Du

To describe du as merely a telecommunications company would be to do it an injustice. Ever since it launched in 2006, the company has continuously enhanced and expanded its bouquet of services in an industry that is at the heart of economic and social transformation.

“Bringing people and businesses together” is what CEO Osman Sultan set out to do by offering mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and IPTV services to customers, homes and organisations across the UAE. The company now employs over 2,000 staff from over 60 countries – a mirror of the UAE’s rich cultural diversity – while being able to serve customers in a variety of languages. Currently, du is the telecommunications provider of choice for over 6.5 million mobile customers – representing almost a 50 percent share of the local market – 555,000 fixed line subscribers, 180,000 home services subscribers and 70,000 businesses.

The company has also earned recognition for its high-impact community initiatives. Its ‘Agent 055 Network’ programme, for instance, aims to promote entrepreneurship as a viable career option among university students by providing them with a first-hand experience of running a business within the safety net of an established business model. With an ‘Earn while you learn’ tagline, the programme gained momentum among numerous colleges and universities across the UAE.

In 2015, du donated AED1 million ($272,245) to Emirates Red Crescent’s “Yemen: We Care” campaign, which aims to provide humanitarian relief to those affected by the country’s internal conflict. du has also continued its association with the American University in Dubai, providing scholarships to bright young Emirati students. It has also contributed to an existing endowment agreement with the American University of Sharjah, with a total donation of AED5 million ($1.4 million).