KUWAIT: Zain, the leading digital service provider in Kuwait, announced its strategic partnership of ‘Kuwait Codes’, an educational coding program for high school students in Kuwait. The initiative, considered the first-of-its-kind in the nation, is launched by CODED Academy for the second time with the aim of empowering the next generation of young Kuwaiti programmers.

The announcement was made during the press conference held at CODED Academy’s campus in Shuwaikh, attended by Chief Corporate Communications and Relations Officer of Zain Kuwait Waleed Al-Khashti, Chief Operating Officer of CODED Hashem Bahbahani, Chief Executive Officer of CODED Ahmad Marafi, and the program’s sponsors.

Commenting on the partnership, Zain Kuwait’s Chief Corporate Communications and Relations Officer Waleed Al-Khashti said: “We are pleased today to announce our strategic partnership with ‘Kuwait Codes’, through which we renew our continuous collaboration with our partners at CODED to help empower and create the next generation of Kuwaiti programmers and developers”.

Al-Khashti added: “A great part of our corporate sustainability strategy initiatives center around youth and education sectors, and we are well aware of the accelerating importance of digital skills in the future of education and the economy. That’s why we have put the development of programming and digital skills of the youth at the forefront of our priorities. This is especially true given that Zain is one of the biggest national companies in the Kuwaiti telecom sector and one of the most leading digital service providers in the region”.

Al-Khashti concluded: “We are proud that Zain is one of the main strategic partners of CODED throughout the past recent years, which has contributed to empowering hundreds of young programmers and developers to the local market. We wish our colleagues at CODED all the best of luck with ‘Kuwait Codes’, which is the first of its kind in the country”.

Chief Executive Officer of CODED, Ahmad Marafi, commented: “We are proud to announce our strategic partnership with Zain to launch ‘Kuwait Codes’, a program for high school students in Kuwait. Zain was and will always be one of the leading companies in tech innovation and leadership, in addition to its well-focused social responsibility in supporting educational programs”.

Chief Operating Officer of CODED, Hashem Bahbahani, said: “As part of our goal to empower young talents, we are honored to have Zain as a strategic partner of ‘Kuwait Codes’ to help us develop the skills of high school students in Kuwait. The intense workshops will focus on developing websites, video games, as well as iPhone and Android apps”.

CODED launches ‘Kuwait Codes’ for the second time, and the initiative is considered the first of its kind in Kuwait. The program aims at creating a technically advanced generation by offering an opportunity to high school students to learn and develop programming skills at four main streams: Developing iPhone and Android apps, designing websites, and building video games.

‘Kuwait Codes’ welcomes high school students of 14-17 years from across public and private schools in Kuwait. The free program continues for 6 weeks, where students learn the most basic skills that can empower them to build their own projects. Over 500 students were accepted for the first edition of the program in 2020, and the current edition aims at accepting 1000 students.

Through supporting this unique program, Zain seeks to offer the best educational environment for high school students in Kuwait to nurture their talents, enrich their skills, and promote tech innovation within them. Zain believes in the important role tech innovation plays in building the future and progressing national economy. Zain is keen on playing a vital role as an integrated digital service provider in light of the rapid digital changes witnessed by the modern world. The company always seeks to reach new levels of excellence with its customers through offering the best innovative services, meeting their needs and aspirations, as well as supporting programs and initiatives that embrace tech innovation and aim at developing it.