ZAIN HANDS OVER US$85,000 BY CUSTOMERS ACROSS AFRICA TO NELSON MANDELA FOUNDATION.

Zain Group, the leading mobile telecommunications operator in the Middle East and Africa, is proud to announce that their customers have raised more than US$ 85,000 for the Nelson Mandela Foundation through a fundraising competition held last year. Members of the public were invited to SMS their birthday greetings to Nelson Mandela who was celebrating his 90th birthday and offered a chance to go to London to see the ‘The 46664 Concert Honouring Nelson Mandela which was held in June 2008 at Hyde Park in London. Tens of thousands of Zain customers across Africa responded by sending text messages wishing Mandela a Happy Birthday with the largest number coming from Tanzania, which for several decades hosted his party, the African National Congress (ANC), when it was in exile.
Zain was one of the main sponsors of the concert which was organised by 46664. Many international artistes performed at the show, including some of Africa’s leading musicians who were sponsored by Zain to go to London and participate in the concert. The show was broadcast to more than 1.5 billion people across the world. Nelson Mandela was present at the concert in Hyde Park as were many of the worlds most powerful and recognizable figures who came to celebrate the special day with him.
Zain is heavily involved in promoting arts and culture across the continent and therefore took this once in a lifetime opportunity to sponsor the concert and various events associated with the festivities.The funds raised by Zain’s customers were handed over to the Foundation on

Speaking at the cheque handover ceremony,CEO of Zain Africa Chris Gabriel said "We are very proud that our customers raised this money towards the Nelson Mandela Foundation which we think very highly of and are honoured to be partners with. We acknowledge the hard work they do throughout Africa and feel that their goals are very much in line with what Zain stands for. This money, raised solely by our loyal customers, is proof that Mr. Mandela holds a special place in the hearts of many across Africa."
In addition to sponsoring the concert and holding an SMS competition Zain also funded several of Africa’s most famous artists including the Kenya’s Suzanna Owiyo, D’Gary from Madagascar’s, Uganda’s Bebe Cool and 9ice from Nigeria to perform at the international concert.
When he announced the sponsorship Zain Group CEO Dr Saad Al Barrak said, "We are proud to be part of this event honouring Mr. Mandela, a global icon whose sacrifices for the African people are well known to all. It is in line with Zain’s global ambitions and corporate social responsibility philosophy that we participate in the raising of funds for the Mandela Foundation."
The funds raised will benefit the charitable organisations established by Mr. Mandela including 46664, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the Mandela Rhodes Foundation. Through their work they have made a difference in many lives in Africa and elsewhere over the past 14 years. 46664, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation will use its portion of revenues to fund community based HIV AIDS projects in various African countries through its partner, the African Women’s Development Fund. Upon accepting the donation, the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation commented that "in ZAIN we have found an African partner who shares our commitment to alleviating the challenges we face on the continent, notably HIV/AIDS".

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 over 56.3 million active customers as at 30 September 2008.