1. - Zain

Spring 2007
BY DESIGN An MTC Magazine
Foosteps of discovery: An African odyssey + Spice up your life:
Kuwaiti culinary treasures + Darling Diva: Dania tells all +
MTC on the move + Yoga: food for the soul
1.
Letter from the CEO
Welcome to Chaos by Design, the magazine that we hope will successfully reflect MTC’s core values and the spirit of the countries in
which we operate. This first issue is very special in that it comes at a
very exciting time for the global mobile telecom sector and MTC in particular. In the past four years, MTC has grown from a one country operation in Kuwait with 600,000 customers to over 29.6 million customers
in 20 countries (soon to be 21 with the addition of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia where we recently secured the third mobile license). This
stunning growth reflects our commitment to bringing fast and efficient
communication, delighting more and more people every day, a commitment underscored by the launch earlier this year of ACE, our exciting new implementation strategy.
But MTC is not just a business. It’s not just about the bottom line. MTC
operates by a set of values that drive our corporate performance and
underscore how we conduct ourselves. They include sense of belonging, the feeling of kinship, the gift of humanity, the notion of courage,
the power of taking heart, the need for support and the importance of
relationships. All these make MTC what it is.
The ideas, themes and people in this first issue reflect all these values
in their own way. Taking just a few examples, there is the courage of
Nigerian footballer Kanu, who overcame serious illness to illuminate the
world’s sporting stage and the limitless energy of Bahrain’s Sheikha
Haya Rashed al Khalifa, who has selflessly campaigned for women’s
rights in the Arab world. We have the tireless and brave Mo Ibrahim,
for whom personal success meant giving back to his beloved Africa,
and the perseverance of those who strive to exceed the boundaries of
human endurance and curiosity, typified by diver Christian Francis and
photographer Norbert Schiller.
These stories will inform, entertain and inspire, and in doing so, reflect
the seam of excellence that runs through MTC’s company creed, its
employees and all those touched by its achievements. Happy reading!
Dr. Saad Al Barrak
Table of contents
Gallo Images - Getty Images
Contributors: Nicholas Blanford, Paul Cochrane,
Nicholas Noe, Anissa Rafeh, Anne Renahan,
Thomas Schellen, Norbert Schiller, Peter
Speetjens, Faerlie Wilson, Angela Wintlend
Photography: Christian Francis private
collection, Ghada Ghosn private collection,
Norbert Schiller private collection, Desert Door
Productions, FocusMideast, Getty Images,
Nabil Ramadan
Editing: EditMax
Issue No.1 / Spring 2007
Color Separation and Printing: Raidy Printing
Group S.A.L.
Produced by MTC Group Communication and
Investor Relations Department in collaboration
with Vinehouse Media
P.O. Box 22244 Safat, 13083 Kuwait
Tel.: +965 484 2000 - Fax: +965 483 7755
www.mtctelecom.com - info@mtctelecom.com
3 Letter from the CEO
MTC NEWS
TALKING TELECOM
30 Breaking the waves
6 A glowing year
PROFILES
8 Walid Al Awadhi
A filmmaker who goes the distance
10 Sheikha Haya Rashed
Al-Khalifa
The ‘champion of women’s rights’
in the Arab world
12 Nwankwo Kanu
The Nigerian striker with a heart
of gold
14 Julia Sawalha
The eco-friendly actress
JOURNEYS
16 Easy riders
Photojournalist Norbert Schiller
recalls his memorable motorbike
trek across Africa in which he
attempted to emulate Francis
Flood and James C. Wilson
MY CITY
24 Baghdad
A trip down memory lane
REAL LIVES
28 Christian Francis
The diving instructor who embarked
on an eight-year quest that turned
into an obsession
45
MTC CEO Dr Saad Al Barrak
candidly reveals the strategy that
has kept the emerging telecom
giant on the up
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CORPORATE SPIRIT
46 ACE – Growth spurt
MTC keeps up the momentum
with new implementation strategy
48 Bringing light to the
African Continent
Telecom pioneer, Mo Ibrahim, has
set out on a personal mission to
bring good governance and an
end to corruption in Africa
52 Making a difference
Fastlink and MTC bring more than
just telecommunication advancement to Jordan thanks to their
commitment to social programs
56 Bridging the digital divide
Making the internet more
accessible around the globe
60 Bringing Africa closer
Celtel launches One Network, the
world’s first borderless mobile network connecting 100 million people
in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
66
ICONS
All good things come to
an end
Will Apple’s iPod fade into history
much like Sony’s Walkman?
68 Apple Mac does it again
Launching the much-anticipated
iPhone in the US, this latest offering from the company that brought
us the iPod seems to be living up
to all the hype
STAR PROFILE
70 Getting to know Dania
The Lebanese chanteuse talks
about her rise to the big time
LIFESTYLE
74 Relax – just do it!
Yoga expert Ghada Ghosn on the
discipline needed to guarantee a
better way of life
LIVING
78 Get spiced!
The rich origins of some of the
world’s most popular spices
FOR THE RECORD
82 MTC 2006 stats
MOBILE LIFE
MTC announces a record net
income exceeding $1 billion and
revenues over $4.1 billion
As camera technology continues to
improve, new photojournalists are
making their mark
THE LAST WORD
62 Caught on film
64 Trivia to inspire
86 Me and my mobile phone...
Nicholas Blanford
5
MTC experienced a meteoric rise in
the last 18 months. In February, 2006,
it announced the acquisition of 61% of
Mobitel from Sudatel in a deal valued at
$1.332 billion. Through its African subsidiary Celtel International, the deal allowed
MTC to increase its stake in the Sudanese
company from 39% to 100%, further consolidating its Africa portfolio. One week later,
MTC recorded another first by publishing
groundbreaking report entitled Mobility for
One Language, Diverse Cultures, launched
at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona
and includes ground-breaking research on
6
MTC News...
the impact of mobile phones in the Arab
World from economists, financial analysts,
consultants, academics and journalists as
well as comprising data from nine surveys
conducted in seven Arab countries.
In May 2006, MTC-Vodafone (Bahrain)
was the first company in the region to
commercially launch 3.5G (HSDPA),
one of the world’s fastest wireless
broadband access technology using
mobile phones and Data connect
cards. HSDPA service dramatically
increases the data by up to five times
that of existing 3G networks, and 15
times that of GPRS networks, with data
rates of up to 1.8 Mbps per second.
Later that month, MTC’s Celtel
International acquired a 65% controlling
stake in V-mobile in Nigeria for $1.01
billion. The transaction was Celtel
International’s largest ever deal and
expanded its presence to 15 markets
on the African continent. The deal
increased MTC’s customer base by
over 5 million and allowed it to tap into
Nigeria’s 135 million population.
July saw MTC sign a landmark general
syndication agreement for $4 billion credit
facility used to fund future acquisitions
and general corporate needs.
Representatives of 39 leading international banks attended the signing ceremony
in Kuwait, the largest syndicated facility
for a private sector company in the
Middle East. The credit facility was fully
underwritten by BNP Paribas, Calyon,
Crédit Suisse, and UBS, all of whom
acted as Joint Mandated Lead Arrangers
and Bookrunners. NBK Capital the
investment and merchant banking subsidiary of National Bank of Kuwait acted
as financial advisor on the transaction.
azine CommsMEA in Dubai. They included Best Middle East Mobile Operator of
the Year, Best Telecom Deal of the Year
and Best New Non-Voice Service, while
Dr. Mo Ibrahim, Chairman of MTC subsidiary Celtel in Africa, won a Lifetime
Achievement Award.
A few months later in September, Celtel
launched One Network, the world’s first
borderless mobile phone network across
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. One
Network allows customers to move
freely across geographic borders without
roaming call surcharges and without having to pay to receive incoming calls.
December witnessed MTC’s $1.2 billion
Murabaha facility in Bahrain, which was
underwritten and syndicated in one of the
largest Islamic financings of 2006. A total
of 29 financial institutions from the MENA
region, Asia and Europe – including ABC
Islamic Bank, Arab Bank, Calyon, Gulf
International Bank, Kuwait Finance House,
and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi – participated in the financing, which will be
used to refinance the existing $750 million
Murabaha facility for an additional year.
Bahrain is a leading Islamic finance center
and home of MTC Vodafone (Bahrain), the
first greenfield license secured by the
group and the first nationwide 3G network
in the world.
In the same month, MTC won four prestigious industry awards from leading mag-
As the year drew to a close, it was
announced that the MTC Group of com-
Kuwait: Landmark $4 billion credit facility to fund MTC's future growth in July, 2006
a glowing year
panies full-year consolidated revenues
reached KD 1.21 billion ($4.167 billion)
for the 12 months ending December 31,
2006, an increase of 109% over the
same period in 2005 and a consolidated
net income of KD 305.3.06 million
($1.051 billion), an increase of 65% compared to the same period last year.
At the end of January 2007, MTC
launched ACE, an implementation strategy
devised to realize the target of the company’s 3x3x3 vision. ACE seeks to extract
superior value from existing assets through
three main thrusts: Accelerating the
growth in Africa; Consolidating the existing
assets; and Expanding into adjacent markets. Through the implementation of the
ACE strategy, MTC’s revised goals for
2011 are to attain a $6 billion EBITDA
exceeding 70 million customers and to
become one of the top ten leading telecom companies in the world in terms of
market capitalization.
In March 2007, MTC announced that its
market capitalization had exceeded $20 billion. At the AGM, shareholders approved a
7
one for two stock dividend (1:2) plus a 100
fils cash dividend.
Also in March, and in line with its role in supporting cultural events across the Middle
East, MTC Atheer, the Mobile Telecom of
Iraq sponsored the 75th anniversary of Arab
International Music Festival in Cairo. The
event, held under the patronage of Arab
League Secretary General, Amr Moussa,
commemorated the historical meeting of the
first Arab Music conference in 1932 and
was supported by the Egyptian Opera
House and the Arab Music Institute.
On March 24, a consortium led by MTC
beat off six other competitors to win Saudi
Arabia’s third mobile telephone licence, with
a bid of $6.11 billion. With mobile phone
penetration rates in Saudi Arabia of 76%, a
figure that could surge to 120% by 2011,
MTC should thrive with its 3x3x3 vision.
Finally, early 2007 saw MTC launch the
Blackberry in Bahrain and Jordan. The service will also eventually be available in Kuwait.
Visit www.mtctelecom.com ¬
Cairo: the Arab International Music Festival in March, 2007
PROFILES
A filmmaker
who goes
the distance
Walid Al Awadhi
T he Pentagon told him he was crazy,
and that he would most probably die, but
that didn’t stop Kuwaiti-born filmmaker
and director Walid Al Awadhi from going to
Iraq in 2003. With his trademark determination and brushing off the dangers associated with an imminent war, he got himself embedded with one of the first units to
push into the Iraqi capital and went on to
make See You in Baghdad (2005), which
tells the story of love and kinship in the
midst of war, and was filmed under the
desperately harrowing circumstances of
the early days of the invasion.
Al Awadhi, who has been hailed as an
adventurer and a man of courage, is also
a man of vision and one not easily put off
by the horrors of war: he lived through the
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and witnessed terrible things in his own country
as well as in others. So, going to Baghdad
was just another necessary step in a
career dedicated to the telling of difficult
and sometimes uplifting human stories.
8
Al Awadhi’s films reflect his firm belief in
the strength and beauty of human relationships and the courage of the human
heart, and feature people who have been
deeply affected by war and terrorism. His
debut film A Moment in Time (1995) won
awards from both the Houston and Ohio
International Film Festivals and is about the
first Gulf War, while Dreams without Sleep
(2001) tells the poignant stories of New
York immigrants after the events of 9/11.
His other films also deal with gritty and
pertinent subject matter: Silence of the
Volcanoes (1997) was a documentary
about Kuwaiti prisoners of war held in Iraq,
and his most recent film Storm from the
South (2006), tells the stories of three
women who ran for parliament in Kuwait in
June 2006.
It’s no surprise really, that Al Awadhi, who
studied film in New York and worked with
German documentary director Werner
Herzog, is so intensely drawn to portraying
the effect of war and of difficult situations on
Walid Al Awadhi
people. Born in 1965, he grew up in Kuwait
studying civil engineering but nurturing
dreams of becoming a professional stills
photographer. He was so affected by the
invasion of Kuwait that he decided to ditch
photography to film people in hospitals,
members of the Kuwaiti resistance and
after that, the liberation of Kuwait. The support he saw people giving one another, as
well as their resilience, was the driving force
of his evolution into a humanistic filmmaker.
Al Awadhi is also keen to bring about a
renaissance in Arab cinema and in his role
as CEO of Desert Door Productions
(Bawabet El-Saharaa), an independent
film production company based in Dubai
aimed at developing Arab cinema and
producing quality films by providing support to Arab directors and scriptwriters, he
hopes to do this. Al Awadhi’s boldness of
vision extends not only to his own films,
but to the entire Arab film industry, in
which is he is playing an important role to
secure its revival. ¬
PROFILES
The ‘champion
of women’s
rights’ in the
Arab world
Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa
10
Sheikha Haya
W
hen Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa,
a member of the ruling royal family of
Bahrain, was appointed President of the
Sixty-first Session of the United Nations
General Assembly in June 2006, it was
hailed as a victory for women all over the
Arab world. To be sure, it was a pretty big
deal: not only was she the first woman to
serve in this role since 1969 – and only
the third woman ever in this position – she
was the first Arab and Muslim woman in
such a job and the public response to the
news was joyful.
Gallo Images - Getty Images
But this brilliant woman, a prominent lawyer
and diplomat, fluent in three languages, and
one of very few Arab women to make a significant mark on the political landscape of
the region as well as on the international
stage, has always been a pioneer: labeled a
‘champion of women’s rights in Islamic
courts’ by United Nations officials, she is
also one of the first two women to practice
law in Bahrain, the first woman to become a
Bahraini foreign ambassador, and the first
woman from the Middle East to hold the
position of vice-chairwoman of the arbitration and dispute resolution committee at the
International Bar Association.
At the time of her appointment to the UN,
Sheikha Haya, who has held senior positions at some of the world’s top legal institutions, was serving as Legal Adviser to
the Royal Court in Bahrain and was also
very active at the diplomatic level. She
served as her country’s Ambassador to
France, from 2000 to 2004, and as nonresident Ambassador to Belgium,
Switzerland and Spain. During the same
period, she was Bahrain’s Permanent
Representative to the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization and was also a member of the
World Intellectual Property Organization’s
Arbitration Centre Consultative Committee
and she represented Bahrain at the
International Court of Arbitration of the
International Chamber of Commerce, an
appointment she still holds today.
But it is her participation in the movement to
elevate the position of women in Bahrain
before the Islamic sharia courts where she
really shines as an example of determination
and courage. Tireless in her supporting role
for women, she is a bold advocate of the
progressive interpretation of Islamic texts as
they apply to women, and is currently a
member of Bahrain’s Child Development
Society and the Arab Women’s Legal
Network. She is also the vice-president of
the Bahrain Bar Society, a member of the
Supreme Council of Culture, Art and
Literature and has her own law firm.
Sheikha Haya, who has law degrees from
the University of Kuwait and the University of
Paris I: Panthéon-Sorbonne as well as postgraduate degrees from Alexandria University
and Ain Shams University in Egypt, is keen
to make as much of a difference internationally as she does at home. Speaking after
her appointment as President of the 61st
Session of the UN General Assembly she
said that she hoped that women will
increasingly assume positions of leadership
at the UN and other international organizations and will strive to provide support for
each other so as to pave the way for future
generations of women and help them
achieve greatness. ¬
Rashed Al-Khalifa
PROFILES
The
Nigerian
striker
with a
heart of
gold
Nwankwo Kanu
Not
just an imaginative footballer,
Nigerian striker Nwankwo Kanu, star player for English Premiership giants Arsenal
until 2004 and who now plays for
Portsmouth, is also courageous in a
deeply personal sense. Refusing to let his
own personal battle against a life threatening heart problem get in the way of his brilliant career, he also supports young
African children with heart defects through
the Kanu Heart Foundation, which he set
up, and is active in building relationships
to help children in his role as United
Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Nigeria
Goodwill Ambassador.
Known throughout Africa for his philanthropic work, his determination and humanity are
inspirational. Born in 1976, and twice
named African player of the year, the
Nigerian football prodigy, who captained
Nigeria to the Atlanta Olympic Soccer Gold
Medal in 1996, became the focus of media
attention after a celebrated transfer from
Ajax of Amsterdam to Inter Milan, when he
was diagnosed as suffering from a weak
aorta valve in his heart, a condition that was
said to be life threatening.
But even as critics were pronouncing the
last rites over his career, Kanu – who was
nicknamed ‘Skin and Bones’ by the coach
who took him to Japan as part of the worldbeating Nigerian under-17 side in 1993 –
successfully underwent highly complicated
open heart surgery and later announced
that he was determined to get fit and keep
playing the sport that was so important to
him. Kanu went on to become one of the
most popular of contemporary footballers,
combining a career in UK clubs Arsenal,
West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth
with his personal crusade to improve the
lives of children in Africa.
Described occasionally as a genius, and
also as a gutsy player known for scoring
extravagant goals, his football career
began at the age of 15, playing for local
national teams before being signed by
Ajax in 1993 for $207,047 and then being
sold on to Internazionale Milan for a hefty
$4.7 million and then to Arsenal for about
£4.2 million.
Kanu cites his relationship with God as
one of the most motivating factors in both
his personal and professional life and it is
his faith and inner strength that have kept
him radiantly positive when others might
have given up. Described by UNICEF as a
‘compelling and eloquent advocate’ in
focusing attention on issues related to
human rights,’ he now uses his fame to
encourage girls’ enrolment in schools,
tackle the HIV/AIDS pandemic through
youth empowerment, and boost routine
immunization, especially polio eradication
initiatives in the country, among other
things. Kanu is a shining example of how
far self belief can carry a person and how
personal goals can be expanded from
professional ones to really make a difference in the world. ¬
Nwankwo Kanu
12
Laurence Griffiths - Getty Images Sport
PROFILES
The ecofriendly
actress
Julia Sawalha
S eriously funny and striking too, with rippling curls, glowing eyes and a radiant
smile, Julia Sawalha is an eloquent and
hard working actress sometimes
described as an enigma, who is also a
mixture of down-to-earth pragmatism and
easygoingness, devoted to her family and
to making the world a cleaner, more environmentally conscious place.
Named after her grandmother, a successful Jordanian businesswoman who
received an award for enterprise from
Queen Noor (of Jordan), Sawalha, was
born in London in 1968, and is perhaps
14
most famous for her roles as prim Saffron
Monsoon in one of the most popular BBC
comedy series ever made Absolutely
Fabulous, and as Lydia Bennett in the
1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice.
She’s also become known for being a
very vocal critic of global warming and
has been quite high profile in courageously supporting environmental causes, even spending a week on
Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior a few
years ago to protest against drilling for oil
in the Scottish Hebrides.
Julia Sawalha
Sawalha comes from a thespian background: her sister is an actress and once
starred in the long running British soap
Eastenders, while her father appeared in
the James Bond movie The Spy Who
Loved Me. She also has a multi-cultural
family. Her mother is descended from
French Huguenots, possibly refugees,
and her father is Jordanian with Bedouin
roots, something she is immensely proud
of. In fact, Sawalha is extraordinarily fond
of her family, and particularly the kinship
she feels for her brilliant father, who is
credited with nurturing her self-confidence
as an actress and whom she describes as
being wonderfully cool, someone completely full of love, warmth and wisdom.
She spent five years attending the Italia
Conti Academy before being chosen to
star on the long running British children’s
series Press Gang, which she appeared in
from 1989 to 1993. And while her film
debut was made in 1990, her first major
big-screen role was in Kenneth Branagh’s
In the Bleak Midwinter (1995), a comedy
about a group of actors putting on a production of Hamlet, in which she played the
role of a near-sighted scatterbrained
actress with the part of mad Ophelia.
Sawalha finally won the lead in a major
claymation film in 2000, lending her voice
to the character of Ginger, the chicken
heroine of Peter Lord and Nick Park’s
highly successful Chicken Run. Her most
recent TV project sees her participating in
the third series of the genealogy documentary Who Do You Think You Are?, in
which she traces her family’s roots.
Described by her father as a bon viveur
and someone who is a mixture of cool
English rose and desert sharpness and
spirituality, Sawalha is clearly a very funny
actress with a social conscience who is
not afraid to use her fame to champion
certain pertinent issues or be an outspoken advocate of environmental causes.
She is dedicated to making the world a
better and cleaner place. ¬
JOURNEYS
Easy riders
Photojournalist Norbert Schiller recalls his
memorable motorbike trek across Africa in which he
attempted to emulate Francis Flood and James C. Wilson
JOURNEYS
S
ome fifty years after Francis Flood
and James C. Wilson embarked on
the first ever trans-Africa motorcycle trip
from what is now Largos Nigeria to the
Eritrean port town of Masawa, on the Indian
Ocean. At the end of 1986, my fellow
adventurer, Mark Ehlen, attempted a repeat
performance of the famous 1932 expedition. Our plan was to begin in the Egyptian
capital, Cairo, and follow the Nile south all
the way to the Khartoum, Sudan, where we
would then turn west and back track over
the original route Flood and Wilson took.
In conversation, everything sounded
good. On paper, the trip proved to be a
logistical nightmare. First and foremost we
needed to purchase motorcycles locally
that were rugged enough to endure over
5,000 miles (8,045km) of the most inhospitable terrain the African continent had to
offer. The Cairo souks provided a quagmire of different bikes, ranging from the
small-bore East German MZ and the
Czechoslovakian Jawa to the upscale
classic bikes, BSA and Harley Davidson
that were pricy and coveted by deeppocked western expatriates. The
Japanese motorbike revolution had somehow managed to pass Egypt by.
There was one elusive bike on the market
that both Mark and I had our eyes on but
were unable to find. It was the work horse of
butchers, flower merchants and those who
had large families that could not afford an
automobile but were a class above the
horse and cart crowd. After weeks of
searching through the Cairo souks, we finally found tucked away in one of the many
fruit and vegetable markets the rare piece of
Russian muscle we had been looking for: a
fire-engine red 1978, 650cc Ural Moto with
an optional attached sidecar. As we could
only afford one bike we decided to go with
the deluxe version, sidecar and all.
Affectionately nicknamed Uri the bike was
destined to take us through the heart of the
Africa to witness its enigmatic people and
untouched cultures. In conversation it all
sounded so good.
After a month of preparing for the trip, we
departed Cairo on December 26, 1986.
The road south along the western edge of
the Nile, surrounded by fertile fields, was a
motorcycle riders dream. On either side of
the road, there were patchworks of lush
18
green fields hosting a variety of crops that
were divided by a complex maze of water
tributaries. Donkeys, sheep, children and
fellahin (farmers) going to and from the
fields cluttered the roads paralleling the
Nile. We went from motoring in the cold
early morning, through mist-laden farmlands, to driving under the mid-day African
sun. When we stopped to eat, sleep, or
take in an historical site, dozens of people
would gather around us, amazed to see
two foreigners on what appeared to be a
bike from a bygone ear. Most were anxious to hear about our journey, but once
they found out our intended destination
they discarded us as two crazy khawagas
(foreigners) suffering from sun-stroke.
The splendor of Egypt ended the minute we
loaded Uri onto the ferry traveling on Lake
Nasser between Aswan and the Sudanese
boarder town of Wadi Halfa. We had
learned that Sudan was suffering from a
chronic lack of gasoline so we had loaded
enough spare jerricans to at least get us well
on our way. Unfortunately, because of a fire
aboard a similar ferry a few years earlier that
killed over a hundred passengers, the captain of our boat ordered us to empty all the
gas from the motorcycle before boarding.
This left us with just barely enough to make
it the few miles from the port of disembarkation to the town of Wadi Halfa.
Once in Wadi Halfa, we were desperate to
be on our way, but there was no gas to be
found anywhere. In our search, we ended
up pleading with the mayor in his office only
to be asked by him if we would be kind
enough to give him a lift home. It seemed
that we were operating the only vehicle in
the town. So, instead of continuing our journey we acted as chauffer to the mayor!
After two days, we realized that fuel did
not exist in this northern outpost and
nobody knew when, or if, more would
arrive, so we were forced to abandon the
road and pile the bike onto a train heading
south. As a way to save money, Mark and
I climbed on to the roof of the train and for
the next 24 hours, witnessed the desert
Affectionately nicknamed
Uri, the bike was destined
to take us through the heart
of Africa
19
JOURNEYS
pass below us as temperatures dropped
below freezing during the night and roasted us during the day.
When we arrived at the town of Atbara,
midway between Wadi Halfa and
Khartoum, we climbed down off the train,
got our bike out and drove to the nearest
hotel, where we collapsed for two days!
In Atbara, we had better luck. First, we
were able to scrounge some petrol from
the local police station and then as the
day wore on, we were able to slowly fill
the tank and some of the jerricans by
On more than one occasion, the
sand would get so deep that the
tires would sink, the engine
would overheat and seize in a
plume of blue smoke
buying it in the souk on the black market.
By days end, we had enough to continue
our journey south.
The most amazing thing we had noticed
thus far since arriving in the Sudan was
there were no paved roads. From the roof of
the train all we could see were just sand
20
tracks leading out into the distant desert.
Then, all of a sudden as we began heading
south from Atbara, we found ourselves ridding along a newly asphalted road. An open
road with no other vehicles and the wind at
our back – what more could one ask for? As
those thoughts crossed my mind, a large
dump truck appeared from nowhere and
barreled right into us, clipping the side car
and sending us spinning out of control into
a pile of rocks by the side of the road.
The shock was so great that by the time
we recovered our senses, straightened
out the bike and made sure all was in
order, we realized we were also at the
roads end. From there on out, we were
once again looking down a trail leading
through the desert. Uri was a heavy road
bike, built for the roads of the Ural
Mountains of the former Soviet Union.
Freezing temperatures and the occasional
snow drift were hazards the Ural Moto
could cope with, but not the dry heat of
the Sahara Desert and the endless tracks
leading through the sand. On more than
one occasion, the sand would get so
deep that the tires would sink, the engine
would overheat and seize in a plume of
blue smoke. And there, in the silence of
the desert, we would wait until the engine
cooled so that we could start it up and
proceed once again.
Our saving grace was the train tracks that
stretched between Atbara and Khartoum.
If the sand got soft and the going tough,
we would abandon the sand and ride on
the elevated ground straddling the three
wheels between the metal rails. However,
the train tracks too had their limitations.
Rail trestles that traversed wadis (valleys)
sometimes proved treacherous to both
man and machine. Some trestles were as
21
JOURNEYS
high as 30 feet (nine meters) above a wadi
and to cross, we were forced to stop and
manually push and pull the bike over the
wood railroad ties one by one. Depending
on how long the trestle was, it took a considerable time and lots of physical
strength. And then there was the threat of
an oncoming train. The alternative, which
we chose when we were too exhausted to
lift the machine, was to circumvent the
trestle and wadi all together and travel
many miles out of our way, burning precious fuel in the process and increasing
our chance of being stuck once again in
the soft sand.
Along the way, we met and stayed with an
array of interesting characters, including
Irish aid workers in a tiny Sudanese hamlet in the middle of nowhere and Bedouins
ferrying every imaginable livestock and
kitchenware across the desert to sell in
the towns and villages. The people were
always kind no matter how hostile the
environment.
Once in Khartoum, we rested and
reassessed out journey. Since Uri was on
its last legs and would not make it any further in such conditions, we decided to
abandon our original plan of crossing
Africa and instead ride the paved road to
the Red Sea harbor of Port Sudan and sail
back to Egypt on an ocean liner. However,
before doing so, Mark and I had some
unfinished business to attend to.
We stored Uri with some friends in
Khartoum and then I headed off to
N’djamena by plane to cover the war
between Chad and Libya, while Mark
climbed on top another train and traveled
around western Sudan. After two weeks,
we both returned to Khartoum packed up
Uri and headed for the coast.
22
Even though the road was paved the
entire way, Uri’s lifespan was coming to an
end. In order to avoid the heat of the day,
we began our final journey from Khartoum
to Port Sudan at night. Nevertheless, there
came a point when the engine just froze
and refused to go on. Knowing there was
nothing more we could do, both Mark and
I had come to terms with our resolve, so
we just sat on the side of the road and
waited to see what fate would bestow
upon us.
And as the sun rose above the desert, a
white pickup truck with the words “Save
the Children” stopped before us, and a
young Sudanese man got out and said,
“Can I help you?” We piled the bike into
the back of the pickup and were given a
lift the rest of the way to Port Sudan.
Mark and I bought deck class tickets while
Uri was stored somewhere in the cargo
hold. The journey back to Suez via
Jeddah lasted almost three days. During
As the sun rose above the
desert, a white pickup truck
with the words ‘Save the
Children’ stopped before us, and
a young Sudanese man got out
and said, ‘Can I help you?’
that time, there was not much we could
do except read and reflect over the ups
and downs of our two-month journey.
Twenty years have past since we
embarked on that fateful trip. When Mark
and I get together, we always reflect back
on our journey and how someday we
would like to attempt it all again, but this
time following the exact route Francis Flood
and James C. Wilson took. Ural Moto has
improved since the fall of the Soviet Union
and to show our gratitude to, and in honor
of, Uri, we would use the same brand of
bike as before – but this time splurge a little
and add a second bike with sidecar. ¬
23
I Bag
MY C ITY
never feared being in Iraq, rather I was one of those
who saw the charm and beauty of the country. In the early days my fear
was arriving at Saddam International airport. Later, when there was an
air embargo I dreaded taking the 17-hour land route from Jordan.
In the 1980s, you never knew what surprises would confront you when you
entered the arrival hall. Sometimes the
customs officials would just confiscate all
your camera and darkroom equipment.
Other times they would take everything
you owned, including a spare change of
clothes and your toothbrush. It usually
took anywhere between a few hours to a
day to get your goods out of the airport.
Even with the help of the press center,
every item was scrutinized. Camera lenses longer than 200mm in focal length
were confiscated until you left. Same was
true for short wave radios, typewriters
and anything else like newspapers, magazines and even reading books. And
maps of Iraq were strictly forbidden. In
those days, I used a typewriter to write
my captions, which I would then stick on
to the photograph print before transmitting.
I used to beg the officers at the airport
and even bribe them with my shortwave
radio just so I could bring in my typewriter
into the country. When I asked Iraqi
friends what they wanted most from the
outside world they would all say, “Bring
me a short wave radio.”
After securing the release of my equipment and paying a courtesy visit to the
press center, the next order of business
was to go out and get a taste of the local
hdad
A
trip down
memory lane
with photojournalist
Norbert Schiller
MY C ITY
When I asked
Iraqi friends what
they wanted most
from the outside
world they would
all say, ‘Bring me
a short wave
radio’
cuisine. Baghdad had lots of little cafés
and beer halls along Zadoun Street near
the then Sheraton and Meridian hotels.
After a few drinks, it was always a treat to
go by the banks of the Tigris and eat the
famous masgouf fish cooked on an open
fire or to go to one of the popular districts
and eat kouzi, a rice and lamb dish
loaded with spices and usually shared
with many people.
phone call “please be in the lobby at 6am
tomorrow, we are going to the battle front
to witness Iraq’s great victory over Iran.”
Iraq was never one of those places where
the minute you landed you were expected
to be out in the field working. No, that
was impossible. Iraq had a very strict set
of rules governing visiting journalists. The
first thing was to present a sheet of paper
with everything you wanted to do, including places you wanted to visit and people
you wanted to interview. There was
always some mundane thing I would write
down like visiting the Baghdad zoo or a
newly constructed tourist island that they
immediately approved. In the end they
never gave you what you really wanted
but after a week or so of doing basically
nothing, there was always that late night
The Iraqi authorities were never very keen
on having press linger around the country
for too long. They knew sooner of later
someone would get into trouble and one
of their heads would roll. So the best thing
to do as a journalist until that phone rang
was to play tourist and enjoy the sites of
Baghdad. It was funny, as a photographer,
the authorities never cared where you
went as long as you didn’t carry a camera.
For writing journalists, they took an opposite approach and discouraged them from
wandering around unaccompanied.
Trips to the front were always welcome
news, especially in the last year of the
war, when Iraq began gaining back some
of the territory it had lost. After a while, I
would just ignore filling out the request
form and wait for the phone call instead.
Besides the open air cafés and restaurants, I really enjoyed going to the old
brass market. Baghdad was one of the
few Arab capitals where you could still
find beautiful old antique carpets, brass,
jewelry, pottery, etc. This was due in part
to Iraq falling foul as a western tourist
destination. Also, there were many religious shrines for Muslim pilgrims coming
from other countries to visit. These pilgrims would pay for their trip by bringing
goods from their country and sell them to
antique merchants in Baghdad and other
towns and cities.
After leaving the brass market, I used to
wander along Rasheed Street, below the
old buildings and arches that covered the
pedestrian walkway. Under Saddam
Hussein, much of Baghdad was going
through a period of modernization, but
along Rasheed Street, near the river, the
architecture was largely left intact and
some of the buildings were even being
restored to their original splendor.
In the months which followed Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, nothing
really changed. However, as time wore
on and the country became more and
more isolated from the outside world, you
could not help but feel a sense of
despair in the people. The first thing that
most Iraqis did was keep extravagant
26
expenditures to a minimum and spend
money on necessary things. For a people that like to go out and eat and enjoy
life, suddenly they found themselves living between the home and the work
place. Restaurants and places for entertainment were the first to feel the effects.
After some months, the only people
going out were a spattering of foreign aid
workers, journalists and the few Iraqis
who could afford the luxury. Some years
later, while sitting at one of the few good
restaurants still opened, I noticed a familiar face at the table next to me. It was
none other than Daniel Ortega, the once
and present leader of Nicaragua, who
was in Iraq to lend moral support.
I can best describe the 1990s as the period when Baghdad began to close its
doors. From one visit to next, I would see
shops and restaurants boarded up along
the main thoroughfares that crossed the
city. The exodus of Iraqis moving elsewhere in the world was on the rise and
with them went Baghdad’s vibrancy. In
2003, after the Americans temporarily
secured Baghdad, the city slowly came
back to life. Many Iraqis who had left at
various stages of the country’s volatile history were returning once again to see what
opportunities were out there. All of a sudden, restaurants began to open their doors
and people came flooding in. Baghdad
was on the rise if only for a short while.
In the three and half years since the fall
of Saddam Hussein, Iraq has witnessed
both the highs and lows of life without
Saddam. In the beginning, it looked
promising; now though, the worse case
scenario is taking hold. What the future
holds is anyone’s guess. One thing is
for certain: give the Iraqis an open window of opportunity and suddenly
Baghdad could be once more the glorious city of old. ¬
27
REAL L IVES
Christian Francis
by Nicholas Blanford
The Lebanese diving
instructor who embarked
on an eight-year quest
that turned into an
obsession
I
t was a chance conversation with a fisherman in 1996 that sent Christian Francis,
a Lebanese-Austrian diving instructor, on
an eight-year quest that would result in
one of the most remarkable underwater
discoveries ever. It was a journey that took
him from mild curiosity to a near spiritual
obsession to find the last resting place of
HMS Victoria, once the flagship of the
British Royal Navy’s Mediterranean fleet,
which sank with the loss of 358 officers
and men after being rammed by the battleship Camperdown during maneuvers
off the coast of the northern Lebanese city
of Tripoli in 1893.
After studying economics at the Vienna
University of Economics, Francis returned
to Lebanon in 1993. A gifted athlete,
Francis had rowed for Lebanon at the 1992
Olympic Games in Barcelona, the first Arab
ever to participate in an Olympic rowing
event. But it was scuba diving that had had
Francis hooked since a teenager, exploring
the Amshitee coastline in northern
Lebanon. “I will never forget my first
descent, the silence, the bubbles, the endless possibilities for exploration,” he says.
By 1996, he was well established with a
flourishing diving business, which included
28
training Lebanon’s
naval commandos and supplying
the army with diving equipment. It
was while exploring several “blue
holes” – underwater vertical caverns in
the seafloor – that he learned of the existence of HMS Victoria. “I was asking my
fisherman friend what there was to see off
the north Lebanon coast, and he told me
there were some underwater cliffs, grottos, a couple of sunken ships, and of
course, HMS Victoria.” The final resting
place of HMS Victoria was unknown, so
Francis made several trips to London to
examine British naval records at the
National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
“Finding the Victoria would be my legacy
to the community of divers in Lebanon,”
he says. “I had found a way of bringing
together my ideas and my passion.” As
the years passed, he grew concerned that
other people were also hunting for HMS
Victoria. One day he visited the British war
cemetery in Tripoli, named after the
doomed Royal Navy ship, and asked for
the visitor book. “I was curious to see if
anyone had written a challenge in the
book that they were seeking the Victoria,”
he says. But there was no indication that
anyone else was on the hunt.
Instead, Francis left his own written promise. “I wrote ‘I will bring HMS Victoria back
to memory,’ and I signed and dated the
entry,” he recalls. “As I left the cemetery, I
had a near religious feeling that I had
made a promise to the dead of HMS
Victoria and I felt I could not back down.”
He redoubled his efforts, giving up work
so that he could devote himself full-time to
his quest. “You can’t do this sort of thing
without deep motivation. I stopped working for a year and a half. All my time and
financial resources were dedicated to the
mission,” he says.
By spring of 2004, he had narrowed down
the suspected location of the battleship
and was ready to begin an extensive
underwater search operation, having hired
Mark Ellyat, a British diver with deep diving
experience. On August 22, he descended
beneath the waves with Ellyat, following a
rope toward the sea floor, when they
noticed a huge shadow lying to their left.
“We couldn’t imagine what it was and so
swam over to see,” he recalls. It was, as
he had hoped, the HMS Victoria. Yet by
an extraordinary fluke, the 10,000 ton,
iron-plated battleship was standing completely vertical with about a quarter of her
length buried in the soft mud of the sea
floor. “We are both experienced divers.
But, we were completely and totally
speechless and amazed at what we saw.”
It was a unique discovery. Of the 80-90,000
known shipwrecks around the world, HMS
Victoria is the only one resting at a 90 degree
angle. The Victoria’s upright position is
thought to be due to the weight of the massive twin 16.25-inch guns, the largest in the
world at the time, and the 18-inch armor plat-
ing as well as the still spinning propellers that
drove the ship straight down after it sank.
Francis intends to thoroughly explore the
wreck, which has been declared an exclusion zone, and hopefully recover the two
guns as well as other artifacts. But the HMS
Victoria is not Francis’ only underwater discovery. Although the “blue holes” off the
nearby Chekaa coastline were known to
local fishermen, Francis was the first to dive
into them and learn just how large they are.
The largest, which has a perimeter of
between 500-600 meters, is “inactive”, but
the other is connected by sink holes and
underground rivers to the Qadisha valley.
“In the winter when you drive out of the
Chekaa road tunnel, if you look past the
headland you will see the sea in turmoil
and the water discolored from all the
spring water coming out,” he says.
Furthermore, the water is fresh, having
originally been snow melt or rain water,
which seeped into the porous limestone
of Mount Lebanon and flowed through
underground rivers to come out in the blue
hole, six kilometers off the Chekaa coast.
Francis is consultant and chief diver with
The Cousteau Society, collaborating to
film a documentary on Lebanon’s water
resources. Their team will be abseiling into
a sink hole around 1,700 meters above
sea level near Tannourine, kayaking along
an underground river then scuba diving
down a flooded passageway. The film will
end with the team emerging from the
active “blue hole,” creating the impression
that they have traveled underground all the
way and simulating water’s journey from
the mountain to the sea. In that way,
Francis hopes to highlight Lebanon’s
remarkable hydro-geological features as
well as assess the potential commercial
opportunities in exploiting the fresh water
from the “blue hole” for agriculture.
“I like to do things that have a positive
effect on the community,” he says. “I don’t
want to leave this world feeling that I
haven’t made a difference because I know
that I can make a difference – by providing
inspiration for the young and making them
dream, like I dream myself.” ¬
‘We are both experienced divers. But, we
were completely and totally speechless and
amazed at what we saw’
29
TALKING T ELECOM
Breaking the waves
MTC CEO Dr Saad Al Barrak candidly
reveals the strategy that has kept the
emerging telecom giant on the up
S
ince its establishment in 1983, MTC has consistently
raised the bar in the region as it strives to wow its customers while providing them not only the latest telecommunications technology, but also highly competitive services and
customer care. Today, the company is even more committed to all
its stakeholders and plans to reach even more customers by going
global. MTC Group CEO, Dr Saad Al Barrak, sits down to discuss the company’s strategic vision ‘3 x 3 x 3’, a formula that is
expected to propel the company into the global arena in three
successive three year stages.
MTC has become another word for success in building an international telecommunications company. What is the most enduring aspect of your business?
Our most enduring aspect would be our people, our team. This is
where we think we can make a difference. Our most distinct and
enduring aspect is our culture, our company values, the way we try
to differentiate ourselves from others. Some may say this is generic
and too general – it is generic and general but it is the simplest and
the most difficult thing at the same time. Ours is a service industry,
which means it is human-intensive and human-incentive at the
same time. Therefore, bringing together an excellent set of talent
30
TALKING T ELECOM
to consolidate. We have raced ahead in acquisition and expansion and now we need to solidify and intensify and anchor this
achievement into a very elaborate system and institution that can
sustain and manage this in the best way.
and retaining them and setting up an environment conducive to
excellence and the highest ethical, moral and business standards, is
the biggest and most enduring challenge, and that is why we have
from day one pursued a human-resource centric strategy.
So the human factor is the common element underlying your
3x3x3 strategic vision and the new ACE strategy, which stands for
Accelerate, Consolidate, Expand?
Definitely. 3x3x3 is a vision of how we see the future and how we
are going to grow. ACE is an implementation strategy for how we
are going to achieve the 3x3x3. It is not a separate strategy, it is
a continuation that is more focused on implementation and the
common denominator is our human-driven strategy. If you look at
ACE implementation, our biggest challenge is talent. To grow this
way and implement such programs, we must have talent, be able
to attract the best of talent and retain that talent to be with us for
life. This is the biggest challenge and the common denominator
across the entire nine-year horizon of 3x3x3.
And that is entirely driven on the human side?
We will never be and do not intend to be a technology leader. In
the end, customer desire is the mandate and not the latest technology. How many technologies have been forced upon people
that did not succeed and did not fly? We have to do it the other
way around. It is a subtle difference but it makes a big distinction
in your institution and your implementation.
You are saying this as an engineer by training. Does being an
engineer help you to understand the limits of technology?
I moved from the engineering to the human side of managing
technology rather than creating and developing technology. The
engineering of a technical network and the
engineering of a human network are two different worlds. You can never engineer
human beings. Engineering in general is
very deterministic in nature because it deals
Our raison d’être is to bring about an
institution that contributes to human
civilization in the most significant way
and advances our countries and the
region and others
If you look at 3x3x3 from the aspect of going from national to
regional to global in three times three years, you would now be at
the beginning of the second phase, the growth stage.
Chronologically speaking, we are at the beginning of stage two,
but in terms of execution and achievement, we are at the beginning of stage three.
Will stage two and three now run concurrently?
I think it is very difficult to put a demarcation line that separates
stage two from stage three. For example, one big part of ACE is
32
with material. But when you are dealing with the individual, you
deal with the most complex universe in our universe. You are not
dealing with a body; you are dealing with an intellect, with a soul.
And the energy of this soul can never be engineered. It can be
enticed, stimulated, instigated, and provoked. You try influencing
its direction but its quantity is not subject to any measurement,
because, after all, even engineering starts with the imagination,
which is purely a human issue.
Is that how you approach your job?
Exactly. Leading as a CEO is purely a human job. The technical
side should not be the priority. There should be technical awareness as to facilitate dialogue between you and anybody else and
you should feel like an alien among all those engineers and marketers. So you must have a minimum level of awareness but you
should not be preoccupied and obsessed with technology.
Where do the numbers come in, as responsibility to shareholders
and responsibility to stakeholders?
The numbers come in as a measurement and milestone. We do not
operate in a vacuum and need to measure our progress as a whole.
But the numbers are the thermometer and not the heat, so we want
to make sure that we don’t confuse the thermometer and the heat.
So having $1 billion in profits, as the group did in 2006, and 27
million active customers is not your raison d’etre?
Not at all. Our raison d’etre is to bring about an institution that
contributes to human civilization in the most significant way and
advances our countries and the region and others. We do it as
an economic enterprise and subject ourselves to the stringent
measurements of the economic enterprise. People have to testify to our success by exceeding the acceptable returns on investments, but that is not our raison d’etre and it shall never be. All
great companies in the world start with a vision like this.
Do you think that being on this pursuit that you describe here will at
times be challenged by people who say make me more profits?
That is not a concern for us, because we are in the business of making history and not money making. When you are in the business of
history making, you are bound to make much more money than people who focus on the money making side, because we change the
whole societal and human paradigms and those who change paradigms are bound to have the maximum results and impact.
When we started, my shareholders asked me what return we would
achieve and I said 20-20. They asked what is 20-20, and I said we
will grow by at least 20% each year and we will bring you at least a
20% return on your investment. That is fine with them and a very good
performance. When we talk internally, we talk about quantum leaps
and not about menial financial targets and so on.
But can it be said that you have been performing in accordance
with the promises you made?
We started the implementation of our vision in the year 2003; at that
time, our total market value was around $2.8 billion. At the end of
2006 we approached $18 billion in valuation and at end of March
2007 we exceeded $21 billion. We were recording $250 million in
profit per year, today we are over $1 billion. We were at $400 million
EBITDA, which is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and
amortization; today we are well above $2 billion. So by any financial
standard, nobody in the world can tell us that we have not done
superbly, hamdillah, yet we continue and hang on firmer to our vision:
history making, contributing to civilization, being good to people and
creating the best human environment so that they can excel. That is
why we focus on caring for our people, caring for our community. We
do not measure these things in terms of how much they will impact
the cost of our payroll or our operation this year.
33
TALKING T ELECOM
So Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not a function of marketing for you?
CSR is for us is a human value that is based on our dedication
and our commitment to our community, that we do proactively
before the community and the state would impose these things
on us as it also happened in Europe and the US. We do this genuinely, regardless of requirements.
With such a focus, how do you deal with the different situations
in different markets?
We have long-term targets; we may not see short-term results all
the time. We have seen setbacks in certain places, when some
of our companies have lost money, lost market share. The whole
point is we don’t look at one or two spots. The beauty of going
large is diversification and bringing together a portfolio.
And you will not immediately seek to shed those underperforming
markets?
No. Our main focus would be on how to make these markets
succeed and become great performers.
You stated in your ACE strategy as one goal to become one of
the top 10 companies in the world by market captalization.
By 2011.
34
Given the fact that you are going to list in London next year and
already have added a few billion in market cap in early 2007
alone, is this target a deliberate understatement?
If you look at the details of our strategy, the real target is to reach
five times EBITDA and we are aiming to reach $6 billion in EBITDA, regardless of market valuation. We based our calculation on
a very humble market valuation, because five times EBITDA is a
very low ratio by today’s standards. So if we reach $6 billion EBITDA by 2011, our market valuation will probably be beyond $40
billion thus ranking us as one of the top ten telecommunications
companies in the world.
Do you foresee a time when the development of your market
share and profits will be leveling?
I hope it will level after 50 years, when we are the largest company in the world and have already reached our mature stage. But
until then, I don’t see it leveling. It will be lower, because the larger you are, the harder it is to grow and the less need there is to
grow, but inshallah, it will not level.
But you are not sentenced to permanent growth?
Permanent growth is impossible for humans to achieve. You need
to grow in your own time or at your own pace. Life makes us grow
and if our lifecycle and mandate as the management team of the
company is ten years, then during these ten years we want to
make history. After that, we leave it to those that follow to do a
better job.
Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab economy. It contributes 60% to the total GDP of the Arab countries. That is why there is no comparison between
a license in Saudi Arabia and other licenses
You have won the third mobile communications license in Saudi Arabia
with a bid of $6.1 billion. How important was this competition for you?
We have been praying every day to win, and we did.
It was expected that the license would be cheaper. Did you overpay?
Saudi Arabia has the largest Arab economy. It contributes 60% to
the total GDP of the Arab countries which is why there is no comparison between a license in Saudi Arabia and other licenses – it
is a different dimension. If we would take what [UAE telecommunications operator] Etisalat paid for the third license in Egypt as
benchmark, the Saudi license should cost $11 billion.
When the license in Saudi Arabia was offered for sale, some analysts took the view that this is the last big opportunity of this kind.
Do you share this assessment?
There is no last big opportunity in the history of mankind.
Therefore I don’t think so. Growth is life. It is the last Greenfield
license in the area but there could be other big opportunities,
such as buying a company that is not doing very well in a big
market, taking this company and turning it around.
In your entire reach of operations, from Africa to the Middle East and
eventually heading further north, how do you go at the challenge of
integrating those different cultures into one corporate culture?
Because our main principle and pillar of our corporate culture is diversity – we are not a Kuwaiti company or an Arab company. We belong
to the whole of humanity and want to do something great for humanity as a whole and for the human cause. So we do not only accept
diversity, we celebrate diversity and the beauty of diversity. Secondly,
all of this area, culturally and historically, we have lots of points in common. We are all the underprivileged world, the third world. We have
the same ambitions and dreams to reposition ourselves in the human
community overall and this brings us much closer together.
How will this play out when you start trading on the London Stock
Exchange some time from now?
Being listed in London is not our main target in itself. It is not
about prestige or something to brag about. We want to be a
global company which means that we have to be in the center of
world markets and we also need exposure to the whole world.
But that will not be at the expense of our values, our vision, and
our commitment to our cause. I think the main issue at the end is
that markets want great results and great governance at the
same time and we are committed to both.
We want to change history and rewrite the image of country risks
in general. We have proven that you can do great business in
Africa and not get robbed or confiscated, and you don’t have to
undertake corruption in any way. You can be a virtuous company
doing great business and, at the same time, add value to the
communities you work in. You can even contribute to the reformation of these communities and countries because you strike a
great example of a virtuous institution, and that is what we want
history to remember us for.
Will you do that mostly by your corporate example or also through
the services that you provide?
We do that through everything. Our corporate example is the way we
deal with people, the way we take care of the community, the way we
see our future all together, the way in which we want to contribute to
the development and advancement of the telecoms market in that
country, which is the nerve of the new economy. One example is the
farmers who live in the Congo and other places, who used to sell their
crops for peanuts because they had no information – but when we
35
TALKING T ELECOM
empower them with the mobile they can make one call and get the
prices around the world and sell their crops in a much better way and
multiply their wealth five or six times.
The way you speak makes it sound that you see no limits and
want to be a company that exceeds what some of the largest
multinational companies have in terms of customer numbers or
assets, not only among telecom companies.
The sky is not the limit for us. If the sky was the limit, no plane would
ever have flown and no shuttle would have been sent to the moon.
The sky is not the limit; the sky is only the first stepping stone.
But do you see along this way a potential or danger that someday another of the very large telecom companies would want to
swallow you?
For me, I love danger. People who have changed the course of history are the craziest people and we want to belong to this clan. So
we are not afraid that these big guys come and try to swallow us
because that would mean that our value has become so great and
we have proved to the world that a company built on the views and
beliefs and the principles we have, is really a crown jewel that worldclass companies want to grab. It will not be easy for anyone to
swallow us but if someone wants to swallow us and do a greater
job than we do, we will, as we say in Arabic, let him enjoy it.
In terms of going to other countries, you some time ago mentioned Eastern Europe as a possibility. Can you be more specific
about the countries you want to enter?
I think our main focus will be our core strategic market – Middle East,
Africa, Asia. We will look at selected opportunities in Europe; that is
more in Eastern Europe and emerging Europe than the old Europe.
Also at Central Asia, these are mainly our targets.
The MTC expansion in Africa was based on a model of many
users, less ARPU, and developing a strong brand. Are you going
to develop a joint brand across Africa or even in all your markets?
That’s right. We have developed a new brand that will be launched in
September 2007 as a global brand for all our operations. We will start
in the Middle East in 2007 and we will move this to Africa in 2008. We
will also start any new operation with the new global brand.
Today it is no longer correct to say that MTC is a Vodafone partner?
No, not at all. Our agreement with Vodafone is a co-branding
agreement only.
Having heard what you said so far, you will not emphasize being
a Middle Eastern or Kuwaiti company but you will show yourself
with a new global identity.
That is right, which was the intention from day one.
36
Will you decide on a new name?
We have decided on a new name, and this will be made public
in September 2007 when it is launched. Our criteria for developing the name and testing it were global. It was the winner among
1,400 names, of which 90% were of English origin.
Are you planning to launch the new name in a package with marketing new services?
Not necessarily. We focus on value for our customer more than
tying this with products and services and so on. We are not fond
of this obsession with excessive consumer marketing. We compete using great long-term customer value.
Is it true that you are planning to provide global roaming across
your operating territories without roaming charges?
As much as possible. We have started this in our Eastern African
operations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda under the One Network
name. It was the world’s first and we plan to do it between Jordan
and Iraq because we have international gateways in both countries.
Where we have an international gateway and where the regulations
permit us to combine our networks, we will combine them. In some
other countries, we do not have international gateways. But wherever possible, we will have one network.
In a market like Lebanon, this would not be possible now,
because of ownership reasons.
Definitely, and not only for ownership reasons. God help Lebanon
to come out of its political predicament.
Would you still be interested to bid for an operator license in
Lebanon if it goes on the auction block?
Yes. We are committed to Lebanon with our life.
How do you see the role of Nigeria in your operations? What do
you expect there in terms of growth?
Nigeria is the crown jewel and treasure of Africa. Today, we have
almost 7 million customers and our target by 2008 is 18 million
customers in Nigeria. It is going to be our largest market.
Can you break down your target of 70 million customers by 2011
in terms of geography and markets?
I think most of it will be in Africa; at least 45 million will come from
Africa. Around 15 to 20 million customers will come from our Arab
markets and 5 to 10 million will come from new territories and
new acquisitions.
The sky is
not the
limit; the
sky is only
the first
stepping
stone
Looking those few years down the road and shaping your role for
the future, what will the meaning of the mobile phone be five
years from today?
The meaning of the mobile phone has always been for me and will
continue to be my gateway to the world. It is my social gateway,
entertainment gateway, educational gateway. It is the gadget that
integrates the whole world and reduces it to a very simple repository that can give me access anytime, anywhere, any place.
Any drawbacks, risks to the mobile phone, such as dangers of
addiction or intrusiveness of the device?
I think that only health and happiness can come from the mobile
phone – nothing else. The point is that the mobile phone multiplies the capacity of the human being. The source of all activities
lies within the human being, so if I am a social intruder, the mobile
phone will not prevent this. But in fact, the mobile phone exposes human deficiencies and wrong acts and entices the whole
society to fight those and contain them, rather than this germ
being hidden and growing until it overpowers everything.
Are you saying that all controversial issues, such as abuse of mobile
phones for transmitting improper images or unwanted dating, have to
be handled by human ability, not controlled through technology?
We can’t keep hiding our society. We have to open the doors and
windows and let the sunshine come through that burns all the
germs that exist inside our societies. We cannot just hide the
germs by limiting technological access. In the end, values are
sustainable if they are well inculcated and owned by people. But
to force a society to behave in a way that is contrary to its desires
and value system does not work. It is not a healthy way to bring
about a human community.
Given the evolution of societies over the past 50 years or 5,000
years and how problems have a tendency of being magnified in
human history, would you object to someone calling your view of
man optimistic to the point of being naïve?
I really do not mind being called naïve by anyone. In fact, I love being
called naïve because naivety is purity, decency. My value system
believes in the goodness of the human being. All religions and all
great traditions of humanity are based on the belief and trust that
human beings are good. This is the way that we should treat human
beings. It does not mean that we cannot account for the bad and
take precautions against the bad, but it does not have to be done
excessively and it should not come at the expense of the main good.
The good is the rule, the devious is the exception.
Thank you.
37
TALKING TELECOM
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43
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44
TALKING TELECOM
CORPORATE S PIRIT
Growth spurt
MTC keeps up the
momentum with new
implementation
strategy
I
n January 2007, MTC launched ACE, an ambitious new
implementation strategy to spur growth, consolidate market share and put MTC among the top 10 telecommunications
companies worldwide in the next five years. Inaugurated at a
gathering of MTC and Celtel executives in Tanzania that was also
attended by country’s president, HE Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, ACE
is the acronym for Accelerate (growth), Consolidate (existing
assets), and Expand (into adjacent markets).
MTC is well on its way to achieving this growth strategy, as the
40 plus initiatives of ACE are the final part of the ‘3x3x3’ profitable
expansion strategy that was launched in 2003. These initiatives
range from sharing best practices throughout all operations,
improving procurement, expanding network coverage and services, and to establishing a top talent program to attract and retain
the best people to name a few.
The initial part of the 3x3x3 vision was to expand beyond Kuwait
regionally that has resulted in MTC operating in Jordan, Bahrain,
Lebanon, Iraq and soon Saudi Arabia (early 2008). The second part
was to expand beyond the Middle East, which occurred through the
$3.36 billion acquisition of the pan-Africa mobile operator Celtel in
April 2005. MTC is now operating in 14 African countries, a major
driving force behind the company’s growth. “Africa is important to
us, as we have invested more than $6 billion in less than two years
on the continent since we acquired Celtel International,” said MTC’s
CEO Dr Saad Al Barrak at the Tanzania event.
Since the acquisition of Celtel, MTC’s African active customer
base has leapt from 6 million to more than 18.9 million (March 31,
2007). The future looks just as bright, with the continent’s mobile
penetration averaging just 20%, indicating major growth potential.
46
Indeed last year, according to figures in The Economist in
December, customer growth in Africa averaged 40% and revenues increasing by as much as 50% a year in certain markets.
With $10.5 billion earmarked by MTC for investment in Africa and
surging penetration rates, Africa will be a major facilitator for the
ACE strategy to attain a $6 billion EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization), exceed 70 million customers and become one of the top ten mobile operators in the
world by market capitalization by 2011.
MTC aims to capture the lion’s share of each mobile market,
reaching 50% market share where MTC is a “leader,” and a 30%
market share in countries where MTC is a “challenger.” As a
responsible corporate citizen, MTC is committed to partnering
with local communities to support sustainable development initiatives. The fact that communication is not a luxury but a catalyst
for the development of communities, it is important that MTC’s
economic, social and cultural projects have a positive impact on
the people of all the countries in which it operates.
To fully implement the ACE strategy all of MTC’s 12,700 employees will be involved to make implementation a success. This will
include further integration extracting more synergies across all
operations. MTC is able to leverage its considerable resources to
maximise returns to shareholders, with clear strategic objectives
and an integrated, convergent approach to customer service and
market expansion.
Currently, all MTC’s 20 country operations (OpCos) heads along
with MTC’s executive management team (CXOs) are preparing
ACE OpCo roadmaps to prioritize the more than 40 initiatives of
ACE. A workshop was held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in April
2007, where leaders from all OpCos and the Group met to discuss and share ideas on how to make ACE successful. ¬
CORPORATE S PIRIT
S
udanese-born telecom pioneer, Mo Ibrahim, is a man on a
mission. As one of Africa’s most successful and distinguished business leaders, he has dared to go where others
wouldn’t, and has almost single-handedly introduced mobile
telephony in the Mother Continent. After the April 2005 sale of
Celtel, the company he established, he founded the Mo Ibrahim
Foundation, a non-profit organization promoting good governance in sub-Saharan Africa. The Foundation has also outstripped the Nobel Foundation in handing out the world’s largest
annual prize: the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African
Leadership. The committee formed to select the winner is headed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Worth $5 million over a period of 10 years, and $200,000 annually for life thereafter, the Prize – the first of which will be awarded
in October 2007 – will be given yearly to former heads of state or
government in sub-Saharan Africa, who have left office in the last
three years and have shown exemplary leadership during their
time in office. A further $200,000 annually will be donated to a
cause nominated by the winning leader. The foundation is entirely funded by Mo Ibrahim.
“The task that lies before us, identifying the best in African leadership, is challenging,” said Annan at a Geneva press conference. “While developed countries have an important role to play
in creating an enabling environment for Africa’s development, it is
for Africa to lead and take ownership of Africa’s development
process. Good governance and leadership are central to finding
solutions to the vast challenges that face Africa.”
Kofi Annan will find himself in good company at the Committee.
Other members include, among others, former Finnish president,
Martti Ahtisaari; former Irish president and UN High Commissioner
for Refugees, Mary Robinson; former Tanzanian prime minister,
Salim Salim and former Finance Minister and Foreign Minister of
Nigeria, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Under the motto ‘Who’s afraid of Africa,’ Celtel started
in Zambia and Uganda and vowed never to pay a single
dollar in bribes
Nelson Mandela
“This is an African initiative celebrating the successes of new African leadership. It sets an
example that the rest of the world can emulate.
We wish the new Foundation very well and call
for leaders across the world – in government,
civil society and business – to endorse its aims
and back its vision. For the Foundation aims to
deliver the biggest prize of all: helping to ensure
that our rich continent becomes a prosperous
one – for all its people.”
48
The prize is based on results monitored by the Index of African
Governance. Developed by Harvard University professor, Robert
Rotberg, it offers a comprehensive and quantifiable method of measuring governance quality by assessing such key areas as sustainable
economic development, human development (health and education),
democracy, human rights, transparency and security. The index will
serve as one of the main benchmarks for the committee.
The establishment of the Foundation at the end of 2006 was
applauded by such prominent leaders as Nelson Mandela, Bill
Clinton and Tony Blair. These plaudits not only illustrate the importance of the foundation, but also highlight the stature Mo Ibrahim
enjoys among the Who’s Who of the world’s political and business elite. It is without a doubt a place well deserved, thanks to
an eventful life dedicated to mobile telephony and progress.
Born in Sudan in 1946, Mo Ibrahim obtained a BA in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Alexandria before heading to
Bringing light to the
African Continent
Telecom pioneer, Mo Ibrahim, has set out on
a personal mission to bring good governance
and an end to corruption in Africa
49
CORPORATE S PIRIT
Alpha Oumar Konaré
(Chairperson, African Union)
“The African continent has for too long
been characterized as the ‘Dark Continent’
of the world ostensibly because of the
inability of our leaders, past and present, to
tackle the various challenges that confront
our people. This project of rewarding
respect for constitutionality would support
all earlier efforts in spurring leadership to a
greater height in the process of alleviating
poverty and disease, and ensuring much
needed development.”
Britain, where he obtained an MA from the University of
Bradford and a PhD in Mobile Communication from the
University of Birmingham – a feat achieved well before the
first mobile phones entered our lives. In the early 1980s, he joined
British Telecom (BT) as a technical engineer and witnessed the
rise of the mobile phone use in England and Europe when in
1984 the first 5,000 bulky handsets were introduced in Britain.
Following the European Union’s decision at the end of the 1980s
to privatize the telecom market and allow private operators to
compete with former state monopolies, Ibrahim left BT to establish Mobile Systems International (MSI), a consultancy firm offering know-how and services to the many new operators in
Europe. Within a year, MSI had hired 10 engineers. By 1992, this
number had increased to 25 and by 2000, when the company
was sold, it was home to 800 employees.
50
Meanwhile, Ibrahim entered the market of mobile phone operators in 1998, with a company that would eventually be known as
Celtel International. His main theater of operation was not Europe,
but the virtually virgin market of Africa. Again he performed with
phenomenal success. By 2005, Celtel had 5 million subscribers
in 13 countries, a scenario that was ripe for MTC to step in and
buy Celtel for $3.36 billion.
In an interview with French Magazine Jeune Afrique, Mo Ibrahim
explained how, in that time, no western company dared invest in
Africa, unless it involved oil, gas or other natural resources. “I realized
just how negative the image was of this region in the world,” he said.
“Since I’m African by origin myself, I was obviously well aware of the
daily difficulties faced by people in Africa. But I felt that my colleagues
exaggerated the risks [in investing in telecom] and that there was an
enormous gap between perception and reality.”
Worth $5 million over a period of 10 years, and $200,000
annually for life thereafter, the prize will be given yearly to former heads of state that have shown exemplary
leadership during their time in office
Bill Clinton
“Mo Ibrahim has started an African
Foundation to help Africa move forward,
that’s a good example of Africa helping
itself and an important model for moving
forward to create growth stability and
peace in Africa.”
Ibrahim was convinced. He believed there was a need for
Africans to communicate with each other, just as there was for
any other human being anywhere else on the planet. Under the
motto ‘Who’s afraid of Africa,’ Celtel started in Zambia and
Uganda and vowed never to pay a single dollar in bribes. The
rest, as they say, is history.
When Celtel started, there were some two million mobile phones
on the whole continent. Today there are over 200 million, a quarter of which are in South Africa and Nigeria. Celtel now has
upwards of 18.9 million users and 60% growth per year.
The BBC recently reported that mobile phone use in Africa is growing
faster than anywhere else in the world and that Africa is the sole continent where mobile phone use greatly outnumbers the use of fixed
lines. And still there is enormous potential room for growth, as by the
end of 2006, less than 20% Africans had a mobile phone.
Following his immense success, Ibrahim is determined to bring to
Africa good governance and reward true leadership. Let’s hope,
the success of the mobile phone sector in Africa will set the
example in proving skeptics wrong, and show that there is hope
for the continent. Seeing its beauty and overwhelming nature, it’s
about time Africans started to help and govern themselves and
that the continent embarks on a path of enlightenment. ¬
51
Worth $5 million over a period of 10 years, and $200,000
annually for life thereafter, the prize will be given yearly
to former heads of state that have shown exemplary
leadership during their time in office
Bill Clinton
“Mo Ibrahim has started an African
Foundation to help Africa move forward,
that’s a good example of Africa helping
itself and an important model for moving
forward to create growth stability and
peace in Africa.”
Ibrahim was convinced. He believed there was a need for
Africans to communicate with each other, just as there was for
any other human being anywhere else on the planet. Under the
motto ‘Who’s afraid of Africa,’ Celtel started in Zambia and
Uganda and vowed never to pay a single dollar in bribes. The
rest, as they say, is history.
When Celtel started, there were some two million mobile phones
on the whole continent. Today there are over 200 million, a quarter of which are in South Africa and Nigeria. Celtel now has
upwards of 18.9 million users and 60% growth per year.
The BBC recently reported that mobile phone use in Africa is growing
faster than anywhere else in the world and that Africa is the sole continent where mobile phone use greatly outnumbers the use of fixed
lines. And still there is enormous potential room for growth, as by the
end of 2006, less than 20% Africans had a mobile phone.
Following his immense success, Ibrahim is determined to bring to
Africa good governance and reward true leadership. Let’s hope,
the success of the mobile phone sector in Africa will set the
example in proving skeptics wrong, and show that there is hope
for the continent. Seeing its beauty and overwhelming nature, it’s
about time Africans started to help and govern themselves and
that the continent embarks on a path of enlightenment. ¬
51
CORPORATE S PIRIT
by Paul Cochrane
S
ince Jordan deregulated its mobile phone sector just over
a decade ago, the kingdom has achieved the highest penetration rate – and become the most competitive in mobile
telecommunications – of any country in the Arab world. This is no
small undertaking, and MTC’s Fastlink has been at the forefront
of such telecommunication change in the kingdom.
Fastlink was established in 1995, the country’s first mobile phone
operator, and in January 2003, MTC acquired 91.6% of Fastlink for
$423.9 million, taking MTC’s ownership to 96.5%. By August 2005,
MTC had acquired the rest of the company, but three other companies had also entered the market – Jordan Telecom’s Mobilecom,
Xpress and Umniah – making Jordan the most competitive mobile
phone sector in the Middle East.
The knock-on effects of such heightened
competition have been a major boon for
Jordan. “Jordan is probably the best performing market in the region,” says Hana
Habayeb, senior consultant at Connexus
Consulting. Indeed, the statistics on Jordan
speak for themselves. The mobile phone
market is now worth 4% of GDP and out of
a country of around 6 million, Jordan has
3.98 million subscribers and a penetration
rate of 73%.
Fastlink controls the lion’s share, with 55% of
the market and over two million subscribers.
‘In Jordan, through MTC Fastlink, we are the
largest mobile operator and have provided the
best services to our customers there’
“In Jordan, through MTC Fastlink, we are the largest mobile
operator and have provided the best services to our customers
there,” said MTC’s CEO Dr. Saad Al Barrak.
Fastlink’s contact center, for instance, is one of the most
advanced in the region, with voice over IP technology and 24hour customer care handling around 300,000 calls a day.
And with some calls costing as little as one piaster a minute, one
of the lowest rates in the region, it is not difficult to understand why
average talk time per month in September, October and November
last year was 139 minutes per subscriber.
52
The launch of the first phase of MTC’s Mobile Village Service,
including Fastlink, MTC-Kuwait, MTC-Bahrain and MTC Atheer-Iraq,
is expected to boost talk time, with prices unified for each of the
operators and roaming the same price. Local calls in a visited
country will be set at only $0.50. Fastlink’s additional phone and
Making a difference
Fastlink and MTC bring more than just telecommunication advancement to Jordan thanks to their
commitment to social programs
53
CORPORATE S PIRIT
website services rank with leading global telecommunications
markets. Subscribers can roam around Jordan while watching TV
on their mobile phone, and via MMS and SMS posts can blog
with text or photos at the Fastlink Blog website. And 2JD subscribers can MMS a photo to Fastlink and within 48 hours receive
a message with their picture painted as a caricature – whether as
a businessman, football player or bodybuilding champion.
Along with offering ADSL and the Showtime network, Fastlink has
entered the electronic market place with Mazad Fastlink. Just like
eBay, the site operates via an auctioning system where you can
buy or sell any product, from laptops to DVDs and cars to furniture.
To spur on the modernization of Jordanian telecommunications,
Fastlink has been continuously investing in the sector, employing
1,100 people and spending $255 million between 2003 and
2007. Currently, there are 1,700 Fastlink cell sites throughout
Jordan, covering 99.9% of the country’s populated areas.
Considering some 70% of Jordan’s population lives in urban areas,
reach is almost all encompassing. Soft Switch technology, the cornerstone of Next Generation Networks, will support the growth of
Fastlink’s services throughout the kingdom in the years to come.
MTC is also laying down a fiber optic cable from southern to northern Amman, and down to Aqaba on the Red Sea coast.
MTC’s presence in Jordan is not all about competitive mobile
rates, blogs, auctioning off unwanted CD collections and the latest in roll out technology. MTC has been actively involved in supporting national efforts promulgated by the government, such as
the Jordan First campaign, to promote social development and
boost information and communications technology (ITC) in the
kingdom. Such initiatives are already making their mark, with the
ICT sector now accounting for 10% of Jordan’s GDP. Two new
telephone maintenance centers, costing JD 250,000, will also
boost the telecom sector through training programs and specialized diplomas from Telefono.
54
MTC Fastlink is involved in professional and youth sports in
Jordan through sponsoring the national football team, the country’s two leading football teams, Faisali and Wihadat, the Jordan
Football Association, and the Harat Fastlink Championship. The
Harat Fastlink Championship is an initiative that brings together
young talent from around the kingdom once a year to enhance
talent and encourage aspiring professional footballers. Jordan’s
favorite sport might be football, but Jordanians second sporting
love is basketball, and Fastlink’s basketball team, formed in 2002,
has swiftly worked its way to the top after entering the first tier of
the national league in 2003. Last year, the team seized the
national championships and won the Asia championships.
Alongside sport, education and healthcare are also at the forefront of MTC’s corporate social responsibilty (CSR) activities in
Jordan. At the beginning of the year, MTC’s Chairman, Asaad Al
Banwan, announced that Fastlink will increase the number of university scholarships from 41 to 44 a year through its Education
Fund. Set up in 2004, the fund will total $2 million over the next
five years. Some twenty of the grants are earmarked for twenty
students from the poorest areas in Jordan.
In addition to the Education Fund, MTC contributes to the education sector through the National Museum for Children, an interac-
Alongside sport, education and healthcare are also
at the forefront of MTC’s non-commercial activities
in Jordan
tive museum designed to stimulate education and learning. At the
high school level, Fastlink created the Barra Al-Saff program for
students interested in sports, music, movies, the arts, and science and technology. The aim of the program is to develop skills
and create projects at the local community level, whether performing music, putting on a show or putting scientific knowledge
into practice.
At the university level, Fastlink established the Mobile Communications
Laboratories scheme. One laboratory, at the Jordan University for
Science and Technology, has been supplied with state-of-the-art
technology to help students come to grasps with the modern communications industry. Fastlink Community Digital Centers have also
been set up in Maan, Al-Wehdat, Al Baq’a, Al Karak and Palestine.
As part of an outreach program to improve health services in
Jordan, Fastlink set up a Mobile Children Clinic to provide med-
ical services to remote communities and for people without transportation means to reach the capital’s healthcare facilities.
Fastlink also supports the health sector through the Towards Life
Cancer Campaign, launched three years ago, and by recent
donations totaling JD200,000 to the King Hussein Cancer
Center.
In addition to Fastlink’s public services, MTC is working with the
Ministry of Social Development to provide financial support and
assistance to the underprivileged via the Fastlink Emergency
Aid Fund. Fastlink was also involved in raising funds in coordination with Aramex and the Jordan Relief Fund to provide
humanitarian supplies for Lebanese victims of the July war with
Israel last year. ¬
55
CORPORATE S PIRIT
T
he internet and mobile telecommunication have revolutionized
the daily lives of millions of people throughout the world, affecting how we communicate and do business. Indeed, to most people with access to telecommunication, we couldn’t think of a
world without our mobile phone or the internet: we are always
able to be contacted and to contact others, with masses of data
and information only a click away.
But the disparity between the technology haves and have-nots is
extraordinarily wide and getting wider. According to the United
Nations Human Development Report (UNHDR), industrialized
countries, which account for only 15% of the world’s population,
are home to 88% of all internet users, whereas over 80% of the
rest of the world have never heard a dial tone. In Africa, with a
population of 900 million people, there are only 14 million fixed
phone lines – that is fewer than in Manhattan or Tokyo.
Even if people had more access to the internet, however, around
four-fifths of internet websites are in English, a language understood by only one in 10 people on the planet. The need to bridge
this digital divide is, therefore, a pressing one, and in 2003, the
Bridging the digital divide
Making the internet more accessible
around the globe
UN organized the World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS) in Geneva to confront the challenges countries face in
introducing information and computing technology (ICT). Out of
the summit came the World Summit Award (WSA) to select and
promote the world’s best e-Content.
Carried out in the framework of the WSIS, the WSA is done
through national contests, a global contest held every two years,
56
and numerous content-focused national and international conferences and workshops provided through the WSA Road Show. The
WSA’s main goal is bridging the digital divide and narrowing the content gap by working with an associate partner network of over 120
professional organizations and through the support of governments,
heads of state and international organizations.
The first phase of the WSIS was completed in 2003 in Geneva,
where the first WSA Gala was held with participation from 136
countries. Less than two years later, 168 countries took part in
the WSA Grand Jury in Manama, Bahrain, where 40 examples of
The WSA’s main goal is narrowing the content
gap by working with an associate partner network and through the support of governments,
heads of state and international organizations
Dr Peter Bruck (WSA Chairman-left) and Ms Manar Hashash (Kuwait WSA board member-right) presenting an award
high quality e-Content were selected. Two important outcomes
were generated by the selection process: the right to showcase
the world’s most outstanding examples of excellent e-Content,
and a global supporter network.
important to MTC that its social and cultural projects have a positive
impact on the people of all the countries in which we operate. We
are a business, but one that recognizes that we do not live in a cozy
bubble, cut off from the rest of the world.”
In November 2005, participants took part in the MTC Group sponsored WSA Gala for Best e-Content in Tunis. Projects were submitted
from all countries, but only 40 could be rewarded for innovative applications and outstanding e-content.
The WSA is having a positive knock-on effect throughout the world.
When a WSA Road Show was held in Sudan, software was
installed on 200 computers at universities, such as the Sudan
University of Science and Technology, allowing the university to
implement a new curriculum online and to improve library databases. In Bangladesh, the president of the Bangladesh Multimedia
Association, Mohamed Akteruzzaman, said the presence of the
WSA has had long lasting benefits for local business.
“Our cooperation with the WSA, so successfully started during the
Winners Gala 2005 in Tunis, has shown an excellent example of
mutually-beneficial cooperation and synergies between the private
sector and a philanthropy-based initiative,” says MTC CEO Dr. Saad
Al Barrak, adding, “We believe organizations should focus as much
on social responsibility as on pure business performance. It is
57
CORPORATE S PIRIT
Alongside the WSA is the WYSA,
a joint venture in conjunction
with the UN, between the World
Summit Award and the WSIS
Youth Caucus
“The event had a significant impact on the ICT development in
Bangladesh, especially of value for small and medium-sized
enterprises, which rarely get such an opportunity for demonstrating what they do, exchanging practical experiences and learning
directly from concrete examples from all over the world,” he says.
Websites that were recently submitted to the WSA include the
Reseau Informatique Malien d’Information et de Communication
Medicale, Mali; Islamweb.net; Educational Development and Support
Network for Namibia’s Education Professionals; the Expert Guide to
Lagos City; Biashara.biz; Sakhr.com; and Bahrain eVisas. Part of the
WSA scheme also includes the upcoming “First West African eContent Summit,” to be held in Benin, centering on the theme
“Improving the Digital Lifestyles in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Discussions
will include the planned launch of a “Pan-African Agency for New
Media” to provide training courses in media management for young
Africans to help bridge the content gap.
The WSA has also held several conferences. At the end of November
last year, the “Digital Hollywood Europe” conference was held in
London on entertainment, media and technology economies, with 55
different sessions, 350 speakers and a panel of WSA winners. In
December, the WSA hosted a conference in Dubai on “Government
Technology in the Middle East” to improve intra- and inter-government
efficiency and services through the use of ICT.
58
Alongside the WSA is the World Youth Summit Award (WYSA).
The WYSA is a joint venture, in conjunction with the UN, between
the World Summit Award and the WSIS Youth Caucus. Three eContent categories are open to applicants under 27-years-old at
the WYSA:
1. Development – rewards the best online platform for youth
centered on issues of poverty reduction, environmental sustainability, social justice, health, and peace.
2. Creativity and Culture – celebrates the most innovative
online platform highlighting young people’s potential for producing creative content, promoting multilingualism, creating new
contemporary forms of culture, and preserving indigenous
knowledge and traditional culture.
3. Community Engagement – showcases the most engaging
online platform facilitating young people’s participation in global, national or local decision-making processes and sharing
ideas to empower youth and community building.
Winners of the World Youth Summit Award include the work of
Absinthe Muse in New York, which provides an online outlet for
young writers from over 30 countries. Such activities, given
recognition and attention by the WSA and WYSA, are helping to
spur on projects to help bridge the digital divide, as well as
encourage public-private partnerships to embrace technology.
Visit www.wsis-award.org
¬
Mind your language
E-Blocks Learning Table, the 2005 World Summit Award winner,
revolutionizes ESL learning with innovative educational technology
Hands-on learning – this is the premise
of E-Blocks Learning Table, an ESL
(English as a Second Language) teaching
system developed by a leading Brazilian
company, Positivo Informatica. Created by
a team of over 20 experts in just 30
months, E-Blocks picked up awards in the
e-learning WSA category and is now
being successfully used across the globe.
The system creates an interactive environment that involves multi-sensory stimuli
using images, sounds and concrete
materials. Its constructivist approach
makes learning English both fun and
effective.
“My students have greatly improved their
pronunciation skills and they always look
forward to doing E-Blocks activities,”
says Hilda Berron, a teacher at Mexican
school Mi Mundo.
Even more traditional bilingual schools, such
as Argentina’s St. Andrew’s Scots School,
have incorporated E-Blocks into their programs. “The table allows for the development of technological
skills at an age
when each
minute invest-
ed in teaching children is an investment with
almost infinite yields,” explains Gabriel
Rashid, the school principal.
The E-Blocks system works with phonetics and teachers can easily use the
tables with children whose native languages have other alphabets, such as
Arabic and Russian. In Eastridge
Elementary School, in Amarillo, Texas,
there are up to eight different languages
spoken by students from countries as
diverse as Laos, Iraq and Somalia. “I
believe E-Blocks tables present an
opportunity for authentic learning,” says
Linda Vaughn, the school principal.
says Lidiana Triya-Lobaina, ESOL
resource teacher from Ada Merritt
Elementary School, in Florida..
READING, WRITING AND
VOCABULARY
The system can be used for both teaching ESL as well as for introducing children to phonics in kindergarten classes
and pre-schools. There are five levels,
each with 10 to 20 lessons. The complete program includes the active practice of a vocabulary with 1,200 words
and expressions, from which the teacher
can choose either North American or
British pronunciation.
LEARNING WHILE PLAYING
The E-Blocks system features a portable
touch-sensitive panel for students to place
the blocks that come with letters, words,
numbers and figures. The panel connects
to the classroom computer that runs the
software. Groups of six children ranging
from ages four to 10 learn to identify letters,
spell words and build sentences in English
through hands-on group interaction. This
interaction also promotes socialization and
cooperative learning.
“I use it with English language
learners in first and second
grades, who are
always enthusiastic
and motivated to
use E-Blocks,”
The E-Blocks package also includes
workbooks, audio CDs, picture flash
cards applied to introducing new words,
a list of activities and a teacher’s guide
with step-by-step suggestions on how to
use and get the most out of the system.
Easy to use, the E-Blocks Learning Table
requires hardly any prior knowledge of
educational technology and allows teachers to tailor the material to the characteristics and specific needs of pupils.
For more information on EBlocks visit www.eblocks.net.
MTC is a proud sponsor of the
World Summit Awards. ¬
59
CORPORATE S PIRIT
M
TC has been making headlines ever since it acquired
the pan-African network Celtel for $3.36 billion in April
2005, a major foreign investment for Africa and in the global telecom sector. MTC made further waves in the telecommunication
sector last September through the launch of the One Network in
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – the world’s first ever borderless
mobile network that allows customers to roam without any extra
costs. The undertaking is a major achievement in terms of overcoming regulations that hamper cross-border communication
and typically drive up costs.
“Each country has a different Value Added Tax (VAT) regime and
all the countries want to make sure that they get their VAT on
each call,” explained Dr Saad Al Barrak, MTC’s CEO .“Then you
have different license fees, you have different levies and specific
taxes on telecoms income but they are different in every country.
That makes the whole thing extremely complicated.”
That Celtel were able to overcome these complications can be considered a regulatory coup that even the European Union countries
– cooperative to the point of eliminating border checks between EU
nations – have not been able to achieve. “At a time when the major
mobile telecommunication networks are battling with the European
Union over the issue of international roaming charges, the MTC
Group has demonstrated how a multi-country operator can act in a
socially responsible manner for the benefit of its customers,” said Al
Barrak. “The launch of One Network confirms Celtel’s position as the
most innovative mobile phone network in Africa. It is a global model
for the way in which a multi-country operator can innovate to deliver real, practical services to its customers.”
The One Network allows customers to make calls between the
three countries at local rates – as low as $0.16 a minute in
Kenya – receive incoming calls free of charge, and top-up prepaid phones with local cards. Recharge cards bought in
Tanzania, Kenya or Uganda can also be used in any of the
three countries.
The network has been a major boost for regional trade, allowing
people and businesses to communicate more effectively and
Bringing Africa
closer together
Celtel launches One Network , the world’s first
borderless mobile network connecting 100 million
people in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
60
cheaply. Indeed, statistics show that the volume of business can
increase as much as 30% through the use of mobile phones.
Improvements in regional transportation such as the $5 billion
train line linking Kenya, Uganda and Sudan that is currently under
construction also mean that One Network will have further positive advantages for consumers when traveling in East Africa,.
“This major initiative will bring the people of East Africa closer
together. One Network truly showcases African innovation at its
best and confirms Celtel as the fastest growing brand in the
fastest-growing mobile telephone market in the world. In a region
historically dependent on freedom of movement across borders,
we are now offering a communications solution that fits the needs
of our customers, breaking down barriers and making life better
for businesses, families and individuals,” said Tito Alai, Chief
Commercial Officer at MTC Group.
The network has been so successful that other East African telecommunication operators have decided to follow Celtel’s lead.
Celtel, however, plans to introduce cross-border networks in the
11 other African countries Celtel operates in: Burkina Faso, Chad,
the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Gabon,
Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Zambia.
“Once customers start to understand what One Network will
bring to them, there will be pressure from the consumer community to introduce this further. Then it will be easier once we have
developed the concept to add more countries one by one. That
is what we are trying to do in the next few years,” said Al-Barrak.
Celtel has over 18.9 million active customers in Africa, and is rapidly expanding in line with the MTC Group’s plan to exceed 70
million customers in all its operations by 2011. In the following 6
The network has been so successful that other East
African telecommunication operators have decided to
follow Celtel’s lead
The network has also been praised as a conduit for greater geo-political cooperation
between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. “We in
Uganda warmly welcome and applaud Celtel’s
mobile phone innovation of One Network for
East Africa because it is in line with our own
vision of fast-tracking the political federation of
the region,” said Uganda’s President H. E.
Yoweri Museveni.
The President of Tanzania H. E. Jakaya Kikwete
was equally praiseworthy about the introduction
of the network. “We in East Africa have so
much in common in our shared heritage, our
cultures and languages. I congratulate Celtel on
launching One Network, which will enable millions of people across East Africa to keep in
touch more easily,” the president said.
Kenya’s Minister for Information and Communications
Technology, Mutahi Kagwe, also saw the advantages of One
Network. “All East Africans can benefit from Celtel’s One Network.
It will enable our people to talk to each other easier because
where ever they are in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, it will be as
if they are at home. This will facilitate East African trade and I welcome this new product,” said Mr Kagwe.
months after acquiring Celtel in April 2005, MTC’s market capitalization on the Kuwait Stock Exchange soared from $6 billion to
$10 billion, with a current value exceeding $20 billion. MTC
jumped from 26th place in The Middle East magazine’s Top 100
Arab companies in 2005 to the 12th spot at the end of 2006. ¬
61
MOBILE L IFE
by Paul Cochrane
C
hanges in technology are not only altering the way
humans interact and communicate with one another, but
they are now encroaching on a vocation traditionally dominated by
professionals with expensive pieces of equipment: photojournalism.
Sparking this change are the embedded cameras in mobile
phones, allowing amateurs to snap a photo or take video footage of
a newsworthy event that in the past, would have required a photographer or news crew to zip down to the scene to click away. Therein
lies the beauty of such amateur photographers, they are on the spot
and able to take pictures as the ‘action’ unfolds – a professional
photojournalist could simply be too late or denied access, such as
during the attacks on the London underground in July 2005, when
the area was cordoned off by the authorities.
With an estimated 500 million camera phones in use around the
world, a figure that could rise to 1 billion by the end of the year,
as well as millions of digital cameras, there is a huge amount of
potential amateur photojournalists scattered across the globe.
Media outlets have been quick to utilize the potential of camera
phone technology after images taken by citizens were used by
the mainstream media following the underground and bus
attacks in London and the Asian tsunami. Image resolution might
be poor and the camera angle not perfectly aligned to be a top
class photograph, but in an image-obsessed world any picture,
no matter how grainy, is better than none.
In an attempt to utilize so many potential photojournalists – what
is being called ‘citizen photojournalism’ – the international wire
services Reuters and Yahoo! News, one of the most popular
news websites in the US, have introduced new services to showcase photographs and video of news events submitted by the
public. This new service comes in tandem with the rise with ‘citizen journalism,’ where bloggers and start-up news sites attempt
to provide alternative news and views to the more mainstream
media. But the big players, as Reuters and Yahoo! exemplify, are
on the case, with CNN and the BBC also dedicating parts of their
websites to citizen journalists.
The big questions for news media are whether amateur photographers should be paid, and whether photographs or films submitted
for publication can be considered genuine. After all, a Reuters’ photographer was sacked last year after digitally doctoring photos
Caught on film
As camera technology continues to improve, new
photojournalists are making their mark
62
mean we will increasingly see more than just two megapixel photographs showing up on the front of newspapers, but mobile
phone footage shown live on news channels.
But does all this spell the end of photojournalism as we know it?
Commentators think not, as a lot of training and experience goes
into taking a good photograph for one thing, and secondly, a
photojournalist knows what kind of photograph a publication is
looking for (it’s rarely just point and click). In fact, journalists are
likely to be given camera phones to be able to take photos there
and then to get the story to editors immediately, rather than having to lug around lots of gear, download the photos, and then
email them on.
The big questions for news media are whether amateur
photographers should be paid, and whether photographs or
films submitted for publication can be considered genuine
during the July war on Lebanon last year. As a result, Reuters is
now developing software that will help detect altered photographs. The payment issue is equally tricky. Reuters and Yahoo!
have decided not to pay for images displayed on their sites, but
photos or videos that are selected for distribution to Reuters’
clients will receive a payment. Exclusive rights to images or film
footage of major events are also likely to earn the amateur photographer a bit of cash.
A further issue for media outlets is where people will post photos
or film footage. As the average person only witnesses an event
that can be considered newsworthy every 10 years, analysts say
people will post on sites they have used before, such as
YouTube, a website that showcases homemade videos to
recordings from TV. As mobile phones become more sophisticated and networks become more available, companies are now
offering video camera phones that can nearly instantaneously
transmit moving images over email or onto the internet. This could
However, according to a recent report on the world in 30 years
by Britain’s Ministry of Defense, there could be “declining news
quality” due to the rise of “internet-enabled citizen-journalists” and
pressure to release stories “at the expense of facts.” As with all
technological developments, there are pros and cons, so the
“democratization” of news, photojournalism included, might not
always be a good thing.
One thing is clear though, we have entered a new realm of image
distribution that has been bolstered by the internet and affordable
camera phones. What such technology will be in the future is
anyone’s guess, but it is certainly likely that camera phones will
soon have eight or even 10 megapixels, meaning much higher
resolution. This translates into the increased likelihood that the
media will continue to use citizen photojournalists to get the story
and the image across to the public. ¬
63
MOBILE L IFE
First Movers
The first known private mobile telephony
relied on sticks. Around 100 years ago,
industry pioneers Lars Magnus Ericsson
and his wife Hilda from Sweden packed
their phone when touring the countryside
in their car. To make a call, they reached
up with wire-tipped rods to hook the
phone cables to an overland line.
Phone diet 1: Spectacular
weight loss
The first commercial analogue mobile phone
was made by Motorola and hit the market in
1983 weighing in as an 0.8kg brick that
would not fit in just any pocket. But the preGSM cinderblock was a feathery fantasy
compared with the 40kg, 1956 Swedish
mobile phone or the 6.5kg C-1 car phone
by German manufacturer Siemens that
debuted in 1985 at a cost of DM 8,000.
A first worldwide standard
Although military and commercial mobile
telephony existed from the early 20th
Century, the first worldwide standard for
mobile communications was defined in
the 1980s by an entity created by
Trivia to inspire
European Postal and Telecoms
Administrations and originally called
Groupe Speciale Mobile (GSM, later
renamed as Global System for Mobile
Communications). In the three years of
work from 1982, the GSM effort resulted
in 5,000 pages of specifications and
standards that formed the platform for
the mobile revolution.
Phone Diet 2: Slim down 87%
in a decade:
When Motorola and Sweden’s Ericsson
released the first-ever GSM phones in
1992, they put up to half a kilo of gadget
into your shirt pocket (if you dared storing
64
one there). No such risk 10 years later
when manufacturers started producing
handsets in the 70 - 100 grams range
that is popular for today’s light phones.
66 Satellites: The top mobile
company flop:
A utopian brainchild of the 1980s was the
idea to give people around the globe
affordable communications, from anywhere, to anywhere. Low-earth-orbit satellites (LEOs) were supposed to facilitate a
global mobile telephony the world had
never seen (GSM was yet to become
operational). Several companies pursued
the satellite network idea, including a firm
called Iridium which invested around $6
billion into a full global coverage network
with 66 LEOs. But by the time the service
went into operation in 1998, GSM and
similar technologies were conquering the
world. Iridium, too costly, too few customers, went into bankruptcy and was
bought out for $25 million. There is no revolution without losses.
World’s top-dollar phone companies 2007
The world’s largest telecommunication
companies in 2007, by a combination of
four financial criteria, are US firms AT&T
and Verizon Communications. The largest
publicly traded phone companies by market value at the end of February 2007
were AT&T ($230 billion), China Mobile
($185 billion), and Vodafone ($146 billion).
Happy talking! ¬
ICONS
Will Apple’s iPod
fade into history
much like Sony’s
Walkman?
ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END
W
hen Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently
unveiled the iPhone, it became almost
immediately apparent that the predictions of
some in the blogosphere had finally come
to pass. By some, I mean those who predicted after 2002 – when Apple introduced
a PC compatible iPod – that the history of
the device as some kind of new bedrock for
the company’s future profitability would be a
relatively short-lived one, much like the history of Sony’s Walkman, though on an even
more compacted timeline.
BY NICHOLAS NOE
2001, the cost per Gigabyte (GB) for
each new generation (there have been
five and a half for the iPod proper), has
dropped on average by a remarkable
33%. The first generation iPod, with the
quaint mechanical scroll wheel, was
equipped with only 5GBs, enough for
1,000 songs, and cost $80 per GB. In
contrast, the latest iPod, Generation 5.5
As one such blogospeculator James
Stoup recently noted, since the iPod’s
introduction to the world on October 23,
66
introduced in September 2006, comes in
at only $7 per GB – and it can play full
color video, display photos and run on a
battery for up to 20 hours!
“There must eventually be an end to this
cycle,” Stoup argues. “Eventually, the
technology will progress to the point
where digital music players are no longer
special devices but rather cheap commodities.” Stoup and others are now predicting that this breakpoint is fast
approaching for Apple – perhaps as
soon as in the next three to five years,
after which the price of the components
will have dropped so precipitously that
even your local TV repairman (or fourthrate Chinese manufacturer) will have a
viable product on the market.
Just like the Walkman, no matter how good
the later iPod generations get, the company
is set to lose substantial market share when
it comes to digital music players. And even
more than this, a truly viable competitor for
Apple’s iTunes Music Store – which recently
sold its two billionth downloaded song – will
also likely emerge in the next one to two
years (perhaps in the form of an Amazon or
even a person-to-person ecommerce site
like eBay).
$599, the GB price ratio is sure to follow
the iPod curve (which started out ahead
of the iPhone’s current $75 per GB pricing). In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the
iPod’s six years are compacted into a
two to three year curve for the iPhone,
after which point Apple may have to
again marshal its tech team and move on
to greener pastures.
Still, all this rests on the assumption that
the iPhone will accomplish integration as
magnificently as it accomplished digital
music integration with the iPod and
iTunes. If the 2001 to 2007 period for the
iPod is any guide, however, the future for
both consumers and Apple is bright. ¬
Apple’s logic going
forward is clear: Why
purchase an iPod if,
for the same or even
cheaper price, you
can get a digital
music player, replace
an aging PDA and an
aging mobile phone?
Hence, Jobs’ announcement in January
that Apple is, in a sense, leaving the iPod to
the proverbial dustbin of history; leapfrogging instead to the more technologically
complex and potentially profitable arena of
integrated, handheld digital devices.
Apple’s logic going forward is clear: Why
purchase an iPod if, for the same or even
cheaper price, you can get a digital
music player, replace an aging PDA and
an aging mobile phone? Although the first
iPhone generation will have a maximum
capacity of 8GB and will cost (in the US)
67
ICONS
Launching the much-anticipated iPhone
in the US, this latest offering from the
company that brought us
the iPod seems to be living
up to all the hype
APPLE MAC DOES IT AGAIN
A
pple Mac seem to be able to do no
wrong following its momentous re-entry
into the electronics world several years
ago, bringing out new sleek laptops and a
product that has become a must-have for
all music lovers, the iPod portable music
player. Apple is at it again, releasing – following a great deal of hype and fanfare in
the US at the beginning of the year – the
iPhone. A revolutionary mobile phone featuring a widescreen iPod with touch controls, the device is a breakthrough internet
communications tool with desktop-class
email, web browsing, maps and searching
– all in an 11.6 millimeter frame.
The 3.5 inch 480 x 320 touchscreen display has multi-touch support and a proximity sensor to turn off the screen when it’s
too close to your face, saving energy when
you are talking. Operated by fingertip, apart
from buttons that appear on the touch
screen, the only physical buttons are volume up and down, ringer on and off, sleep
and wake and a ‘home’ button. Coming
with either 4GB or 8GB of storage, the
phone has a two-megapixel camera,
Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR and A2DP, WiFi
that automatically engages when in range
and quad-band GSM radio with EDGE.
With Apple filing over 200 patents related
to the technology behind the iPhone, all of
the above is impressive enough compared
to other mobile phones on the market. But,
what Apple hopes will really drive sales –
other than the super thin, ultra-modern
design – is a deal Apple struck with Yahoo!
that will allow all iPhone customers to hook
up with free push IMAP email. The phone
also runs with an OS X system, with supports for Widgets, Google Maps, Safari
(Apple’s internet portal) and iTunes with
CoverFlow.
According to reviewers, users can see an
entire web page on the iPhone’s screen.
Users can then double-tap any spot to
zoom in or use the two-fingered spreadapart gesture to stretch the image larger,
or pinch a thumb and forefinger on the
glass to zoom out again.
The “rubber web page” stretching technology reportedly allows for easy and
powerful access to maps for directions,
or to just surf the web.
Although the iPhone is a quad-band GSM
phone, Apple reportedly has plans to make
3G phones in the future. According to
Apple’s specifics, battery life will be five
hours for talk or video, with a full 16 hours
in music mode. The 4GB iPhone will be
available for $499 in the Middle East at the
end of the year, or in early 2008, with 8GB
version retailing at $599. ¬
A revolutionary
mobile phone featuring a widescreen
iPod with touch controls, the device is a
breakthrough internet communications
tool with desktopclass email, web
browsing, maps and
searching
68
STAR PROFILE
by Faerlie Wilson
Dania
Getting to know
The Lebanese chanteuse talks about her rise
to the big time E
ven as a child, Dania loved to sing and
perform – but she never dreamed that her
‘hobby’ might turn into a career. Indeed,
the story of this young star’s rise to fame
is composed of a chain of serendipitous
events: the artist behind such hits as Yalla
Bina Yalla and El Helwa Di might never
have had the chance to share her formidable talents with fans across the Arab
world and beyond, if things had not just
neatly fallen into place.
Dania’s artistic talents are not limited to
music: a gifted painter, the young Dania
majored in fine arts in university, and
expected to make her career in a related
field. In her final semester of university,
Dania was eager to gain some independence, and decided to look for part time
work. The search led her to a small television
station in Beirut, which had an opening in its
creative department. However, the day
Dania showed up to apply, the channel was
also holding screen tests for an on-air presenter and she ended up auditioning for that
job instead. “I didn’t know exactly what I
wanted to do, but I knew what I didn’t want:
a routine, desk job.”
Unlike many
stars today,
Dania is no diva
70
The channel immediately recognized the
potential of the beautiful, charismatic Dania,
changing her life forever. The young university student, who expected to pursue a career
in painting, was suddenly a celebrity.
The next milestone in Dania’s career came
in 1996, when Dubai’s Channel V came to
Lebanon to recruit presenters and offered
Dania a position. It was later that same
year that again, through luck or destiny, an
incredible opportunity fell in Dania’s lap.
EMI, a record label that worked closely
with Channel V, offered Dania a recording
contract – without even making sure she
knew how to sing first!
“I don’t know why, but they asked me if I
wanted to record a single. It was like winning the lottery,” gushes Dania. The song
– Yalla Bina Yalla – became a massive hit,
and EMI quickly offered Dania a bigger
contract. Her first album, Dania, was
released at the end of 1997.
As an international record company, EMI
was able to link Dania up with popular artists
across their varied catalogue: she has
recorded songs with artists ranging from
British boy band 911 to the Gypsy Kings.
These collaborations, along with Dania’s
own personal interest in world and fusion
music, helped develop the international flavor Dania is so famous for, drawing on influences from Greece to Latin America.
As her popularity crossed borders, so did
Dania, as EMI included her in international
tours. “It’s weird and fun to see people
dancing their hearts out even though they
don’t understand the Arabic lyrics. They
just feel the song, the rhythms, and for
that moment, you feel like you’re bringing
cultures closer together.”
Dania’s biggest hit so far has been El
Helwa Di, an old Arabic song she remixed
as a dance track for her third album in
2001. However, the song was actually
only added to the album at the last minute
as a bonus track. Dania and her producers instantly knew it would be a hit –
though they had no idea of the scale. The
song topped charts across the Arab world
71
STAR PROFILE
Dania’s biggest hit,
El Helwa Di, was
actually only addedand make people happy,” she explains. “I
to push myself further with each
to the album at thewant
album and always present a new twist.”
last minute as aHer next single, set to be released in early
is no exception to the rule. Called
bonus track2007,
Rayah Albak, Dania describes it as a
and became one of the year’s essential
tracks, featured on numerous compilation
albums – it was so successful, in fact,
Dania even recorded a second version of
the song in French.
Throughout her whirlwind career, Dania’s
close-knit family has always been a source
of advice and support. “At the beginning,
they told me to be careful, they asked me,
‘Are you sure this is what you want?’ But
they always supported my decisions 100%,”
says the young songbird.
Dania also believes her down-to-earth attitude, modesty, and friendly personality
have helped make her so popular. Unlike
many stars today, Dania is no diva – a fact
that shows clearly when asked about her
ambitions. “I just want to make nice music,
fresh, “party” song with a Latin feel.
Despite her success in the recording studio, Dania’s popularity has kept her in front
of the cameras as well. In parallel to her
singing career, Dania presents a travel
program in the UAE, tapping into two of
her great passions: international cultures
and entertaining.
“In this industry, some people have everything – the talent, the looks, the money – but
they can’t make it. I never dreamed of this, I
never planned for it,” the ever-modest Dania
emphasizes, speaking of her career, fame
and success. “I traveled into the unknown.
All I can hope for is to be happy in my own
life, on all levels, and to make others happy
through my work.” ¬
72
THE DANIA FACT FILE
Full name: Dania Khatib
Birthday: 13 July
Hometown: Chehim, Lebanon
Current residence: Dubai
Family: Three brothers
Education: BA ‘95, Fine Arts, Lebanese
American University
Music career:
Yalla Bina (1996) – single album
Dania (1997) – Platinum
Fiesta (single)
Dania II (1999) – Platinum
Leiley (single)
El Helwe Di (2001) – Gold
El Helwe Di (single)
Best of Dania (2005)
Fog el Nakhel (single)
Rayah Albak (forthcoming, 2007) –
single album
Television Career:
1995: Presenter, local Lebanese TV
1995-1998: Presenter/VJ, Channel V,
Dubai
1998-2004: Presenter, Abu Dhabi TV
(most popular shows included “Zoom”
and “Al Kafila”)
2004: Dania and a friend establish their
own production company, Topaz,
in Dubai
LIFESTYLE
by Anissa Rafeh
Relax – just do it!
Yoga expert Ghada Ghosn
talks about the discipline
needed to guarantee
a better way of life
W
hen you first meet Ghada Ghosn,
who has practiced yoga most her life,
you are at once struck by her graceful posture and youthful appearance. The 44year–old, who began attending yoga classes with her mother at the tender age of five,
is a certified yoga instructor with decades
of experience and training under her belt,
as well as her own 30-minute daily show
on Future TV. A lean body, practically
unlined face and the fact, by her own
admission, that she rarely gets sick, makes
Ghosn a walking, talking ad for the difference yoga can make in a person’s life.
74
So, is yoga more that just an exercise
regime for the extra bendy, a meditation
therapy that requires curious chants and
lots of incense? Or is it a crazy cult that
has made religious clerics very nervous?
Ghosn dispels the rumors, and separates
the facts from the very interesting – and
at times, bizarre – fiction behind the
6,000 year-old practice.
“There are many types of yoga, but I
don’t like to focus on one part of the
human being – we are a whole, so we
should work on our whole selves. I like a
harmony, a balance, between the body
and the mind,” says Ghosn. “I teach
Hatha yoga because I’m convinced it is a
form everyone can find their needs in.
You work on the body to achieve mental
and emotional balance.”
Although a fine arts graduate at university
level, Ghosn has been teaching yoga in
Lebanon for the past eight years. She has
been committed to the discipline at a professional level, however, since the age of
25, receiving a degree in yoga from the
Vanlysbeth School in Belgium, after a rigorous four-year program. She also lived in
an Ashram, a yoga establishment, in
Nassau in the Bahamas, for a year and
received the advanced Shivenandah yoga
degree. And these are but a few of
Ghosn’s credentials.
‘When you
integrate
yoga into
your life, you
get rid of
bad habits
and reach a
state of
awareness’
LIFESTYLE
A firm believer that yoga provides a wellrounded exercise regime for just about
everyone, Ghosn maintains that to reap
the benefits of the practice, one needs to
attend a two-hour yoga class at least twice
week. When practiced regularly, yoga not
only provides a form of physical fitness, but
also an improved lifestyle – it can even
lead to resilience to illness. Ghosn explains
that during her classes, she doesn’t only
teach mat work, but goes a step further by
coaching students on how to live life
according to the tenets of yoga.
76
“When you integrate yoga into your life,
you get rid of bad habits and reach a
state of awareness. You become choosy
about everything you do. Eventually, you
will become your own guide, but in the
beginning, you need to gain the knowledge,” explains Ghosn, who offers classes at The SPA (InterContinental Phoenicia
Hotel in Beirut) and the Elixir Spa (Grand
Habtoor Hotel, also Beirut).
When it comes to finding the right instructor, Ghosn warns that there are many
imposters out there. She advises to first
ask if the instructor has a yoga degree, not
just a training certificate. “Someone who is
fit physically and bendy can just improvise
and become a yoga teacher, which can be
dangerous physically and mentally. When
wrong postures are introduced, this can be
very harmful,” she says.
Ghosn receives particular gratification from
the fact that more and more people in the
Middle East are getting to know yoga
through her TV show, which is broadcast
Ghosn’s ‘baby’ is her 15 minute relaxation
video that appears on every MEA flight,
aimed at preventing DVT (deep vein
thrombosis) in passengers
via satellite across the region on Future
Television. The feedback from her viewers
in the Arab world is, thus far, very positive
and she receives a multitude of requests
for seminars and books from across the
globe. Ghosn’s increased exposure, however, has also caused regional criticism
from various religious institutions, which
claim that yoga instruction is against the
teachings of certain faiths. Unfazed by the
backlash, however, she became even
more determined to persevere and share
her knowledge of yoga with as many people as possible.
Ghosn does not make light of using yoga
as a front for cult activity, however, and
explains that there is certainly that threat
now that the practice has become so
trendy. She claims that cults use the
yoga name to recruit and brainwash people. She mentions a yogi master who has
conducted seminars in Beirut specifically
to recruit young university students.
“There is a very powerful and very smart
cult leader who came here. I went to the
first seminar he gave here and even I
was charmed by him, even though I
knew it was a cult. I quickly realized that
he was using the yoga name for his cult,”
describes Ghosn. She is quick to point
out that such practices are not the real
yoga and one must differentiate between
the yoga lifestyle and prayer or worship.
“You don’t have to get into Hinduism to
practice proper yoga,” she explains.
Even with all the resistance Ghosn has
faced over the years, her popularity has
grown. In addition to her morning show,
which has been on the air for three years,
she is also hosting a new one-hour program, Alaam al Suha, every Sunday at
10am on Future Television, which is also
broadcast across the globe on the station’s satellite channel. She is also planning
on releasing her first yoga book this year
and is already working on a second publication, which will include lifestyle tips on
how to use yoga in the office and house,
as well as for health purposes, including
diet and detoxification.
magazine and is working on an audio
relaxation commentary that passengers will
be able to listen to on all flights.
Ghosn’s ‘baby’, however, is her work with
Middle East Airlines, which she credits with
showing commendable commitment to the
well-being of its passengers. Since July
2006, Ghosn has appeared on every MEA
flight with a 15 minute relaxation video
aimed at preventing DVT (deep vein thrombosis) in passengers. Ghosn also writes a
column in MEA’s Cedar Wings in-flight
As for her future aspirations, Ghosn is very
clear. “There is something about yoga: you
learn to enjoy the moment. My only aspiration is to enjoy the moment the best I can
– every single moment in life.” ¬
77
LIVING
by Angela Wintlend
The rich origins of
some of the world’s
most popular spices
Get spiced!
I t’s no wonder that Middle Eastern food
is rich in spices, considering its location
along one of history’s greatest trade
routes. The Kuwaiti route was slap bang
in the middle even though Kuwait the
nation, which originated from various
Middle Eastern tribes dating back to the
16th century, wasn’t a spice trading hub
until the 17th century. Naturally, its unique
cuisine has evolved from this rich heritage to create a wonderful blend of
Bedouin, Persian, Indian and Eastern
Mediterranean food.
Baharat, an all-purpose blend used
throughout many Arab nations, is the
most commonly used spice in the region
(the word originates from the word bahar,
meaning pepper). There are variations on
the amount of ingredients used in baharat,
however, the most common blend consists of black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, nutmeg
and paprika. The spice is mostly used to
flavor chicken, meat, rice and especially
fish, the most popular Kuwaiti food staple
78
because of the country’s coastal location
and proud fishing tradition.
A RICH HISTORY
Commonly referred to as black gold or
the king of spices, black pepper has a
sharp, pungent aroma and flavor. It is one
of the oldest and most common spices
in the world, originating from the state of
Kerala located on the southwest coast of
India. These dried berries grow on vines
that reach up to 10 feet in height and are
picked approximately nine months after
flowering while the berries are still unripe.
Other sources are found in Indonesia,
Malaysia and Brazil.
With every king comes a queen and
when it comes to spices, her name is
cardamom, a rich spice taken from the
seeds of a tropical fruit plant belonging to
the ginger family. Valued not only for its
use in cooking, but also for its medicinal
purposes, cardamom also originates
from the southwest coast of India.
Although India was the major producer of
cardamom for centuries, it is now grown
in other parts of the world, such as
Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos,
Mix your own baharat
Ingredients
Directions
1/2 cup whole black peppercorns
1/4 cup whole coriander seeds
1/4 cup cinnamon bark
1/4 cup whole cloves
1/3 cup cumin seeds
2 teaspoons whole cardamom seeds
4 whole nutmegs
1/2 cup ground paprika
Place all the spices except the paprika and nutmeg
in a blender and process until it becomes a powder.
Traditionalists may wish to use a pestle and mortar.
Grate the nutmeg and paprika and work into the
spice blend and then store in an airtight container.
In some areas of the Middle East, the whole spices
are lightly toasted in an oven or a stovetop to bring
out the flavors. This not only makes the kitchen smell
good, but brings out the best in your spices.
79
LIVING
Vietnam, Costa Rica, El Salvador and
Tanzania. In Arab countries, this intense,
pungent, sweet flavored spice is commonly used to add flavor to coffee, symbolizing hospitality and prestige.
Cinnamon is the dried bark of different
types of laurel trees, the most common
being cassia. In ground form, cinnamon
is widely known for its use in baked
foods, but in the Middle East it is also
used regularly in savory chicken and
lamb dishes. Native to Sri Lanka, cinnamon is also grown in North and South
80
America as well as Vietnam, China and
Indonesia. With its sweet, woody fragrance, cinnamon was at one time worth
more than gold and has been associated
with ancient rituals of sacrifice and pleasure. It should come as no surprise that
cinnamon landed in Kuwait, considering
that it was the most profitable spice traded in the Dutch East India Company.
Cloves are the brown, dried, unopened
flower buds of an evergreen tree in the
myrtle family. The name originates from
the French word ‘clou,’ meaning nail for
With every
king
comes a
queen and
when it
comes to
spices, her
name is
cardamom
the obvious shape it resemblances.
Strong, pungent and sweet, this spice
adds depth to a variety of dishes.
Originating from the Molucca Islands in
Indonesia, a clove tree was planted for
each child born because the people
believed that the fate of the tree was
linked to the fate of the child.
Coriander, which comes from a plant in
the parsley family that originates from
Southern Europe and the Middle East, is
thought to be one of the first spices ever
used by mankind. With a mild taste
resembling a blend of lemon and sage,
this spice adds an exotic element to salads and soups, as well as vegetable, fish
and meat dishes.
Cumin, a slightly bitter yet warm flavored
spice, comes from a pale green seed off
of a small herb in the parsley family.
Originally from Iran and India, cumin is
easy to grow and adapts well to many
climates. Cumin is widely used in Middle
Eastern cooking, most commonly inside
dishes, meats, and salads.
Originating from Indonesia and Grenada,
nutmeg is a seed produced from a tree
that reaches up to 18 meters tall, takes
seven years to produce fruit and is fertile
for up to 90 years. This spice has a citrus flavor with an earthy tone and is
mainly used in desserts in various international cuisines; however, in Middle
Eastern cooking, it is also used in many
meat dishes. Historically, nutmeg was
recommended for ailments, such as bad
breath, headaches, and fever.
Last on the list of old world spices is
Paprika – originally from South America, it
comes from a red pepper in the Capsicum
family. Ranging from mild and sweet to hot,
this spice is used in many Middle Eastern
tomato dishes and salads. ¬
Stay connected wherever
you travel!
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all around the world
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Call Center: 123
FOR T HE R ECORD
MTC 2006 stats
MTC announces a record net income exceeding
$1 billion and revenues over $4.1 billion
Financial and Operational Highlights
© As of 31 December, 2006, MTC’s customer base
exceeded 27 million active customers* across the
Middle East and Africa, representing a 98% increase
compared to 2005.
© For the full year of 2006, MTC posted
Consolidated Revenues exceeding $4.1 billion
(KD1.2 billion), a 109% increase.
During the same period, MTC recorded an EBITDA of more than $2 billion (KD 594 million), a
78% increase
©
EBIDTA Margin stood at 49% in 2006 compared
to 58% in 2005.
©
© The Group recorded a Record Net Income of
$1 billion (KD 305 million) for the same period,
a 68% increase.
© MTC’s EPS reached 85 Cents (247 fils) by the
end of 2006, a 36% increase compared to same
period last year.
*All customer figures in this earnings release represent active customers, those who have made a chargeable event within a 90 days period. MTC has
retroactively adjusted the customer figures accordingly.
82
Customers
Table 1: MTC Group Customer Breakdown & Market Positioning
Ownership
(%)
2006
Active Customers
(000s)
2006
Growth
(%)
Prepaid
(%)
2006
Market
Positioning
60%
30%
96.5%
100%
MC
100%
233
3,198
1,961
1,461
560
2,754
173
1,073
1,757
1,331
509
1,962
35%
198%
12%
10%
10%
-
80.3%
98.9%
88.8%
74%
76.5%
97.6%
2
1
1
1
1
Middle East Total
-
10,167
6,805
49%
91.33%
-
AFRICA
Burkina Faso
Chad
Congo Brazzaville
DRC
Gabon
Kenya
Madagascar**
Malawi
Niger
Nigeria***
Sierra Leone
Tanzania
Uganda
Zambia
95.7%
100%
90%
98.5%
84%
60%
100%
100%
80%
65%
100%
60%
100%
88.8%
518
348
683
1,833
514
1,939
331
357
397
6,396
243
1,517
470
1,325
299
222
378
1,178
365
1,840
199
223
178
971
291
700
73%
57%
81%
56%
41%
5%
79%
37%
37%
56%
62%
89%
99.9%
99.8%
99.8%
99.9%
99.3%
98.1%
95.8%
99%
99.9%
99.5%
99.5%
99.6%
99.5%
99.6%
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
3
1
2
2
1
Africa Total
-
16,870
6,845
147%
99.3%
-
MTC Group Total
-
27,037
13,650
98%
96.3%
-
MIDDLE EAST
Bahrain
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Sudan*
Active Customers
(000s)
2005
*MTC acquired the remaining stake of Mobitel in February 2006; **MTC acquired Madacom in December 2005; ***MTC acquired V-Mobile in May
2006; MC = Management Contract
All figures represent active customers, those who have made a chargeable event within a 90 days period
MTC Group customers
Bahrain
1%
Iraq
12%
Celtel International customers
Jordan
7%
Rest.
23%
Kuwait
5%
Celtel Int.
63%
Lebanon
2%
Sudan
10%
Nigeria
38%
Zambia
8%
Tanzania
9%
DRC
11%
Kenia
11%
83
FOR T HE R ECORD
Key Operation Events of the Period
6 February, 2006
MTC announces full acquisition of Mobitel in Sudan
in a $1.332 billion transaction, thus increasing its
stake from 39% to 100%
©
21 May, 2006
MTC-Vodafone (Bahrain) launched the region’s first
high speed 3.5G service – one of the world’s fastest
wireless broadband access technology using mobile
phones and Data connect cards.
stake in Vee Networks (V-Mobile) in Nigeria for
$1.005 billion. The transaction was Celtel’s largest
ever deal and increased MTC’s customer base by
over 5.5 million while allowing it to tap into Africa’s
most populous nation with some 140 million people.
©
30 May, 2006
MTC’s Celtel International acquires a controlling
©
27 September, 2006
Celtel International launches One Network in
Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda – the first ever borderless mobile network in the world allowing customers
in East Africa to move freely across geographic borders using local tariff rates and recharge cards without paying for incoming calls.
©
Financial Results
Table 2: Financial Highlights
Consolidated Results
Currency
Revenues (millions)
EBITDA
EBITDA Margin (%)
Net Profit
EPS
2006
2005
Annual Growth
$
KD
USD
KD
4,168
2,045
1,210
594
1,982
1,142
580
334
305
0.247
636
0.62
49
1,050
0.85
109%
78%
68%
36%
58
182
0.182
Table 3: Income Statement – Summary
84
Consolidated Results (KD m)
2006
2005
Annual Growth
Revenues
Cost of Sales
Gross Profit
Operating, General and
Administrative Expenses
EBITDA
EBITDA %
Interest Income
Gain from Currency Evaluation
Net Profit
1,210
187
1,023
452
579
91
489
214
109%
107%
109%
111%
594
49%
18.3
3.4
305.3
334
58%
5
5.2
181.9
78%
296%
(35%)
68%
MTC Group revenues* (2006)
MTC Group net profit (2006)
Kuwait
19%
Celtel Int.
29%
Celtel Int.
49%
Jordan
12%
Sudan
16%
Bahrain
3%
Kuwait
33%
Sudan
24%
Lebanon
1%
Jordan
10%
*Iraq is not consolidated
Lebanon
1%
Iraq
2%
Bahrain
1%
Table 4: Balance Sheet – Summary
Consolidated Results (KD m)
2006
2005
Current Assets
Non-Current Assets
Total Assets
Current Liabilities
Non-Current Liabilities
Shareholders’ Equity
Minority Interest
Total Liabilities and Equity
692
2,785
3,477
1,043
947
1,365
122
3,477
394
1,662
2,056
489
348
1,186
33
2,056
Consolidated Results (KD m)
2006
2005
Net Cash from Operating Activities
Net Cash from Investing Activities
Net Cash from Financing Activities
Net Increase in Cash and Equivalents
Cash and Cash Equivalents at end of Year
795
(996)
360
159
474
283
(923)
778
138
293
Table 5: Cash Flows – Summary
Key Financial Events of the Period
26 July, 2006
MTC signed the general syndication agreement for the
$4 billion credit facility to be used to fund MTC’s future
acquisitions and general corporate needs.
©
06 December, 2006
A $1.2 billion Murabaha facility was successfully
syndicated and oversubscribed for MTC.
©
85
LAST W ORD
Me and my mobile phone...
Nicholas Blanford
I have a love-hate relationship with my
mobile phone. As a journalist, it is a vital
piece of my reporting kit, enabling me to
contact sources, conduct interviews and
file stories over the internet. But it also
means that there is almost no escape
from the demands of harried editors, the
requests of television and radio stations
for immediate interviews as well as all the
predations of the other pesky people
who fill our lives.
I have been a mobile phone user for 10
years now. My first phone was a Nokia
NHE-4NX handed to me by an editor to
use in case I ran into trouble while on a
reporting assignment in South Lebanon in
a period of heightened Israeli attacks. It
was a clunky lump of plastic with a spindly
retractable aerial and thick rubber buttons.
Low specs for sure, but at least in the mid
1990s, a mobile phone felt like a phone.
My next phone was about half the size, a
Nokia 6100. I never really took to this
phone - it was simply too small and fiddly.
But it did allow me to connect to the internet via my laptop for the first time.
Suddenly, I could sit on a hill in south
Lebanon and file my dispatch from my
laptop with the press of a button. No more
tedious dictations over the phone.
Gradually, I embraced the communications revolution, buying successively more
sophisticated PDAs and accessories so
that by 2003 I could write articles on my
Palm and use an infra-red beam to connect to the Nokia to email the story.
The phone’s greatest moment - and ultimate demise - came during the HizbullahIsraeli conflict in summer 2006. I spent the
war in Tyre, south Lebanon, and I can
barely recall a moment when the phone
was not clamped to my ear. The Israelis
jammed all cellphone signals in the border
district - even my Thuraya satellite phone
wouldn’t work - and I lived in dread that the
jamming would reach Tyre. Having had the
phone for nearly six years, it was beginning
to weary as the conflict dragged on. The
casing was cracked and the battery needed charging every few hours. It became
temperamental, switching itself off for no
apparent reason - usually in the middle of
filing the day’s stories. It didn’t help that I
dropped it in my haste to find cover during
an Israeli bombardment only to have a colleague step on it. At the end of the war, I
put it out of its misery and it joined its predecessors in a drawer in my office.
My latest phone is a Sony Ericsson
W801i. It feels more substantial than other
phones, although it is only marginally bigger. But it puts its predecessors in the
shade in terms of specs: digital video, still
camera, MP3 player. It also hooks up to
the internet via GPRS and is Bluetoothenabled. Seven months after I bought it, I
am still learning all it can do.
Granted, mobile phones may be a nuisance at times, but how did we ever
manage without them? ¬
Nicholas Blanford is Beirut correspondent
for The Times of London
86