Power Letters 2021: Erik Dudman Nielsen, group CEO, Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa

Power Letters 2021: Erik Dudman Nielsen, group CEO, Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa

While telecoms operators have historically been more resilient to economic uncertainties, the current pandemic is unprecedented in the impact it is having, especially with regards to

changing consumer behaviour. With the world looking more and more to digital solutions, customer demand and experiences are being reshaped at a rapid pace as exciting digital experiences become the new normal, and it is imperative for telecommunications operators to become digitally agile and responsive.

In order to keep up in this experience economy, telcos must now create compelling digital propositions that meet customer needs by simplifying and improving the experience and relationship that customers have with their brand. For example, one of the key USPs for Virgin Mobile is our unique home delivery service, whereby customers can order their SIM to be delivered directly to their door via our app. In the UAE, SIM activations at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic reached 85 per cent of the total activations across all channels and we are rolling out more e-commerce and delivery options at a rapid pace to meet this demand.

We are also experiencing a need to provide more digital propositions for our customers. We have expanded our fully-digital proposition in Saudi Arabia even