Zain Group, the leading mobile telecom innovator in eight markets across the Middle East and Africa, announces the publication of its annual thought leadership report, this year entitled, Social Innovation: The Fusion of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and A New Generational Mindset.
The report provides a clear understanding of how the various forces of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the new generational mindset foster Social Innovation. The report identifies the endless benefits and opportunities social innovation brings to humanity, businesses, civil society and governments. Additionally, it examines how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can and do play a critical role in enabling a more inclusive approach to social, economic and environmental impacts, fostering positive change. Lastly, the report provides a clear understanding of the relationship between social innovation and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the context of planetary boundaries and social thresholds.
The new report highlights how the Fourth Industrial Revolution has created vast opportunities to influence the trajectory of society and revolutionize the way businesses operate. The world is in the midst of a technological revolution in which societies are being forced to embrace advancements to maximize benefits and drive sustainable and inclusive growth. At its core, the Fourth Industrial Revolution serves as the interconnectedness of all emerging new technologies providing increasingly enhanced and meticulously customized products and services that improve people’s lives.
Moreover, the new generational mindset, that is primarily comprised of youth, plays a fundamental role when it comes to understanding the importance of addressing society’s most pressing issues as they are the ones who will fully experience the threats of our complex world. They acknowledge that automated processes will directly impact them and are well aware that some of the lower income, less educated, and basic skilled workers are the ones who will most likely get affected. Accordingly, the youth are highly critical when it comes to corporations’ commitment to ethics and values, thus it is crucial for businesses to capture this in order to attract and ensure that youth are interjected willingly into the company.
Commenting on the publication of the company’s latest report, Zain Group Vice-Chairman and CEO, Bader Al-Kharafi said, “As a business that is grounded in technology, it is fascinating to witness the rapid rate of development over the last 20 years. The latest developments in technology are not only changing the landscape in an accelerated manner, but more importantly, are finding solutions to existing and future global challenges.”
Al-Kharafi continued, “As a regional leader dedicated to catalyzing positive and inclusive change, Zain will continue to push the envelope around social innovation with the aim of addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ICT is an efficient and transformational tool that can be harnessed to drive the achievement of all 17 SDGs, and as such, technological advancements in this area should be viewed as a means of choice in addressing the goals and relieving the global community’s most distressing problems.”
Furthermore, the Report highlights pressing issues such as:
● Social Innovation is using rapid technological advancements to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues.
● The Fourth Industrial Revolution is impacting factors such as employment, inequality, and data privacy which are reshaping every single aspect of our lives.
● Through Social Innovation companies will be able to serve and tap into new markets and consumers that will be contributing to the sustainability and relevance of the business.
● Some of the grave global challenges such as climate change and political instability can be considered opportunities to create and innovate solutions that mitigate the negative impacts of these challenges.
Even though Social Innovation addresses all the 17 SDGs, below are some examples of how it directly contributes to some of the goals:
1. SDG 9.4 (Upgrade all Industries and Infrastructures for Sustainability): ICT can help achieve this specific target by providing clean and environmentally friendly solutions related to industrial processes.
2. SDG 11 (Make Cities and Human Settlements Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable): Advancements in technological tools can help build and explore the potential of smart cities. Also, digitizing public places provides opportunities for such areas to become better equipped for the population’s ICT needs that facilitate access to information.
3. SDG 16.2 (End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence and torture against children): The ICT industry can strongly spear actionable change when it comes to protecting children, even from a regulatory and policy perspective and deliver beneficial solutions to address the issue.
Social Innovation at Zain
Social innovation at Zain is an area of great importance as it not only addresses societies’ most pressing challenges, it provides a legitimate avenue for youth across the company’s footprint to engage in a meaningful manner and become active participants in socio-economic development.
While modern businesses tend to shy away from contributing financially to social innovation and usually position it on the sidelines, Zain has been focused on this area for years. Programs established by Zain over the years have altered the status quo and noticeably led to meaningful change on an inclusive basis. Through the effective use of new technologies, the company’s reach, and mobile connectivity, Zain is devising innovative solutions to initiate an innovation ecosystem across the region that impacts segments of society that are typically marginalized.
Although Zain’s Social Innovation agenda is still in its early stages, it is shaped and guided by the notion of value creation for both the company and its communities. Examples of Zain’s pioneering activity in the area of social innovation include the company’s partnership with MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Pan Arab Startup competition that has been held in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and across the region, as well as its ‘Innovate for Refugees’ initiative which exemplifies how transformational such programs can be for displaced societies across the region. In Jordan, Zain partnered with a local startup, Mind Rockets, to build innovative technology to fully engage the hearing impaired. Through this partnership, Zain added a new feature to its website where hearing-impaired individuals can access the site using sign language via an avatar. The Social Fellowship Program in Sudan aims to support individuals who have innovative entrepreneurial solutions to society’s most pressing deficits through the development of young aspiring entrepreneurs.
Jennifer Suleiman, Zain Group’s Chief Sustainability Officer said, “Innovation in all its forms has shaped the pace of human evolution from the beginning of time. It has allowed for great inventions to come to fruition and it should be considered as the foundation of exploration. For us at Zain, we are embracing the rapid changes that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing about, helping unfold a multitude of opportunities across the board.”
Suleiman continued, “It is exciting witnessing the fusion of the forces that are coming from the youth’s new generational mindset, breaking down barriers, helping circumvent obstacles and in some cases catapulting products and services that address social challenges to the forefront. The forces by themselves are very disruptive in nature but this disruption is opening new possibilities for a more inclusive and equitable growth. We encourage all our stakeholders to become active drivers in this fascinating change and we look forward to the evolution of new innovations across the region.”
So as to reduce negative environmental impact, the Social Innovation: The Fusion of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and A New Generational Mindset report is not printed physically, but instead may be viewed online or downloaded by visiting the link: https://zain.com/en/sustainability/thought-leadership-reports/
Source: Zain Press Release