Zain joins a global effort with GSMA to improve digital inclusion of persons with disabilities

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5 Jan 2021

To mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the GSMA launched the “Principles for Driving the Digital Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities” that Zain is a signatory of. The “Principles” set out a framework for action together with recommended activities to help address the barriers that currently prevent people with disabilities from accessing and using mobile-enabled products and services.

Concerted efforts are required to address the barriers and requirements of persons with disabilities, drive innovation, place persons with disabilities at the heart of the design process and realize the social and commercial opportunity of reaching this underserved segment of the population. By doing, so the mobile industry can create meaningful change and help ensure no one is left behind in an increasingly digital world.

This Initiative sets out three core principles for advancing the digital inclusion of persons with disabilities:

  1. Embracing disability inclusion at every level in the organization;
  2. Understanding how to reach and better serve persons with disabilities;
  3. Delivering inclusive products and services that meet the varied needs of people with disabilities.

Being that one of Zain’s focus area under its five-year corporate sustainability strategy is inclusion, by signing the Principles, the organization is committed to reducing the inequality gap for persons with disabilities.

Further, in November 2020 Zain held a two-day workshop, in collaboration with the GSMA’s Mobile for Development Assistive Technologies team, to better understand how to include products and services for persons with disabilities. Throughout the two-day workshop, around 70 employees from Zain’s operations attended the workshop. In addition, each operation created a customer journey mapping exercise for persons with disabilities, recognized barriers and challenges in the customer journey and addressed pain points for pre-existing products and services they provide and ideated solutions on how to be more disability inclusive.

To read more on the Principles for Driving the Digital Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, please visit the link https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/principles-for-driving-the-digital-inclusion-of-people-with-disabilities/