World Children’s Day: Zain ranked top company in region across all sectors in Global Child Forum’s ‘Benchmark
• Improved overall ranking (8.5/10) maintains Zain’s regional leadership for third consecutive year
• Zain ranked 10/10 in Governance & Collaboration topic, reflecting the company’s strong top-down approach to safeguarding children’s rights through robust governance structures
• As a ‘Leader’, Zain scores are more than double in comparison to the regional average and higher than the sector average in key children’s rights categories
• Zain final scorecard in ‘The State of Children’s Rights and Business 2025’ can be viewed on this link
Kuwait City Kuwait – 19 November, 2025
Zain Group, a leading provider of innovative ICT and digital lifestyle communications operating in eight markets across the Middle East and Africa, has been ranked the regional Leader in the Global Child Forum’s ‘The State of Children’s Rights and Business 2025’ Benchmark for the third consecutive year. This ranking upgrade coincides with the annual celebration of World Children’s Day on November 20.
Zain increased its ranking from 8.4/10 last year to 8.5 in 2025, showcasing its region-leading stance on the protection of children’s rights, and the coordinated activities it undertakes to ensure these principles are reflected throughout its business activities and processes.
Founded in 2009 by the Swedish Royal Family, Global Child Forum is a leading organization for children’s rights and business, dedicated to innovative thinking, knowledge-sharing, and networking. In its latest report, conducted in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group, researchers assessed how companies implement children’s rights, and sustainability governance using publicly available data. This global study covered nine sectors and assessed companies against 25 indicators.
Jennifer Suleiman, Zain Group Chief Sustainability Officer commented, “Online safety is of great importance for Zain given that one in three internet users are children and with the expansion of broadband access, this number is only set to rise over time. Zain is fully committed to address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.2 calling on ending all forms of violence against children by 2030.”
Suleiman added, “Through clear policies and procedures, strong governance, and dedicated initiatives, Zain continues to embed children’s rights at the heart of its sustainability strategy, ensuring lasting impact across its markets. This commitment is reflected through a series of structured policies and partnerships designed to uphold and advance children’s rights across the region.”
Ekin Björstedt, Secretary General of Global Child Forum, added “Zain demonstrates that leadership on children’s rights is possible and scalable across the value chain. Being a Leader means moving beyond statements to implementation, monitoring and transparent reporting. We congratulate Zain on a third year at the top and invite others to use the Benchmark to accelerate progress for children.”
From 1,806 of the largest companies globally, Zain scored top in the region for all sectors and higher than the sectoral, industry, and all company averages, more-than-doubling the ranking of many regional corporates in key children’s rights categories. The telecom sector’s average benchmarking in 2025 was 6.5/10, and a regional average was just 3.4, with the average of all companies benchmarked standing at 5.
Being ranked as a leader means Zain has developed and implemented comprehensive policies and practices that address its impact on children’s rights across several important areas. The company has even taken concrete steps to move beyond policies and has embedded children’s rights into company practice, following up through monitoring, transparent reporting, and programs to create action for children’s rights.
Zain ranked 10/10 in Governance & Collaboration topic, reflecting the company’s strong top-down approach to safeguarding children’s rights through robust governance structures. Zain achieved perfect scores in multiple indicators including in areas related to Standards & Frameworks; Board Accountability; Grievance Mechanisms; Collaboration with or Donations to NGOs; Minimum age of Employment; Decent Working Conditions & Family-friendly Policies; Materiality Assessment; Supplier Assessment, Actions against Child labor; Marketing and advertising, Product responsibility, resource use and damage to the environment and Community.
Championing Child Protection and Partnerships
Zain consistently engages in strategic collaborations with leading NGOs to advance and protect children’s rights across its footprint. Notably, the company signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Child Helpline International (CHI) to mobilize, support, and strengthen child helplines in the markets where Zain operates. In addition, Zain provides accessible channels for both internal and external stakeholders to raise concerns related to human rights impacts across its operations and value chain.
Ethical Labor and Supply Chain Integrity
The company strictly prohibits child labor across its operations and supply chain, requiring all suppliers to comply with the ILO Minimum Age Convention (1973) and applicable local laws to ensure that no person below the legal working age is employed. As part of its responsible supply chain practices, Zain conducts supplier self-assessments, due-diligence checks, and physical audits to monitor compliance and address potential risks.
Employees are encouraged to be heard without hesitation and may report concerns to their line manager, Human Resources, the Compliance Office, or through Zain’s Whistleblower Policy, reinforcing a culture of transparency and accountability.
Family-Friendly and Inclusive Workplace Policies
As part of Zain’s commitment to fostering a family-friendly workplace, the company recognizes that effective workplace policies are essential to the well-being of employees and their families. Because a child’s early development and health depend on parental presence, Zain has adopted one of the most progressive parental policies in the region. Four months maternity leave is provided, followed by flexible working hours until the child is at least four years old, recognizing that a child’s early development depends on parental presence and care. New mothers may also request an additional two-month remote “baby-bonding period” immediately after maternity leave, helping strengthen the emotional connection between parent and child. Moreover, in support of newborns and families, fathers are granted five days of paid paternity leave, to be taken within 30 days of the child’s birth.
Protecting Children in the Digital Space
As part of Zain’s commitment to ensuring safety for children throughout its networks, the company published its Data Protection Policy that reinstates its firm stance in not deliberately processing the personal data of children under the legal age permitted in the relevant jurisdiction (13, 16 or 18 in some countries), unless the company attains consent from their guardians.
Responsible Marketing and Communications
Zain is committed to upholding children’s rights across all its Marketing and Communication activities, guided by its Responsible Marketing and Communications Standard. The company ensures transparent and accurate messaging, particularly when communicating with or about children, while avoiding any misleading, exaggerated, or manipulative content.
Adhering to ethical advertising practices aligned with international frameworks such as UNICEF’s MO-CRIA, Zain ensures that online content is suitable for all age groups. Its campaigns promote inclusivity, challenge stereotypes, and avoid any form of discrimination, while also safeguarding children’s data by obtaining parental or guardian consent and complying with local privacy laws.
Global Child Forum believes in the power and responsibility of business, working in partnership with all parts of society, to create a prosperous, sustainable and just society for the world’s children. A comprehensive view of Zain’s Global Child Forum’s Corporate Sector and Children’s Rights Benchmark 2025 scorecard can be viewed here: Global Child Forum – Scorecard (https://globalchildforum.org/company-score/?c=zain ).
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