KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait and Zain, the leading digital service provider in Kuwait, announced the signing of an agreement to offer a number of discounts and unique benefits to their Small and Medium Enterprises customers who represent the biggest joint base of SME customers in the State of Kuwait.

The signing ceremony was held in the presence of Zain Kuwait's Chief Enterprise Business Officer Hamad Al-Marzouq, NBK Consumer Banking Group General Manager Mohammed Al-Othman, Zain Kuwait's Chief Corporate Communications and Relations Officer Waleed Al-Khashti, as well as the executive management teams from both companies.

As part of this agreement, Zain will offer SME owners who are NBK cardholders a number of discounts and unique benefits on Zain Business solutions, which are specially designed to guarantee them the highest levels of business efficiency, productivity, and continuity. The National Bank of Kuwait will also offer a number of discounts and special prices on bank cards and services dedicated to NBK's SME customers when they open a new Zain Business account.

During the signing ceremony, Zain Kuwait's Chief Enterprise Business Officer Hamad Al-Marzouq commented: "We are extremely pleased today to collaborate with the National Bank of Kuwait to offer an added value to the biggest joint base of SME customers in the State of Kuwait. This is especially true as Kuwait's entrepreneurial community continues to grow rapidly, and as we witness a leap in the number of bright Kuwaiti entrepreneurs who are passionate about being productive and contribute to further pushing the local economy wheel".

Al-Marzouq added: "While Zain is the leading and biggest digital service provider in Kuwait, NBK is also the leading and biggest bank in the country. That is why it was essential for the both of us to join forces together and serve Kuwaiti entrepreneurs who own SMEs, as they represent the most vibrant part of the business community and the future of our nation's economy. This collaboration is a clear reflection of our role as leading companies in the Kuwaiti private sector".

Al-Marzouq further explained: "We recently launched the all-new Zain SME App, dedicated for our SME customers. The app offers SME owners a wide range of digital services, including immediate digital onboarding to our 'Zain Business' solutions without the need for personal presence or the use of papers. With this launch, Zain became the first and only telecom operator in Kuwait to offer this comprehensive digital platform for SME owners. Today, we continue our efforts in serving this productive segment in the community by partnering with Kuwait's biggest and oldest bank".

Al-Marzouq concluded: "We at Zain are well aware of the important role played by Small and Medium Enterprises in achieving economic and social development in Kuwait. SMEs represent a big part of the country's production channels, and they play an essential role in the growth of our nation's economy. That is why we are always committed to offering them the best and most advanced solutions being the leading digital service provider in Kuwait and the region".

During the signing ceremony, Mohammed Al-Othman, General Manager of Consumer Banking Group, National Bank of Kuwait, said: "We are excited to be partnering with a leading institution such as Zain to support young Kuwaiti entrepreneurs in building their promising future. The agreement is a continuity to our long-standing commitment towards small and medium enterprises in Kuwait, having built strategic partnerships with most of them as we continue to offer them comprehensive services at our branches in Kuwait and across the world. We also support this segment of the business community with a team of professionals able to guide their creative ambitions into a journey to success.

"At NBK, we ensure to support advice and provide personalized banking services to entrepreneurs. We've built a close relationship that continues to grow as their ideas evolve and enrich the local business community, ultimately becoming real-life companies capable of competing locally and regionally as well as contributing to the diversification of the economy in line with the New Kuwait Vision 2035."

Al-Othman emphasized on the role of NBK that goes beyond its banking services and products, providing an operational model to SMEs through digital and advanced banking solutions as the bank completes its digital transformation. The transformation is constantly adding value and improving all services, and specifically the NBK Mobile Banking.

Al-Othman concluded: "We continuously connect with entrepreneurs and have recently launched a series of discussion sessions at Al-Shaheed Park, where our small and medium business partners can showcase their experiences and journey to success with NBK alongside them, giving us pride of the promising Kuwaiti youth talents."

NBK Business Banking is available in majority of NBK branches across Kuwait where it provides comprehensive financial services that are not limited to banking transactions but also extend to providing smart solutions for payment services, salary transfers, banking services for employees, secure business banking services, in addition to credit facilities and financing, and giving them access to competitive investment opportunities in cooperation with the bank's investment arm, NBK Capital.

This partnership comes as part of Zain's commitment to offer the unique offerings to the Kuwaiti business sector, most notably those aimed at SMEs, which are considered an integral part of the progress of national economy. Zain's commitment also comes in line with its digital transformation strategy that aims at empowering a more efficient business sector in the Kuwaiti market.

Zain strongly believes in the crucial role played by private sector organizations in supporting social and economic sustainability projects, as well as further pushing the entrepreneurial community's growth in the country. Springing from its growing commitment towards practicing its social responsibility, the company is committed to printing a positive print through all its activities. This has led Zain to embrace the most influential issues in the community, including the support of entrepreneurship and innovation.