By Advancing Asia Sustainably, we’re progressing towards becoming The Next Generation Digital Champion. Follow our story from the very beginning.
Thirteen years after the name ‘Axiata’ was coined in a coffeehouse in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we’ve embarked on the next big shift in our evolution – to have a more sustainable and lasting impact on people, communities and countries across Asia.
In 2017, we committed towards becoming The Next Generation Digital Champion. In order to achieve this vision by 2027, we diversified our focus on pure play mobile services to include digital businesses and telecommunications infrastructure.
Through this expansion to become a Triple Core driven business, we are well-poised for value creation in the digital era. Today, our strategy is no longer limited to providing connectivity across Emerging Asia as we deliver technologies that enable customers to store their money, expand their business, learn online, improve their productivity, and much more.
Driven by a desire to showcase Asian capabilities, we’re committed towards building a better future for all. However, to truly understand our purpose, we need to rewind to the very start and revisit the unique circumstances that forged our DNA and identity as Axiata.
The world was a rather uncertain place in 2008.
Against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, established orders were being shaken up, the forces of globalisation enabling international telco operators to enter new markets and chart new trajectories.
TMI, a mobile division of Telekom Malaysia, was spun off as a new business entity that would shape the future of telecommunications in Asia.
It would soon become one of the largest telco groups in Asia and a proud Malaysian flag bearer, serving the needs of 40 million subscribers in the region.
Here was a brand new company located in one of the world’s fastest growing regions, but what did it stand for?
From the start of this new chapter, our guiding purpose was to serve the people of Asia; a company with global standards yet local in our approach, and as diverse as the countries we call home.
From Colombo to Kuala Lumpur, ‘Axiata’ simply sounded like ‘Asia’. Except, with its ‘X’, it had a mystique and edginess that felt innovative and ground-breaking, like a brave new Asia for a whole new era.
Having settled on our name, it was time to build the brand.
As a Group doing business in countries with very different cultures,
languages and ways
of
life, we needed to champion this diversity through our identity as Axiata.
The Axiata Prism and its tapestry of vibrant colours represents the rich heritage of ASEAN and South
Asia,
each speaking to cherished traditions and ways of life that we could celebrate and enhance through
our
services. It also embodies our vibrant energy as a company - to value different perspectives through
the
diversity of our staff and to bring out the full potential of Asia’s people by connecting them to
one
another, developing their talent and encouraging a spirit of innovation.
Our purpose as a company followed naturally - Advancing Asia, and doing so while remaining true to
its
myriad of cultures and traditions. Thus, the Axiata brand was fully formed as a telco company with a
difference, on a mission to show the world the true potential of Asia and its people.
With our company name and brand established, it was time to grow the Axiata family.
In 2009, we acquired Indonesia’s Excelcomindo (later to be renamed
‘XL Axiata’),
before
welcoming Smart Axiata in Cambodia and Ncell Axiata in Nepal in 2012 and 2016 respectively. Then,
understanding the potential of digital technology to transform lives, we took on the responsibility
of
ensuring that our services could reach every corner of our countries, no matter how remote the
location or
arduous the journey.
Our infrastructure company edotco has played a huge role in making this happen. With over 22,000
telco
towers built since 2013, they have brought reliable connectivity to the most isolated and far-flung
communities, providing its people with a digital lifeline by connecting them to education,
healthcare,
employment opportunities and so much more.
The challenges of bridging this digital divide have been numerous, but they also showed us the
amazing
possibilities that can be unlocked simply by providing people with the tools to improve their lives.
Access to digital technology was not the only divide we wanted to rectify. Working with the amazing people of Asia on the day-to-day, it became clear that young, hungry and digitally-literate talent were not getting the same stage or opportunities for advancement that their peers in more developed countries were.
Taking on the mantle of addressing this inequality, we launched the
Axiata Young Talent
Programme (AYTP) in 2011, a first-of-its-kind talent development programme focused on building
leadership
skills in school- and university-going Malaysian youth. The programme has since been replicated in
other
countries, sharing a focus on building both the necessary skills and the right mindset to thrive and
lead in
a digital world.
Digitally-ready talent, however, is of scant use without a vibrant digital economy in which their
ideas and
energy can make a difference. With a vision of spurring the development of ambitious digital
startups, we
launched the Axiata Digital Innovation Fund in 2014. By identifying, funding and coaching promising
companies and their founders, our efforts have since benefitted 32 startups across Malaysia, Sri
Lanka and
Cambodia, providing them with the gameplan and the resources they need to scale their companies,
create jobs
in their communities, and make a lasting impact within their societies.
As the demographics of the world tilt towards our neck of the woods, we will continue to invest in
building
a modern, agile and innovative Asia - one that can stand on its own as a protagonist in the global
digital
revolution.
The world as we knew it ground to a halt in early 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic kept people from the things that matter most - their lifestyles, livelihoods and loved ones.
It was a time that called for us to set aside commercial interests and
make a difference
as members of our communities. Across our footprint and in tandem with our Operating Companies, we
assisted with contact tracing efforts and digital solutions, donated to humanitarian funds and
ensured that our networks were equipped to handle increased traffic from residential areas.
Leveraging digital capabilities, our efforts contributed to slowing the spread of the pandemic and
enhancing the
resilience of societies to cope with its multifaceted challenges.
However, amidst the restrictions of the pandemic there was also an important opportunity. Their
movements confined, people needed digital technologies more than ever, and we responded by
developing solutions that improved outcomes for all. By swiftly repivoting our strategies, we have
helped enterprises achieve digital transformation, enhanced consumer convenience through
digitisation, and enabled greater inclusion for the underserved by expanding the capabilities of our
digital businesses.
The pandemic was a challenge like none other, but it also brought about learnings like never before.
Together, we’re stronger for it.
Today, we are one of Asia’s leading telecommunications companies with more than 150 million subscribers across our markets. We’ve come a long way since 2008, yet our journey reminds us of one thing above all - that leadership is about looking always to the future.
For humanity as a whole, the prosperity of our shared future will depend
in a big way on how we
respond
to the grave dangers of climate change. Taking the lead within our industry, we have committed to
become a
net-zero carbon company by 2050, outlining a roadmap that will enable us to harmonise the needs of
our
business with those of the environment.
This is just the beginning of our climate action journey, and in Advancing To Zero we have committed
towards
science based emissions reductions against which we will measure our progress across all our
companies and
countries. We have placed this imperative at a level pegging with our Next Generation Digital
Champion
vision as touchstones of the future we wish to build.
With the world changing at breakneck speed, just as it was when our journey began, we’re more than
ready for
what’s next.
Memories
Innovation