sustainability, we have joined ICT sectors for Paris Agreement commitments to Net Zero-emission by 2050. We are also looking at accelerating the decarbonisation of activities by reducing GHG by 2030. We have a clear responsibility to drive sustainable operations for the sake of the future generations and so we will do what it takes to tackle issues such as climate change, global warming and environmental conservation.”
According to its leaders, e& will embark on the next wave of core transformation in the UAE telco business to de-risk against market headwinds. Scaling synergies for international expansion will be driven by diversifying footprint risks and reducing home market dependency. Last, but not least, a more transparent and agile business model is in the works to open doors for more strategic partnerships, investments, and M&A opportunities.
