Year
in Review

Named MEA’s most valuable portfolio¹

e& consolidated its position as the most valuable portfolio of telecommunication brands in the MEA region, exceeding USD 14 billion. e& UAE, the Group’s largest telecommunication brand, also retained its position as the strongest telecommunication brand across all categories in the MEA region, achieving a score of 89.1 out of 100 and a AAA rating.

Completed acquisition of “ServiceMarket”

e& UAE completed the acquisition of 100% of online marketplace Service Souk DMCC “ServiceMarket.” This will complement e& UAE’s existing “Smiles” marketplace services, which already includes online food and grocery delivery, lifestyle offers and the ability to earn and redeem points at more than 10,000 outlets across the UAE.

Increased stake in Vodafone Group

e& increased its stake in Vodafone to 14%, demonstrating clear progress in delivering the Group’s strategy to expand and develop its international footprint, and create a wide range of strategic synergetic opportunities.

Boosted user experience with Ericsson

e& UAE and Ericsson demonstrated an uplink data peak rate of 2.1Gbps using 5G dual connectivity and carrier aggregation software features, which will enable uplink-heavy applications at venues or in industrial settings.

Partnered with Mastercard

e& money announced its partnership with Mastercard to transform and evolve the way customers make payments via an exclusive prepaid card.

Committed to the UN’s Women’s empowerment principles

e& announced its commitment to adopting the United Nations’ Women’s Empowerment Principles, reiterating the Group’s support for women’s empowerment and gender equality in the workplace.

Forged strategic relationship with Vodafone Group across MEA

The Group strengthened its strategic relationship with Vodafone Group to include collaboration across a broad range of growth areas, including enterprise, procurement, CWR, and technology, in order to unlock benefits from each other’s respective operational scale and complementary geographic footprint.

Formed a joint venture with Circles

e& international entered into a strategic partnership with Singapore based telecommunications Circles to bring best-in-class digital experiences to customers across its operating markets.

Launched joint venture with Bespin Global

A new joint venture between e& enterprise (65%) and Bespin Global (35%) was launched to offer public cloud managed and professional services in the Middle East, Turkey, Africa and Pakistan (METAP). e& also invested USD 60 million for a ˜10% stake in Bespin Global.

Recorded significant progress on 2030 net-zero targets

e& announced that it is on track to meet its 2030 net-zero target, as it accelerates the implementation of climate action projects across its UAE operations.

Acquisition of majority stake in Beehive

e& enterprise successfully completed the acquisition of 63.3% of Beehive for USD 23.6 million. Beehive is the first regulated crowdfunding platform space in the UAE, with operations in KSA and Oman. It connects creditworthy SMEs seeking finance with investors, both private and institutional, offering conventional as well as Shariacompliant loans.

Binding agreement to acquire a controlling stake in PPF Telecom

e& signed a binding agreement with PPF Group to acquire a controlling stake (50% + 1 economic share) in PPF Telecom’s assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia.

Accelerating progress on venture investments

e& capital secured two milestone transactions, leading the Group’s investment in the USD 5 million Series A financing round of Maxbyte to strengthen the company’s market expansion and product development. It also announced its participation in the Series A financing round for Ikigai Labs, a pioneering firm harnessing the power of generative AI for tabular data, and that it led a USD 60 million Series B funding for Airalo, the eSIM marketplace that aims to expand its global presence.

Completed groundbreaking 5G-Advanced network speed trials

e& UAE achieved 10Gbps throughput on the 6GHz band, a significant milestone that positions the UAE at the forefront of 5G-Advanced network capabilities globally.

Introduced AI-powered self-service telecom store

e& UAE’s autonomous store experience, “EASE”, will bring the future of retail to the UAE, with its combination of AI, machine learning, facial recognition, smart gates, robotics, smart-shelves and smart dispensing machines to help customers to seamlessly purchase its products and services.

Launched “Charge & Go” to fuel a greener tomorrow

The Group is rolling out Electric Vehicle (EV) charging hubs with the soft launch of “Charge&Go”, a decision timed to sync with the growing number of EVs on local roads and the need for quick and easy access by drivers to charging networks.

Won first enterprise collaboration with Vodafone Business

e& and Vodafone Business marked a significant strengthening of their enterprise collaboration with the first joint major customer win.

New Federal Royalty Guidelines for the Period 2024 – 2026

The Ministry of Finance has communicated guidelines that outline the details of the new Telecom Federal Royalty regime that will be effective from January 2024. This is in addition to the Corporate Tax Law.

Successfully Signed AED 366 million Green Loan Agreement

The agreement amounts to AED 366 million (circa USD 100 million) were the proceeds of the loan will be used to finance eligible green projects, This signifies the Group’s commitment to sustainable practices and responsible financial management.

Completed acquisition of Careem Everything App

e& successfully acquired 50.03% of Careem Technologies (known as Careem Everything App) in exchange for an investment of USD 400 million that will be invested to grow the business.

PTCL Group to Acquire 100% Stake in Telenor Pakistan

PTCL Group, a subsidiary of e& with effective economic ownership of 23.4%, has signed a Share Purchase Agreement with Telenor ASA (“Telenor”) to acquire a 100% stake in Telenor Pakistan based on an Enterprise Value of PKR 108bn on a cash free, debt free basis.