Zain Group leadership hosts Storehouse co-founders – Al-Kharafi welcomes social media pioneers Kawano and Donnelly

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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 9: Zain Group announced that it welcomed Mark Kawano and Timothy Donnelly, co-founders of popular social media app Storehouse, the mobile app that turns a collection of photos and videos into a shareable story, at the company’s main headquarters in Shuwaikh. Group Vice-Chairman Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi and Group CEO Scott Gegenheimer alongside a number of officials and Head of the Organizational Committee of the Youth Empowerment Symposium Ali Al-Ebrahim hosted the social media entrepreneurs with the visit coming as part of Zain’s strategic partnership with the fourth edition of the Youth Empowerment Symposium held in Kuwait.

Kawano and Donnelly are currently visiting Kuwait to take part in the Youth Empowerment Symposium, which is held under the patronage of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The symposium is considered an ideal opportunity for young people to gain valuable insights from a number of internationally and locally renowned industry pioneers, academics, and experts who will share exclusively their experiences during the event.

The recent visit witnessed discussions between Al-Kharafi and Gegenheimer with Kawano and Donnelly about the challenges that face the telecommunications and information technology sectors and how social media is quickly penetrating those markets. The officials also exchanged their views about the amount of change social media pioneers and youth are bringing to entrepreneurship and the role of leading companies and organizations in supporting them.

Al-Kharafi and Gegenheimer took Storehouse co-founders in a tour at Zain headquarters to learn more about the nature of its daily operations as it is the leading telecommunications company in the country. The guests expressed their admiration of the high standards of service quality they found in Zain’s various departments and divisions, especially in the main branch and contact center (107).

Zain Group Vice-Chairman Bader Al-Kharafi commented: “We were delighted to welcome the masterminds behind one of social media’s most popular creative apps. Our meeting with Mark Kawano and Timothy Donnelly reconfirms our support of and belief of the effects social media platforms such as Storehouse have on the way we look at the world and the way we communicate with each other.”

Al-Kharafi expressed his admiration of the efforts the two confounders exerted in going through the journey to make their dreams come true: “they worked hard to transform a mere idea into a real platform that millions enjoy around the world in a time where social media competition is at its highest.”

Al-Kharafi expressed his delight to open the doors of future partnership with Storehouse Media, as any future cooperation between the two companies will perfectly fit Zain’s strategic vision into becoming an integrated digital lifestyle operator.

Al-Kharafi added: “Zain has sponsored the Youth Empowerment Symposium since its inception four years ago, and this comes in line with the company’s long term strategy of providing the necessary support to national initiatives aimed at uplifting the capabilities and skills of Kuwaiti youth.”

During the discussions, Zain Group CEO Scott Gegenheimer said: “We believe information technology plays a key role in future business restructuring, and that is a main reason why Zain is increasing its investments in IT platforms. With the expected major rise in smartphone and tablet usage, it is a necessity for any leading telecom operator to pursue a strategic vision that embraces technological innovation. Mark Kawano and Timothy Donnelly’s work is a great example on the way information technology and social media transform the digital world.”

Storehouse Media Cofounder and CEO Mark Kawano commented: “We were very delighted to take part in this visit, which gave us a chance to learn about one of the leading telecommunication companies in the Middle East.”

Kawano added: “Zain Group possesses a clear and ambitious vision towards complete digital transformation, which is the future of IT and telecom. The informative tour that my colleague and I took part in showed us the great potentials and resources Zain possesses, and we were really impressed by the high service quality standards we found.”

Storehouse is a mobile application that turns a collection of photos and videos into a shareable story. It provides users with a fast and easy way to share a collection of photos from their iPhone or iPad by creating a collage, album or telling a story and sharing all of the moments that made the memory. Mark Kawano’s passion for photography and innovative storytelling drove him to develop the app, which was awarded the Apple Design Award for the year 2014.

Kawano will be delivering an exclusive seminar for Zain employees, where he will be sharing his experience in following his dream and developing Storehouse to becoming one of the most successful social media applications.

This year’s fourth Youth Empowerment Symposium will be attended by a number of local and international experts and pioneers who will share their personal experiences with participants and highlight the importance of building oneself through education.

Zain’s presence in this national event showcases the company’s dedication to empowering the entrepreneurial skills of youth in Kuwait.

The symposium delivers outstanding knowledge to talented young people to be able to progress in their fields of interest as well as to spark the light of enthusiasm within them.

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