22/05/2026 03:28 AST
To mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on May 21, Zain Kuwait is undertaking a Digital and Policy Accessibility Audit, the first strategic audit of its kind in the country, marking a major step in advancing accessibility across the company's digital platforms, customer touchpoints, communications, and internal HR policies.
The audit is being conducted by AxessAll, a specialist accessibility consultancy with certified experts in digital accessibility, inclusive policy review, and bilingual accessibility practices. Its technical and regional expertise will support Zain in ensuring that the audit is both globally benchmarked and locally relevant to the Kuwait market.
The initiative reflects Zain's commitment to ensuring that its services, platforms, and workplace practices are accessible to all, including persons with disabilities in alignment with it's We ABLE 2030 vision. The audit is designed to assess, measure, and strengthen accessibility across Zain's external and internal ecosystem in Kuwait, supporting the company's long-term goal of delivering more inclusive digital experiences and fostering an equitable work environment for current and future employees.
The audit covers a comprehensive scope that includes Zain's Kuwait-based public website, native mobile applications on iOS and Android, social media channels, user-facing digital communications, and key HR documentation across the employee lifecycle. This includes recruitment materials, contracts, employee handbooks, leave policies, and other internal documents that shape the employee experience.
Nawaf Al-Gharabally, CEO of Zain Kuwait, said: "Digital accessibility is no longer a technical enhancement, it is a responsibility that shapes how people connect, work, learn, and participate in everyday life. Through this first-of-its-kind audit in Kuwait, we are taking a structured and measurable step to ensure that our platforms, services, communications, and workplace practices are designed with everyone in mind. This initiative reflects our belief that true digital leadership is measured not only by innovation, but by how inclusive, usable, and empowering that innovation is for all members of the community."
Al-Gharabally added: "As Kuwait continues to accelerate its digital transformation, accessibility must be embedded from the beginning. This audit will give us a clear baseline, practical insights, and a roadmap for continuous improvement, enabling our teams to strengthen every digital touchpoint and policy that shapes the customer and employee experience. It also brings Zain's purpose of 'Better Lives. Lasting Connections.' to life by turning our commitment to disability inclusion into tangible action that supports a more equitable, connected, and future-ready Kuwait."
Ahmed Abdelhady, Director of Accessibility and Digital Inclusion at AxessAll, commented: "At AxessAll, our work with Zain is one of the partnerships I am most proud of, as it reflects a shared seriousness about accessibility that is rare to find. Zain's commitment to digital accessibility is not a checkbox, nor a one-off audit, it is a genuine and strategic priority. Zain's ambition is clear: to ensure that every user, regardless of ability, can navigate its digital and client-facing services seamlessly, independently, and without barriers. This ambition extends across all markets where Zain operates within the MEA region, going well beyond the GCC."
He added: "This is what real inclusion looks like. What makes Zain's approach especially remarkable is not only the scale of the initiative, but also the determination behind it. Zain is moving with purpose, positioning itself as a genuine leader in accessible and inclusive telecommunications, with a clear ambition to be among the most inclusive mobile operators in the world. AxessAll is proud to be Zain's strategic partner in embedding accessibility across all digital services and customer experiences. Because when accessibility is taken this seriously, it does more than improve services, it changes people's lives."
As part of the audit, Zain's digital platforms will be assessed against 86 success criteria under the WCAG 2.2 standard, with a focus on areas such as alternative text, captions, color contrast, accessible design, keyboard navigation, and screen reader compatibility.
Manual testing will also be conducted using assistive technologies such as VoiceOver, TalkBack, JAWS, and NVDA, with special attention to Arabic language accessibility, right-to-left directionality, and localized language tagging.
The initiative is guided by leading global and national frameworks, including WCAG 2.2 Level AA, Kuwait Disability Law No. 8 of 2010, ISO 14289 for accessible PDF documents, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and ILO Convention 159 on vocational rehabilitation and employment for persons with disabilities.
The six-month audit will produce a clear roadmap for continuous improvement. Key deliverables include a baseline accessibility scorecard with a 0-100 index for each platform, developer-ready technical logs to support remediation, an accessibility checklist for social media and campaigns, an inclusive HR policy matrix, and a 12-month follow-up process to review evidence, track progress, and verify successful implementation.
This announcement builds on Zain's February 2026 commitment to the Arab Inclusive Employment and Entrepreneurship Compact, launched by UN-ESCWA in partnership with the International Labour Organization. Through this commitment, Zain pledged to progressively advance disability inclusion in the workplace through inclusive policies, accessible recruitment, reasonable accommodation, accessible digital and physical environments, accountability mechanisms, and greater transparency around inclusion efforts.
The initiative's alignment with Zain Group's wider WE ABLE 2030 vision is clear, embedding disability inclusion across the company's operations, products, services, talent practices, and community engagement. By launching this audit in Kuwait, Zain is translating the Group's regional vision into local action, ensuring accessibility is addressed not as a standalone initiative, but as a core part of how the company designs, communicates, serves customers, and empowers employees. Through this first-of-its-kind audit, Zain Kuwait is setting a new benchmark for corporate accessibility in the local market, reinforcing its role as a national digital leader and advancing a more inclusive future where no one is left behind.
Kuwait Times
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