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One network recognized along with the spectacular rebranding of Zain in 14 African countries.

The inaugural AfricaCom Awards held in Cape Town, South Africa recently saw Zain Group awarded the Best Pan African Initiative Campaign of the Year Award recognizing the world's first borderless mobile network: ‘One Network' which now links 16 countries across two continents. Zain also scooped the Best Marketing campaign of the year for the seamless launch of the Zain brand, across 14 operations in one day, simultaneously linking all locations via satellite link a first ever on the African continent.

At hand to witness the awards were top business leaders from all major telecom operations in Africa including guest host François Pienaar who captained and played flanker for the South African Springboks national rugby union team from June 1993 until August 1996.

The inaugural AfricaCom Awards were the highlight of Informa Telecoms & Media convention held in Cape Town, South Africa at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The event brought together a total of 3,500 attendees from 72 countries, a record 221 operator companies who have been attending the convention organized by Informa Telecoms & Media a leading provider of business intelligence and strategic marketing solutions to the global telecoms and media markets.

Mr Chris Gabriel, CEO Zain Africa, who was at the event to receive the awards, noted "that the renewed vigour and refreshed brand from Celtel to Zain had been affirmed by our existing and many new customers across the countries after the rebrand. The One Network service is driving many customers to Zain given the many benefits it offers and this service is stimulating economic activity across many borders and allowing loved ones to stay in touch at affordable prices."

Zain scooped the two most prestigious Awards of the night. The awards scheme acknowledges and awards excellence of telecommunication initiatives across the African continent.

In their citation the judges commended Zain's prowess in understanding the African landscape when it comes to consumers telecommunication, "Zain has demonstrated tangible, benefits that are specific to Africa as a market, evidently Zain has gotten organisations and consumers involved, in cross-country partnerships, with sharing of best practice and skills, amongst its own management."

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About Zain

Zain is a leading emerging markets player in the field of telecommunications aiming to become one of the top ten mobile operators in the world by 2011. Zain was established in 1983 in Kuwait as the region's first mobile operator. Since 2003, it has grown significantly becoming the 4th largest mobile network in the world in terms of geographic presence with a footprint in 22 countries spread across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to 56.3 million active customers (as at 30 September 2008).

Zain operates in the following countries: Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In Lebanon, the company manages the network on behalf of the government operating as mtc-touch. The company's mobile operations in Ghana will begin by the end of 2008.

The Zain brand is wholly owned by Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC, which is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (Stock ticker: ZAIN). The company had a market capitalization of over US$ 23.4 billion on 30 September, 2008.

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