e& maintained its growth momentum with robust financial results driven by relentless focus and a strong commitment to driving innovation while enabling a digital future for customers across its markets.
Its consolidated financial results for the first half of 2024 reported consolidated revenues of AED 28.3 billion, a year-over-year (YoY) growth of 6%, demonstrating strong performance across all business verticals.
e&: Taking the Lead in Value and Strategic Partnerships
e& was crowned the “Fastest Growing Tech Brand” and the “Most Valuable Brand Portfolio” in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), by the 2024 Brand Finance Global 500 Report, which recognized the group's exceptional performance in increasing the value of its brand portfolio to USD 17 billion in 2024. This reflects the confidence of investors and partners in e&, which has also been named the world's “Strongest Telecom Brand in the World” for 2024 with a score of 89.4 out of 100 on the BSI Index, alongside a leadership rating of AAA. e& was also named a “Great Place to Work®” by the Great Place to Work Institute in recognition of the company’s efforts to foster a positive, supportive, and engaging work environment for its employees.
e& and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) joined forces to build the world's largest private 5G network across an 11,000-sq-km operation.
e& and Vodafone joined forces to empower other regional and international operators to adapt to the evolving voice landscape with cross-border managed voice solutions.
In a major move for the telecom industry, e& and its partners at the Global Telco AI Alliance formed a joint venture in H1 2024 to develop cutting-edge large language models (LLMs) specifically designed to revolutionize customer service through advanced AI solutions.
Championing Innovation in the UAE
e& cemented its leading position in telecommunications and technology, topping speed records by achieving the world's fastest data transfer rate of 30.5 Gbps on its live 5G network in the UAE. This breakthrough strengthened the country's reputation as a global hub for digital innovation and reinforced e&'s leadership in 5G technology.
e& continued to play an integral strategic part in the UAE’s global leadership in Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) penetration, cementing the country’s top position with a penetration rate of 99.3%.
Demonstrating its commitment to social responsibility and digital inclusion, e& launched an AI-powered browser extension called "Wider Web" to support an autism-friendly browsing experience. The free-to-use browser extension empowers autistic users and caters to their needs by offering a customizable, sensory-friendly web-browsing experience.
Marking an important step towards digitized education in the country, e& UAE launched its groundbreaking AI-powered platform, GoLearning.
In recognition of its efforts to provide a supportive work environment for employees, e& UAE attained the highest position in Brand Finance’s inaugural Employer Brand Report 2024, ranking as the “Top Global Telecom Employer” and marking yet another important milestone in its track record.
Also Read: e& UAE: Taking the Lead with One of the Largest IT Transformation Programs
Bringing Digital Capabilities to Life
e& life, the business pillar of e& that enriches people’s digital lives, has continued to embrace its vision of simplifying its services by releasing the updated version of the e& money app, which became the UAE's number one fintech app in terms of monthly active users. e& money 2.0 now boasts full Arabic language support, making it accessible to a wider audience.
Careem cemented its market positioning in Dubai and continued its accelerated market expansion in Abu Dhabi, achieving significant milestones in Q2-24, with a 136% increase in Total Gross Transaction Value (GTV) compared to Q2-23, and a 115% rise during the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.
In digital banking, Wio achieved profitability in less than 12 months, solidifying its position as a leading neobank platform. In the first half of 2024, Wio reached record levels in both business and personal customer acquisition and total deposits.
evision, the media and entertainment streaming arm of e& life, continued to enhance and develop its content library to meet the diverse requirements of MENA audiences. In the first half of 2024, evision recorded significant growth, surpassing 5.5 million subscribers. STARZ ON, its ad-supported streaming platform in the Middle East and North Africa, has been a key driver of this growth.
The STARZ ON free experience was enhanced with a diverse range of content, including sports, Arabic and Turkish programming in partnership with Noor Play, and Mandarin and Korean programming in partnership with iQIYI. The strategic partnership with Noor Play also extends to cover a diverse range of premium content across STARZPLAY, eLife, SwitchTV and other e& platforms.
To cater to the sub-continent’s audience, evision secured exclusive rights to the ICC Cricket World Cup and acquired exclusive rights to exciting Hotstar (Disney Star), Zee, and Viacom18 content.
evision further solidified its entertainment offerings by signing multi-year deals with major studios including Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM. These deals bring the latest blockbusters, renowned classics, and family favorites from both cinema and television to STARZPLAY, eLife and Switch TV.
In addition, evision strengthened its sports portfolio by acquiring exclusive rights to UFC for the MENA region.
Also Read: e& UAE Sets New Network Benchmarks
Empowering the Digital Journey for the Private and Public Sector
e& enterprise remains a powerhouse for digital transformation in the private and public sectors. Its innovative tech solutions and enhanced digital services continue to empower businesses across industries to achieve their goals and accelerate growth.
e& enterprise has marked a significant step towards regional digital transformation leadership. It expanded its global footprint by acquiring GlassHouse, a leading Turkish provider of managed cloud, business continuity, and SAP infrastructure services. This strategic move grants e& enterprise entry into the pivotal Turkish market, positioning it favorably for significant growth and expansion.
Through the Abu Dhabi Social Support Authority (ADSSA), e& enterprise developed the "House Visits and Interviews Management System," marking a significant milestone in ADSSA's digital transformation journey.
e& enterprise signed an agreement with the Dubai Public Prosecution (DPP) to develop the world's first central digital system for remote investigation and litigation, streamlining the justice system and enhancing its efficiency and speed.
Reaffirming its commitment to accelerating Saudi Arabia's digital transformation, e& enterprise, alongside the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) and the International Data Corporation (IDC), focused on analyzing the Kingdom's current digital landscape, e& enterprise's investments in the region, and its alignment with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
In an effort to create jobs and boost customer experience, e& enterprise opened a new state-of-the-art Contact and Customer Experience Centre in Riyadh to support Saudization. It is expected to create over 1,500 new local job opportunities across administrative, technical, and specialist roles.
e& enterprise has also partnered with NICE to transform customer service; Payit to streamline digital payment processes for businesses across the UAE; and the National Health Insurance Company (Daman) to launch a global first—Hayakom. These partnerships reiterate e& enterprise’s integral role as an enabler of digital transformation.
In the blockchain trade finance sector, e& enterprise unveiled haifin, the new brand identity for its leading blockchain-based trade finance platform, which welcomed three new members to its consortium. These members include two banks and one fintech company. Among them is the 14th bank to join the platform, Sharjah Islamic Bank.
Growth Across Operating Markets
e& international marked a significant step forward in its global expansion during the first half of 2024. Uzbekistan's Perfectum joined e& international's Partner Market Programme in a strategic move designed to accelerate digital transformation within the country's telecommunications sector, offering access to e& international's extensive expertise and cutting-edge solutions.
PTCL launched a new combined first-of-its-kind UPTCL app that covers PTCL, Ufone, and Flash Fibre in one app.
e& Egypt launched e& Neo in conjunction with Mashreq Bank, making this the first digital banking service in Egypt.
Onic, e&’s digital brand in Pakistan, secured a double victory at the Pakistan Digital Awards, clinching “Best Mobile App” and “Digital Ambassador of the Year.”
Etisalat Afghanistan acquired 15 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 and 2600 bands, holding the largest spectrum in the market.
Forging the Path for Tomorrow's Technology
e& capital, the investment arm of e&, has become a major player in the Middle-Eastern venture capital (VC) ecosystem. It has invested nearly USD 150 million in startups that are shaping the future of technology in the MENA region and the world.
e& capital’s investments cut across various exciting technology-led industries, including AI, SaaS, edtech, healthtech, telecommunications, and entertainment, strategically complementing the group's wide range of services. Key investments include Ikigai, an AI platform developed from MIT research that delivers highly accurate forecasts and time series predictions; Airalo, the global leader in travel eSIMs; and Traydstream, a platform digitizing and automating the trade finance industry globally.
