Zain Group celebrated the graduation of a new cohort of GROW, its training program dedicated to fresh graduates with disabilities, in a step that reflects the company’s firm commitment to building a more inclusive and empowering workforce.
The ceremony was attended by Zain Kuwait CEO Nawaf Al-Gharabally, Zain Group executive management, and representatives of the program’s partners. This underscored the importance of integrating roles between the public, private, and academic sectors to support people with disabilities and contribute effectively to empowering their entry into the private sector. The occasion saw an inspiring video showcasing the journey of GROW participants.
In Kuwait, the program was delivered in collaboration with leading academic institutions, including Kuwait University (KU), Australian University (AU), American University of Kuwait (AUK), American University of the Middle East (AUM), Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST), INJAZ Kuwait, and CODED Academy.
GROW is one of Zain’s key initiatives dedicated to empowering young talent with disabilities to effectively enter the workforce and excel in the market. It offered a three-month paid internship experience that focused on developing practical skills across telecommunications, technology, and business administration, combining training, professional guidance, and hands-on experience in real work environments.
This year, the program attracted over 620 applicants groupwide, with 20 participants from Kuwait, Bahrain, Sudan, and South Sudan joining a three-month training and internship journey.
In Kuwait, participants were placed across five key teams: Customer Value Management (CVM), Channels, Human Resources, Infrastructure, and Corporate Affairs and Relations. The cohort included participants with different types of disabilities, including physical, visual, neurodivergent, and speech disabilities.
The first month featured intensive training in mindset transformation, artificial intelligence and data analysis, behavioral skills, technical skills, and disability confidence in the workplace, alongside an innovation camp delivered by INJAZ.
Each trainee was also assigned a mentor with a disability from Zain Masters, the company’s Employee Resource Group (ERG) for employees with disabilities, throughout the duration of the program. This mentorship aimed to strengthen disability confidence and support a culture of advocacy within the workplace.
In addition to receiving the program certificate from Zain, participants earned six additional certificates from the program’s partners: INJAZ Kuwait, CODED Academy, and PurpleSpace, the global networking and professional development platform for disabled employees.
The program cements Zain’s belief that digital progress must be driven by purpose and create a lasting positive impact. This is aligned with the company’s 4WARD strategy, which aims to build a more sustainable and inclusive future, guided by its purpose: Better Lives. Lasting Connections.
GROW also represents a pillar of WE ABLE 2030, Zain’s leading regional strategy shaped by its own employees with disabilities to embed inclusion and accessibility into the organization’s decisions and business practices. It aims to strengthen opportunities for inclusion and empowerment, advance data-driven leadership, and present a realistic, modern view of the capabilities of people with disabilities that challenges traditional stereotypes.
Guided by this vision, Zain embraces a firm commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable society, one founded on equal opportunity and on recognizing people for their skills, abilities, and true potential. By providing an inclusive workplace that embraces everyone, the company gives each individual the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities and contribute meaningfully to its shared success.
Through WE ABLE 2030, Zain aims to expand its initiatives across employment, professional development, inclusive design, customer care, and innovation. The vision also focuses on building strategic partnerships with government entities, academic institutions, and civil society organizations, creating an integrated ecosystem that supports the participation of people with disabilities and empowers them economically and professionally.
The success of GROW goes beyond the graduation of a new cohort of promising talent. It stands as a practical model for transforming the principles of inclusion into tangible outcomes and real opportunities for professional growth and development. The program has succeeded in connecting talented graduates with disabilities to quality training opportunities that help them gain the experience needed to join the market with confidence and competence.
‘Freedom to Move’, an innovative indoor navigation solution
At the event, Zain took the opportunity to launch the first phase of its innovative indoor navigation solution, titled “Freedom to Move.” Developed by global innovator GoodMaps, the solution is one of the first specialized technologies of its kind designed to meet the needs of people with disabilities. This also marks GoodMaps’ first collaboration with an organization in the Middle East. The solution was showcased in the main hall during the event as an initial phase, paving the way to explore the possibility of expanding it across a number of Zain branches in the future.
The application provides an inclusive smart navigation experience that serves different groups of people with disabilities. It offers voice guidance for blind and visually impaired users, simplified maps that support people with neurodivergent needs, barrier-free routes for wheelchair users, and vibration alerts for deaf and hard-of-hearing users.
This allows users to reach their destinations inside buildings with ease and independence through accurate, step-by-step guidance. The initiative comes as part of Zain’s ongoing efforts to leverage technology and innovation to enhance accessibility and create more inclusive environments for everyone.
Zain also recently conducted Kuwait’s first comprehensive strategic digital and policy accessibility audit. The audit covers the company’s digital platforms, customer experiences, digital communications content, and key HR policies, with the aim of developing a clear roadmap to enhance accessibility and ensure that services, products, and workplace environments are designed to meet everyone’s needs from the outset.
Zain’s initiatives for people with disabilities embody its firm commitment to enabling access to professional development opportunities and active inclusion in the workplace. GROW serves as one of the practical pathways that translate inclusion principles into tangible results.
GROW also complements a series of impactful initiatives launched by Zain to advance accessibility and empowerment, including its partnership with Be My Eyes to support blind and visually impaired people, and The Masters initiative, which gave Zain employees with disabilities a broader platform to participate in decision-making and express their professional needs. Together, these efforts reflect the Group’s vision of building a more inclusive environment, one that removes barriers and expands opportunities for participation and contribution across all groups.
