Ray Le Maistre, TelecomTV (00:05):
Okay, we are at DTW Ignite 2025. We're in Copenhagen. I'm here with Ayesha Rashid. She is GM and VP of EMEA at Circles. Ayesha, great to meet you. Thanks so much for joining us at TelecomTV.

Ayesha Rashid, Circles (00:19):
Great to see you, Ray. Thank you very much for having me.

Ray Le Maistre, TelecomTV (00:22):
Okay, fantastic. So you are heading up the EMEA business at Circles, but let's talk about specifically the Middle Eastern part of EMEA. What makes the Middle East uniquely positioned to make some real advancements in the telecom innovation sector right now?

Ayesha Rashid, Circles (00:39):
Yeah, that's a fantastic question. Dear to my heart. I live in Dubai and there has been some absolutely incredible transformations in the Middle East, and we know that a lot of the future value creation, I think 70% is going to come from digital ecosystems, but actually the real stories in the Middle East, because the Middle East has got a staggering growth rate of literally 20%. So the potential is unique and I think, probably three forces at play. The first one is that they have these amazing national visions for 2030 and really forward thinking leadership. So UAE, KSA, Qatar and others. And that's absolutely the bedrock of what they're doing. It's not a document. It's actually woven into their roadmaps, digital transformation. So this is a powerful tailwind for the entire regional telecoms industry. And then of course, the second point is that that trickles down to the operator.

(01:35):
So the operator's mindset is changing a lot in the sense that they want to evolve, they want to have a more distinguished CX, they don't want to fall into this continuous trap of commoditization. And that is the telco/TechCo journey that we're all talking about. So that's in their corporate strategy. And I think the third point, the force at play is consumer demand. Smartphone adoption is plus 90% mobile data traffic is threefold to 2030, and they're demanding a lot more. They don't just want connectivity and digital as a service, they want to see it as a lifestyle. So it's not just being mandated in the boardroom. Digital transformation is actually what consumers want. So I think these three things at play is a huge catalyst for innovation. But I think, Ray, the question the region needs to ask itself is, are we architected for it? So do we have the right infrastructure? Do we have the right value proposition to be able to meet and match this momentum?

Ray Le Maistre, TelecomTV (02:39):
Okay. Now, you mentioned there a lot about transformation and how the industry and the operators are changing the way they're doing business. How does Circles position itself as an enabler for telcos that want to transition to become TechCos?

Ayesha Rashid, Circles (02:55):
I like to say that Circles is "uberizing" telecoms. And I think if we just for a moment, think about other industries. So you can look at say Blockbuster, that dominated the industry for I think a hundred years plus, literally. Then all of a sudden Netflix comes along with a completely new digital-first model on streaming, convenience. And we look at Monzo, Revolut now in the UAE, we have a bank called Wio, which is absolutely phenomenal. It's running circles around the traditional banking system. So I think the point is the lines are getting blurred between industries and telecoms is no exception. So telecoms are expected to work and act like a digital brand that, gives power back to the consumer and makes the experience a joy. And I think that's where Circles comes in, because Circles has been a disruptor and the mission has always been to create digital telcos that consumers are going to love.

(03:55):
And our value proposition is one of a digital operator partner. And I think in terms of how we enable, I think there was probably three key differentiators for us. The first one is that we've got the technology, we've got the engine, and we've been first to market because we did it for ourselves. So we have our Circles product, which is a pre-integrated full stack SaaS platform, which manages the end-to-end customer experience, the AI driven insights. Then we have a more modular product called Circles Aspire that caters to existing systems and multi-brands and converged services. And of course we have our own digital operation. And I think that is a key unique differentiator. So we operate our own digital telcos in a few countries. Our showcase is in Singapore, so we have that DNA, we run that digital business day in day out. So our KPIs, our challenges, are exactly the same of those of MNOs and other digital operators. So this proven operational DNA is honestly something that other tech vendors don't have the advantage and cannot replicate. And I think the third thing that we're really proud of is that we're always learning. We're always learning. We're always enhancing. We're always trading our stack with new features, new capabilities. Any operator that partners with us gets all the pre-learnings from the last 10 years of our operation on day one.

Ray Le Maistre, TelecomTV (05:29):
Can you share a little bit more about how Circles has partnered with telcos in the Middle East to support their growth and also help with the go-to-market ambitions that tally in with what the countries themselves are trying to achieve as well?

Ayesha Rashid, Circles (05:43):
We partnered with a lot of global operators on different diverse set of digital ambitions. I guess one concrete example in the region. So we've supported a regional partner in EMEA to build a fully digital mobile brand, and that's Onic in Pakistan. So it's an emerging market legacy market where we've completely digitized the offerings and with value-added driven partnerships. And I'm really proud to say that Onic because really been leading the change when it comes to doubling market average ARPU, they've launched 40 plus new features in 18 months. They actually hold the highest product innovation NPS score in the country. So that is a really proud testimony and they are to really trailblazing, but there are other things happening. So our anchor clients all across the world are dealing with different market conditions and still delivering results. So in Japan we've got KDDI, it's a fiercely competitive market, and in our first year working with them, we managed to get 70% new customers from the incumbent. High growth markets where we are really trying to engage with a challenger brand.

(06:58):
We're introducing lifestyle innovative premium partnerships that's driving ARPU up four times. And then in established players, we're powering transformation. So we're helping them migrate huge massive subscriber bases to new digital-first modern models. So there's a lot happening. But I guess I think one of the points I want to make around these proof points is that we are disruptors. So for us, the telco/TechCo journey doesn't stop with the great successes of mobile. For us, success is then diversifying into non-telco revenues. And we see a lot of this momentum actually here in Europe. So I think from the last couple of days and what the team has been working on here, we see the momentum there. We work across UK, Belgium, Netherlands, and we see... We are powering 20 plus digital brands. Our IoT solutions and services are in a hundred plus partners. Powerful examples around FinTech and connectivity. This is where the push is, this is where the scale is. And I think Circles does provide that cloud-native capability for these exact type of innovation use cases.

Ray Le Maistre, TelecomTV (08:17):
Now for communication service providers making this kind of transformation and embracing new digital services, it is not something they can just do by flicking a switch. So what do you see as the most common pitfalls that telcos in the Middle East face as they're pursuing this kind of digital transformation journey?

Ayesha Rashid, Circles (08:36):
Digital transformation, for me, I feel it's everywhere, isn't it? It's what everyone's talking about, but the pathway is very challenging and it is very tricky. I think probably two things spring to mind. The first one is I feel that some operators are trying to build the future on top of the present. So they have all these exciting ideas and they bolt-on these digital services onto their legacy platforms. And for me, that's like putting a Formula One engine into a horse-driven carriage. So the foundations just simply can't keep up and it will slow everything down. So the key message is don't adapt for digital, build for digital. And I think the second one is really about who you choose and who you choose to guide you through this process. Because I also see operators choosing pure tech vendors and these vendors haven't actually ever even operated a digital telco themselves. In order to be successful in this transformation, you have to work with people that have been in the trenches.

Ray Le Maistre, TelecomTV (09:47):
So fantastic to hear the Circles story and great for you to have that experience of having that digital operation. You are drinking your own champagne and bringing that to the market. So it's really great to hear. Ayesha, thanks so much for joining us and giving us the Circles story.

Ayesha Rashid, Circles (10:02):
Thank you so much, Ray.