Mobile Telecommunications K S C P : Zain Sustainability Report for the year 2023

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023

01	About the Report	03
02	Company Overview	05
03	Message from the Board of Directors	08
04	Message from the Vice-Chairman & Group CEO	10
05	Message from the Chief Sustainability Officer	12
06	2023 Highlights	14
07	Awards	18
08	4Sight Strategy	21
09	Corporate Governance	27
10	Enterprise Risk Management	34
11	Human Rights	40
12	Materiality Assessment	45
13	Regulatory Context	52
14	Stakeholder Engagement	56
15	Products & Services	64
16	Customer Base	70
17	People & Purpose	72
18	Sustainability Agenda	84
19	Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures	106
20	Looking Forward	116
21	Appendix	119
22	Independent Assurance Report	130
23	Contact List	133

02

Table of

Contents

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023

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0 1

About the

Report

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023

For its 13th consecutive year, Zain's 2023 Sustainability Report provides an overview of the company's social, economic, environmental, and human rights impacts across its operating companies. The report covers the period 1 January 2023 - 31 December 2023, published on an annual basis.

ABOUT THE REPORT	04

Headquartered in Kuwait, Zain's countries of operation referenced in this report include Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and South Sudan as well as key subsidiaries ZainTECH and Zain Omantel International (ZOI).

The report is in line with the company's financial statements that can be found n the annual report. Zain also holds a 15.5% stake in INWI in Morocco through a joint venture. As Zain does not manage INWI operationally, this entity is not part of the scope of the Sustainability Report.

Zain also ensures its Sustainability Report is independently verified under limited assurance by Ernst & Young (Al Aiban, Al Osaimi and Partners). The independent assurance report can be found on page 130.

The Vice-Chairman and Group CEO, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Sustainability Officer, and relevant Executive Management at Zain Group review, assess, and approve the publication of the Sustainability Report.

Zain's Sustainability Report is developed in alignment to the AA1000 Accountability Principles (AA1000AP) 2018; the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) standards; the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards, where it follows the 'Telecommunications Sustainability Accounting Standard'; Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGP) on Business and Human Rights Reporting Framework; ESG Reporting Guide published by Boursa Kuwait, GSMA ESG Metrics for Mobile; and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) principles.

Centered on the Corporate Sustainability's strategy mission, the 2023 Sustainability Report demonstrates the company's efforts to provide Meaningful Connectivity leading to equitable systemic change. The report provides the required context of its markets to showcase how it continued to execute its five-year2020-2025 Corporate Sustainability strategy. Throughout 2023, the company remained committed to achieving its targets whilst maneuvering through the various challenges and deficits faced by its operating markets.

The strategy's four pillars were created based on a comprehensive stakeholder engagement exercise in addition to being rooted in understanding the deficits and context of its economic, societal, environmental, and human rights impacts.

1. Climate Change: Decarbonize the business and transition towards Net-Zero by 2050
2. Operate Responsibly: Embed Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles across the entire value chain
3. Inclusion: Reduce the digital inequality gap
4. Generation Youth: Build resilience across Zain communities by targeting 16 million children and youth

More information on how Zain's efforts in achieving the above-mentioned objectives can be found in the 'Sustainability Agenda' section on page 84.

Please note, some information deemed significant that was mentioned in previous reports is repeated in this edition, while redundant or easily available information may have been omitted to ensure fluidity and clarity of the current report. The report also describes situations where considerable organizational changes have taken place during the reporting period.

This report is published on March 28, 2024.

Zain welcomes any comments, feedback, or suggestions regarding the content and aspects related to Zain's sustainability performance.

Please reach out to us on:

FACEBOOK-FX-TWITTERLINKEDIN-ININSTAGRAM

Email: [e-mail]

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Company

Overview

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023

COMPANY OVERVIEW	06

The 2023 Sustainability Report coincides with the company's 40-year anniversary. Zain, formally known as Mobile Telecommunications Company K.S.C.P., was established in 1983 by an Amiri decree. Headquartered in Kuwait, the company is considered the region's first mobile operator, and following its expansion strategy is currently operating in eight countries in the Middle East and Africa with a workforce of around 7,900 employees. The largest shareholder is the Group of Oman Telecommunications, with a 21.9% ownership, followed by Kuwait Investment Authority with 15.9%.

Below is the breakdown of the equity share of Zain across its markets:

Operation	Equity Stake
Bahrain	65%
Iraq	76%
Jordan	96.5%
Kuwait	100%
Saudi Arabia	37%
Sudan	100%
South Sudan	100%
ZainTECH	100%

In 2023, the company provided voice and data digital products and services to 51 million customers. Prepaid and postpaid customer numbers can be found in the 'Customer Base' section of this report. Additionally, through its UAE headquartered integrated digital solutions entity, ZainTECH, the company provides the full stack of ICT enterprise (B2B) services for Governments and Enterprises of all sizes across

the region. Also, the newly formed UAE based Zain Omantel International (ZOI) is revolutionizing the international telecommunications wholesale landscape as the premier wholesale powerhouse serving regional operators, international carriers, and global hyperscalers.

Zain is a member of the GSM Association and continues to engage proactively in various regulatory affairs, sustainability, climate change, circularity, children's rights, and industry trend streams.

51M

Active customers

USD 6.2B

In consolidated revenues

USD 701M

In net income

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023	COMPANY OVERVIEW	07

The company continued to scale implementation of blocking mechanisms of child sexual abuse material across six out of its seven mobile operators.

To better serve its customers from the disability segment, the company provided bundles for this demographic in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and South Sudan

For the third consecutive year, Zain implemented 912 its Women in Tech (WIT) program that

fosters the development of undergraduate women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), having reached an accumulative of 912 women since 2022.

AN ACCUMULATIVE OF

WOMEN FROM THE WOMEN

IN TECH PROGRAM REACHED

SINCE 2022

Zain continued to scale its supplier self-assessment questionnaires to 441 suppliers, reaching a total of 23% of its active suppliers in 2023.

23%

ACTIVE SUPPLIERS TOOK SELF-

ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRES

AND TRAINING IN 2023

Zain achieved a score of 8.4/10 in the Children's Rights and Business 2023 Global benchmark, reaching a leader position against

a sector average of 5.8/10 and regional average of 3.4/10.

8.4/10

ACHIEVED SCORE IN THE

CHILDREN'S RIGHTS AND

BUSINESS 2023 GLOBAL

BENCHMARK

Zain established the Zain Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion University in collaboration with IE University with the aim of extending learning opportunities to 2,000 Zain employees to participate in an inclusive online Digital Transformation program, also offering the possibility of attaining a master's degree.

2,000

ZAIN EMPLOYEES TO PARTICIPATE

IN AN INCLUSIVE ONLINE DIGITAL

TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM

In alignment to the company's ambition to become Net-Zero by 2050, Zain deployed 338 hybrid solutions across its footprint to reduce its emissions.

338

DEPLOYED HYBRID SOLUTIONS

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Message from the Board of Directors

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023

MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mr. Osamah Othman	Mr. Bader Nasser	Mr. Talal Said	As the custodians of the company, its employees,
AlFuraih	Al Kharafi	Al Mamari	various operating companies, subsidiaries, and
Chairman of the Board	Vice Chairman and Group	Member of the Board	companies under management control, Zain's Board of
of Directors	CEO	of Directors	Directors remain steadfast in proving a path of organic
			and equitable growth based on the intersection of
			business and society over the short, medium, and long
			term.
			The Board's focus on value creation is exemplified by
			its commitment to running the business with integrity,
			putting in place business KPIs that clearly articulate
			the company's vision for growth and development, and
			ensuring that the business has the required resilience
			to overcome the challenges of our time.
Mr. Abdulrahman Mohammed	Mr. Yousef Khaled	Mr. Zaki Hilal Saud	Climate change, displacement, and access to
connectivity are areas of material importance to the
Ibrahim Al Asfour	Al Abdulrazzaq	Al-Busaidi	Board due to the impact on the business. Employee
Independent	Member of the Board	Member of the Board	and social well-being continue to be a focus area,
Board Member	of Directors	of Directors	especially in an era of great social turmoil.

Mr. Atif Said Rashid	Mr. Aladdin	Mr. Nasser bin Suleiman
Al Siyabi	Baitfadhil	Al Harthy

09

We are happy to report that we continue to evolve and make inroads in our Corporate Sustainability strategy, and we look forward to fulfilling our strategic goals.

We would like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude and appreciation to His Highness the Amir of the State of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah and the members of the governments in the markets in which we operate, for their support, which is instrumental for the continued development of the organization.

Sincerely,

Zain Group Board of Directors

Member of the Board	Member of the Board	Member of the Board of
of Directors	of Directors	Directors