Saudi Youth

I am on a mission to drive one of the leading telecommunications companies to new heights in my current position as the CEO of Virgin Mobile KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).

In Saudi Arabia, we are witnessing a paradigm shift in the economy. It is aligned with the endearing Saudi Vision 2030 which is framed by the great leadership of the Kingdom. We can already see that the focus and mindset is shifting from an oil-dependent economy driven by expats, towards a robust economy centered around resources and services. In fact, an integral part of the larger vision also includes a paperless digital society by 2030.

While there is a wave of positivity and surge of energy everywhere, the excitement of the Saudi youth is at a whole new level. When I meet young people here and I ask them about their views on the vision for their country, they wholeheartedly support and appreciate it and believe that this is the way forward to a brighter future. It is the millennial attitude – to embrace the change and evolve with it at once.

The youth of Saudi Arabia have always been socially active and highly connected. It is a common sight to find a young Saudi with three handsets. They want more than one handset for uninterrupted connectivity, multiple numbers to differentiate themselves among peers and social circle, and they want to be always active and constantly updated across social media platforms through different devices.

But what is really contradicting about the Saudi market is that despite of being a traditional and culturally rooted society, it is highly advanced in terms of mobile communication and connectivity. So much that the Saudi youth alone accounts for 95 million YouTube views per day with mobile devices. It may sound crazy but it is true.
I believe that the youth of Saudi are the foundation of the forthcoming society which is rapidly evolving with global trends. At Virgin Mobile KSA we are excited to appeal to them because the Saudi youth echo our brand values of innovation and creativity. Which is why, we absolutely support them, drive them and encourage them.
For us, it is more than just being an enabler of mobile services. Because communication and technology are not just a fundamental part of a youth’s life but are also essential cogs in the progressive phase of the country.

Communication is the cornerstone of progressive change. And in Saudi Arabia, people are resorting to communication tools to express their views, voice their opinions and present their objectives.

At Virgin Mobile KSA, we are always looking to make communication a personal experience, allowing people to express their hearts and bring out their true selves. We are constantly working towards providing them a platform that can help Saudi Vision 2030 take shape collectively and in harmony.

Saudi is rapidly evolving, and the attitudes are changing. The new talent pool is storming in with excitement. People are shifting from traditional to modern, culturally bound communities to smart cities driven by world-leading technology. Which is why we are focusing on bringing fiber to the home and fibre to business and offices, to ensure internet coverage everywhere so people can be seamlessly connected.

At Virgin Mobile KSA I have adopted a very valuable principle, which is that I aspire to make a difference for the society I live in. And at a personal level, as a leader, I seek to inspire a responsible team that has all the leadership qualities to steer the country forward towards its goals. I don’t see this as being just about business, it’s about being a leader of leaders and a trainer of trainers.

This is the mindset that I am trying to embed – to be empowered, to be a visionary and to be creative. And that is the legacy I wish to leave behind – to build efficient tools and create a robust platform that helps take the country into a shining future.