Axiata

Robi Axiata’s Digital Training Bus initiative contributes to digital inclusivity by sending internet-equipped buses to teach digital skills to women in rural areas of Bangladesh. The company demonstrates support for people with disabilities by discounting its services in Malaysia. It reports on its economic value distribution to stakeholders and shows leading practices by calculating its indirect economic impact in each country in which it operates.

Axiata’s initiatives supporting all levels of digital skills stand out among digital companies. DesaMall@KPLB1 is a public–private partnership providing e-commerce and digital marketing training to small, medium-sized and micro agribusinesses in Malaysia. The company and a public university in Malaysia are collaborating on the Young Digital Innovators Programme to teach tech skills. Through Dialog Axiata, it also funds Nenasa Smart Schools, which uses digital technology to deliver learning materials to over 150 schools across Sri Lanka.

The company provides a clear description of how it manages cybersecurity throughout the group. It has a board-level committee that focuses on implementing cybersecurity initiatives across all operations as well as a Group Security Operations Centre, which monitors cybersecurity in real time.

Axiata provides venture funding for technology innovation ecosystems and supports start-ups through incubation and competitions, particularly in Cambodia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

Axiata could assess its initiative on digital literacy for rural Bangladeshi women to understand its effect and potential for scaling and replication in other countries. It could also enhance digital accessibility for people with disabilities.

Given that Axiata operates programmes across all digital skills dimensions, it has an opportunity to provide more details about them and to assess their impacts.

Axiata clearly describes how it manages cybersecurity within the group. However, it could provide more information about how its cybersecurity processes work in practice. In particular, it could disclose evidence of international information management security certification. It could enhance its privacy policy by allowing users to obtain a copy of their personal information in a structured format and reporting on government requests for personal information. It also has an opportunity to report on its initiatives in relation to online safety for children.

Limited evidence could be found of Axiata’s support for open source and standards, sharing code and data, or partnership with researchers on sustainability issues. There was also limited evidence about the company’s efforts to diversify its technical workforce or consider ethics in research activities.