Vodafone Egypt, the World’s no. 1 Mobile Carrier, renews its Partnership with CIB; the leading private-sector bank in Egypt

Vodafone Egypt has renewed its partnership with the Commercial International Bank (CIB) in Egypt. The leading private-sector bank in Egypt with highest market share in the banking sector, the renewal with CIB, completes Vodafones success story in the development of the banking sector.

Within the framework of this partnership, Vodafone Egypt has offered numerous services and technological solutions supporting CIB in its customer servicing, as well as safely and efficiently coping with regional and global developments that mean that the financial and banking market are continuously in need to development and updates.

Talking about the renewed agreement, Mr. Mohamed AbdAllah, Enterprise Business Unit Director for Vodafone, said, “We are pleased with this partnership, as we always seeking to offer updated solutions and services for our clients in the Egyptian business sectors. We aim to help our clients in facing the market’s challenges and changes. Our main goal as Vodafone Egypt is to satisfy our customers.”

Mr. Mohamed AbdAllah mentioned that Vodafone Egypt has offered several services for CIB Egypt’s branches, including internet connections and wireless communications to achieve the highest level of safety, privacy and speed besides serving offering services to more than 180 branches of the bank. In addition, Vodafone Egypt, has offered short messages and advertising message services that amount to more than 3 million text messages a month and that depend on Vodafone’s strong and extensive coverage network, to achieve the highest levels of privacy and safety for CIB customers’ accounts.

For his part, Mr. Zakaria Nabil, Head of Government Sales for Vodafone Egypt, said, “Vodafone Egypt has succeeded in serving more than 600 automated teller machines (ATMs), all over Egypt, in addition to serving more than 5,000 employees in CIB. We offer the best voice and internet services, to help CIB maintain customer satisfaction and achieve the highest levels of success.

Mr. Mohamed Sultan, Chief Operating Officer at CIB Egypt, added to Voadafone’s comments, saying, “This unique partnership with Vodafone Egypt, offers an innovative concept to the bank servicing sector, by providing non-traditional electronic solutions and helping effectively in attracting new categories to the banking system.” Mr. Sultan added that, in this era of mobile phones with a penetration rate of over 110% compared to that of the banking services sector, there was a bigger opportunity for growth of the banking sector and a better chance for them to increase their client base, through this strategic partnership. “The bank had its own strategic plan for digital transformation, to convert the bank transactions from their regular to electronic state. We are taking our first steps towards an economy that depends less on paper money and more on innovation that will attract people to the banking sector”.

Mr. Amr El Ganainy, Head of Corporate Relations Sector in CIB Egypt, stated that the continuity of the unique partnership with Vodafone Egypt shows the importance of banking institutions’ union with leading communication companies to provide positive results that can help widen the range of customers under the umbrella of banking services. He also added, “With the continuous development of technology, electronic banking services are an important priority for CIB Egypt. By offering a package of electronic banking solutions that satisfying our customers’ needs and offering an innovative banking model as well as focusing on the competencies, personal experiences and techniques of CIB Egypt, and in partnership with Vodafone Egypt, we can offer our customers more.”

CIB Egypt, is the top bank in the Egyptian private sector and offers a wide range of products and banking services for their customers whether individuals or companies. The bank provides many financial solutions and works with more than 500 leading companies, in Egypt. CIB Egypt has also succeeded in maintaining its position as the best commercial bank; achieving its target and earnings in Egypt for more than 40 years, thanks to the leadership of their management, high standards of transparency and distinctive training programs for their employees.

In February, Vodafone, for the first time in Egypt, launched the 'Ready for Business Meter' service designed to support the business sector in measuring their readiness to face the day to day needs of the market and technology challenges. Additionally, the service offers solutions prepare business in handling and overcoming challenges.

 

Talking about the new service, Mr. Mohamed Abdullah, Head of the Business and Companies Sector at Vodafone Egypt, said "The ready for business service is a new addition to all service group businesses, which is being implemented by Vodafone for customers in the companies sector. Rate businesses and their work, making them ready to face tomorrow's challenges. " Initially a group of questions are asked to rate the situation of the company and assess its readiness from a technology perspective. A team of specialized experts from Vodafone's Business team are then bought in to study what the company provides and the specializations it can offer. Based on the assessment Vodafone then provides solutions to enhance company services and support them in developing the way they do business, by streamlining performance rates and the efficient use of resources.

 

The service which is already present in 15 countries around the world has become a benchmark for customers in the business sector due to the accuracy of the business rating that the service provides, in addition to Vodafone's ability to provide solutions that help in developing performance. "Vodafone is one of the leading communication companies in Egypt in the field of technological solutions for companies in the business sector and is the first company to provide services of this kind. Vodafone is already leading the way in terms of IPcam security surveillance, which allows For remote business monitoring as well as machine-to-machine services. "

To launch the service Vodafone Egypt hosted a celebration that was attended by a select number of businessmen, CEO's and VIP customers, in addition to the ready for business team and the actors and actresses who were featured in the campaign advert. Three key businesses who have already benefited from Ready for Business also attended the celebration, including Omar Islam, the Owner of Coffee Bean and Team Leaf in Egypt, the Emirates and Georgia, the Head of the Corporate Relations Sector at CIB and Sherif Osman, the Sales and Marketing Manager of Maxim Palace, Kempinski.

Kotobi Wins the Alecso Award for Best Egyptian App in the Field of Science

450,000 Users and Over 1 Million Books Uploaded to Kotobi in the Last 2 Years

01 March 2016

Recently, Kotobi; The Egyptian App launched by Vodafone Egypt won the Alecso Award. The Alecso Award, which is considered the largest and most prestigious mobile app award in the Arab world, recognized Kotobi, who won under the section; Mobile apps in the field of science. Kotobi is the first app of its kind in the Middle East.

Talking about the win Ashraf Al-Zahary, the Head of Performance and Strategy at Vodafone Egypt, said "We were up against stiff competition, competing against 1,400 other apps from around the Arab world. The win is a test to the strength of the Kotobi app that successful met And passed all the rounds set out by the Arab Organization for Education and Science.

Kotobi was first launched in February 2014, and is the first app of its kind in the Arab region. Offering more than 10,000 books from a variety of different fields including science, politics and literature, Kotobi offers e-pub books that offer an exceptional reading experience for users without causing damage to the eyes. The app also offers access to the region's most important newspapers, magazines and articles by intellectuals from both Egypt and the Middle East.

The award was accepted by Mr. Alaa Zaher, Head of Innovation at Vodafone Egypt, during Alecso's closing ceremony, which was hosted at the Arab League in Qatar's capital. "Vodafone is working to further develop Kotobi and we are committed to consistently working to provide our users with the latest updates and innovations. In fact we recently launched a new version of the app which provides new features and options that allow our users to enjoy a Real time reading and browsing experience, "he said. Zaher.

Today, Kotobi has become one of the most widely used apps for reading and downloading books, not only in Egypt and the Arab world, but also internationally too. Constant innovation and fine tuning of the app has ensured that Kotobi users have grown to over 450,000 in just two years, since it launched. "The rapid growth in Kotobi users highlights the success of the app," Mr. Zaher continued. "The project was first adopted by Vodafone Egypt as a way to create greater access to literature and knowledge, moving away from hard book reading to mobile and smartphones. By moving literature to mobiles, users can stay up to date on the latest literature, and Publishing of influential authors in a variety of specialized fields.

Kotobi also offers easy download and a variety of secure payment options deducted from phone credit or bill or via credit card through your mobile. Vodafone Egypt has also worked diligently to protect authors intellectual publishing rights by establishing an advanced technical security system that ensures a book can not be accessed except by password or read by more than five devices.

To date Kotobi users have downloaded over 1 million books covering politics, religion and intellectual writings, provided by more than 120 of Egypt and the region's most prominent publishing houses, who publish directly on the app. The new version of Kotobi will also offer 800 free books that cover a variety of different fields.

On Women's International Day, the Egyptian Junior Businessmen Association Recognized Vodafone's Chief Financial Officer

Marwa El-Ayouti CFO of Vodafone Egypt is recognized for her leadership role in the fields of business and communication

01 March 2016

 

On the 9th of March; Women's International Day, the Egyptian Junior Businessmen organized their second annual conference in recognition of women in Egypt and the Arab world as part of their celebration of women on Women's International Day. Under the title 'Women; The Future of the Nation 'the conference hosted a range of sessions and panel discussions focusing on the role of women in developing society, before recognizing and awarding a number of influential women who have made substantive contributions to society in a verity of different fields.

 

Among the women recognized by the Egyptian Junior Businessmen's Association was Marwa El-Ayouti the CFO of Vodafone Egypt. Ms. El-Ayouti was selected by the Association for her outstanding business contributions to the communications sector. In addition to Vodafone Egypt's CFO, a number of other well-known women were recognized including H.E. Ms. Nabila Makram, the Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriate Affairs, Dr. Anissa Hassouna, Secretary General of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and the Executive Director of the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation, H.E. Ambasador Enas Mekawi, the Head of the women, children and family department of the Arab League and Dr. Hala Saeed, Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science and Board Member of the National Bank of Egypt.

The conference was also attended by a number of high level officials and dignitaries including H.E. Dr. Ghada Wally, the Minister of Social Solidarity and H.E. Dr. Sahar Nasr, the Minister of International Cooperation, as well as a number of influential women and media figures.

Aiming to Develop Technological Solutions; Vodafone Egypt Signs Protocol to Cooperate with Nile University

New Protocol to support Research Projects and Innovation Initiatives

In March, Nile University celebrated the completion of a protocol with the Vodafone Foundation to support research projects and innovative initiatives in the field of technology and communications for Masters students working on their graduation projects. The cooperation will focus on supporting graduation projects that aim to provide solutions for the present day challenges that society faces. Projects will work to overcome these challenges by utilizing new technology in the communications sector in Egypt.

Talking about the importance of the protocol, Prof. Tarek Khalil, President of Nile University said "Nile University is the first non-profit university in Egypt in the 21st century to focus on leading the way towards a new system of learning rather than focusing on generating profit. It is our youth that have allowed Nile University to reach the position that it is in today. The university aims to prepare youth to go out into the world and remain current in an age of rapid technological change so that they can contribute to the evolution of Science and technology, in a meaningful way. "

Nile University which was established as part of a partnership between the government and the general public was originally designed as a new model of education for the technology sector. "Universities like Nile University who focus on science and research need the support of the private sector," Prof. Khalil continued "Private entities have a duty to support the communities in which they work and the Vodafone Foundation has distinguished itself as a leader in this field." The foundation is the first entity of its kind to support the creation of a new generation of high caliber Trained youth who can truly succeed in the workplace and compete on even ground internationally. "

Adding to Prof. Khalil's comments, Mr. Mohamed Hana, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Vodafone Foundation said: "This protocol comes from a larger Vodafone initiative; 'Technology for Good' which is one of the Foundations key projects. As part of the protocol Vodafone will work directly with the university's Smart wireless networks research center, supporting a number of graduation projects that have the potential to become real businesses and create tangible solutions to the daily problems that society faces. "

The Vodafone Foundation is already supporting the design and development of several projects already underway at the center. Some of these projects include the Smart Access System, which is the first model of its kind in Egypt to utilize phones through USC options, to allow company workers to access their offices or company transportation rather than using traditional security passes, and the Maze in project That helps blind people in navigating through large open spaces. Maze in assists blind people to move around in large enclosed spaces, identifying solid objects such as walls and doors, as well as ensuring they avoid potential obstacles that could block their way.

The Vodafone Foundation will also be adopting a business project for the healthcare system as part of the larger 'technology for good' campaign. Utilizing smartphones and for a minimal cost the project will provide patients with real time access to medical information and advice. This project, which was first started by Master students in 2010 and funded by Microsoft in its first year under the name 'Healthcare through mobile phones in Africa', has today been developed into a smartphone app. The app which is supported by Windows, is able to connect directly to medical devices and computers via Bluetooth so that information like blood pressure and heart rate measurements can be downloaded to individual phones and shared via SMS.

Strong Summer Season for Mobile Companies Pioneer in Egypt
Vodafone Branches in North Coast Offer "Home Delivery" Service Through Summer Period

 

Cairo, July 2016: Out of its leadership on the Egyptian mobile phone market and constantly seeking to satisfy its customers, as well as providing various services during summer and quake vacations, Vodafone earmarked more than 100 branches and client service departments to operate with full capacity On the first days of El-Fitr Feast so as to become the sole mobile company available during vacations, especially on the first feast day. In addition, Vodafone will become the nearest to customers and hence will tailor to their needs.

 

As accustomed each year, Vodafone geared up for the season of summer and yearly vacations by inaugurating a number of outlets and branches in summer resorts that is becoming the most mobile company of significant presence in the summer season 2016.

 

Vodafone selected the most notably places throughout the North Coast, where it inaugurated a dedicated outlet inside Marina close to Gate 2, Zahran at Badr Village, Diplomatic Village, infront Fathalla Supermarket at Kilo 45, Mporium Marassi inside Seoudi Supermarket and Marina 4 to offer and Provide various services that customers may need for enjoying their vacations.

 

In a novel step, Vodafone offers home delivery services throughout the summer vacation in the North Coast to facilitate access for customers where they can contact the client service. One of Vodafone's specialized sales representative delivers the service at the customer's home within 12 hours of the request in the period from 12:00 pm up to 2:00 am in resorts between Marina to Marassi at Kilo 125.

 

Noteworthy, the new branches that have been inaugurated for providing the services during the period of summer and vacations include resorts that witness huge influx such as Alexandria, Agami, Port Said, Ismailia, Suez, El-'Ein El-Sokhuna, Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh, Marsa Matrouh, New Damietta and Ras El-Bar.

 

For his part, Ahmed Khedr, Vodafone Egypt's Head of Retail, stated that Vodafone's presence in coastal areas is highly important for offering various services to Vodafone customers. Each year, the company is keen on conducting early market research to distinguish customers' requirements and accordingly, select the best areas, he added.

Vodafone Egypt owns the largest number of sales and services outlets nationwide reaching more than 1600. Vodafone is regarded as the mobile company mainly prevalent in Egypt, with market share amounting to more than 40% of the mobile market catering to more than 40 million customers with more than 9000 employees working in the company.

Vodafone Egypt sign 4G agreement with the NTRA
Vodafone Egypt signed an agreement with the NTRA to acquire the 4G and the virtual fixed license.

16 October 2016

 

The agreement availed additional spectrum to complete Vodafone existing strong spectrum holds relevant to 4G.Based on this agreement, Vodafone will be able to provide consumer & business customers world class 4G services in Egypt.

Vodafone Egypt customers will now be able to experience 4G services more than 30 countries around the world.