Oman Economic Review – August 2018

COVER STORY

46 August 2018

O

oredoo is a community-focused

company, guided by a vision of

using its services to enrich peo-

ple’s digital lives and stimulate

human growth. The company believes

in the power of telecommunications as

an enabler, to bring about social and

economic progress. “Human growth is

what inspires and drives us forward,

reminding us of what we have set out

to achieve and live up to,” says Raed

Dawood, director of government rela-

tions and corporate affairs at Ooredoo.

“It has many facets, social economic

and spiritual and we focus on women’s

empowerment, youth entrepreneur-

ship, and caring for those in need

within our communities.”

Through its corporate social

responsibility (CSR) programmes,

Ooredoo aims to provide support and

development countrywide. “We are also

fortunate to work in collaboration with

a variety of charitable associations and

government organisations to achieve our

shared goals,” adds Raed. “While some

of our activities and projects have a short

or medium term benefit, our focus is

always on viability and sustainability.”

Goodwill Journey

The cornerstone of Ooredoo’s CSR

programme is its annual Goodwill

Women’s

empowerment, youth

entrepreneurship,

and caring for

those in need are

the focal areas of

Ooredoo’s corporate

social responsibility

programmes

Journey. From the first journey over a

decade ago, this initiative has enjoyed

many landmark achievements,

enriching the lives of 140,000

individuals and families. Every

year since 2004, a group of Ooredoo

volunteers travel across the country,

setting up and equipping carefully

researched and selected projects, in

collaboration with local charitable

associations and organisations. The

Goodwill Journey is partly one of

compassion and giving, providing

much needed donations to those in

need. This year the convoy travelled to

Salalah to provide essential assistance

to those affected by cyclone Mekunu.

A last minute change to the plans, the

relief efforts really brought home the

meaning of sharing the special spirit of

Ramadan.

Building on the success of previous

journeys and implementing lessons

learnt, the Goodwill Journey lays

the foundations for sustainable

initiatives, long-term educational

projects and training programmes

focused on boosting educational and

entrepreneurship opportunities.

One example of this is the highly

successful Ooredoo Women’s Incubator

Programme. Starting in 2015, the

company set up a series of women

incubators to train women with income

generating vocational skills to help them

gain economic independence through

employment or by setting up their

own business. By the end of 2018, 13

incubators had been set up across Oman

from which over 3,200 women graduated

in areas such as information technology,

Raed Dawood

Director of Government Relations and Corporate Affairs, Ooredoo