Ncell Sustainability Report

NcellSustainabilityReportFY 2019-20

Today.Tomorrow.Together.We believe that technology should work towards making every day simpler and easier, so that Tomorrow, becomes more promising. The reason behind everything we do is directed towards taking the Nation towards a brighter and a digital future.

This Sustainability Report, is an encapsulation of the process by which we bring our vision to life. Every page will walk you through an in-depth analysis of how at Ncell, we’re committed to the cause of people, planet and the society, while adhering to the highest standards of governance.

We hope you enjoy the journey.

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Message fromthe CEOAt Ncell, our commitment to sustainability is ingrained in our DNA and it remains uncompromised. It gives me immense pleasure to share Ncell’s Sustainability Report for the Fiscal Year (FY) ending 2019/20. Year 2020 has presented new challenges for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and society at large, and these challenges continue to evolve.

In the past year, we have seen how the role of CSR has changed and how companies adapted to succeed in the new normal. The current economic, environmental, and civic crisis have shifted the corporate social impact strategies of the companies and are forcing them to adapt to a ‘new normal’. In the new normal, CSR is a top priority for our business and is fully woven into our company’s overall strategy.

Our commitment to doing business the responsible way has always remained as our top priority and it remains our primary purpose as we set out for 2021 and beyond. Our world and our industry are changing rapidly, and we foresee to continue to innovate for long-term growth and value creation.

Reflecting on how Ncell as a socially responsible company performed in the last fiscal year, telecommunications businesses have been more resilient than many other industries which have been impaired by as much as 95%. For Ncell, while we are in a relatively better position compared to other big businesses, the telecommunications sector is not spared.

As a subsidiary of Axiata Group, Asia’s leading telecommunications group, and a leading telecom operator of Nepal, sustainability remains an integral part of our business. As a long-term investor in Nepal, we are committed to work for the overall development of Nepal, fostering Government envisioned Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. Our approach to sustainability is aligned with international understanding and measures of Economic, Environmental and Social Indicators which are aligned with Axiata Group’s four major sustainability pillars--Beyond Short-Term Profit, Nurturing People, Process Excellence and Planet & Society.

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NATIONAL CONTRIBUTION REPORTPLANET & SOCIETYNURTURING PEOPLEBEYOND SHORT-TERM PROFITSMESSAGE FROM CEO OUR BUSINESS PROCESS EXCELLENCE & GOVERNANCE Ncell Sustainability Report FY 2019-20

Maintaining a Culture of IntegrityWe strongly advocate for the ethical conduct within and outside our operations and have been strictly aligned with the Anti-Corruption and Anti Bribery (ABAC) Policy. Overarching every action in ethical conduct - achieving the highest ethical conduct is paramount to sustainability, and ethical behavior is essential to earning the trust of our customers and meeting our commitments to them and other stakeholders. We exercise highest ethical standards in all our processes; be it in procurement practices or customer centricity or governance or regarding the supplier’s code of conduct. We are committed towards local vendors’ development and partner with them. Through our Supplier Code of Conduct, we promote and drive good business practices that go beyond national standards and requirements also completing ethics and compliance training is mandatory for all our employees.

Outlook for 2020/21With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the overall efficiency of our operations, we do not expect the situation to be normal anytime soon but as an essential service provider ensuring access to communication of people remains uncompromised. Despite the significant challenges that lie ahead, we see sustainability as one of the key transformation drivers that will support our strategy to build a thriving business and strengthen communities at the same time. Our Board of Directors believe in our brand, our business, the social cause that we are driving and the positive impact we have been having and should have, on the local communities. We are taking a comprehensive approach to sustainability with concrete goals and measurable targets that ensure we get things done. The renewed focus on health, education and environment is central to our commitment to be a responsible corporate citizen, in areas that matter to the community we serve, our employees and our consumers.

Looking beyond 2021, sustainability will be a central focus for our company and our board. Our longstanding belief is that our business can only be as strong and successful as the communities we serve. After all, business and sustainability are not separate stories—but different facets of the same story.

Together, we aspire to make a better society for all!

Together for Nepal- Our response to COVID-19Serving over 15.76 million subscribers, we recognize the impact we have on our society and our role during the time of global crisis. We have contributed NPR 100 million to the Government established COVID-19 Infection Prevention, Control and Treatment Fund. We take pride in being the first private company to step forward to support the Government in responding to the crisis in this scale on the first day of nationwide lockdown effective from March 24, 2020. We have also been supporting the COVID-19 Crisis Management Committee (CCMC) for Migration Tracking and Contact Tracing to mitigate the spread of the virus.

Likewise, we have taken a lead in health awareness campaign leveraging on our internal platform as well as using the external channel of communication in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Population and UNICEF. As a part of this COVID-19 response initiative, over 45 million COVID-19 awareness SMS have been broadcasted and more than 20 million OBD calls. Similarly, we continuously updated our default ring back tone with the COVID-19 awareness messaging. Ncell was the only operator in Nepal that changed its network name as ‘StaySafe@Ncell’ immediately after the COVID-19 started impacting the country. Urging the behavioral change among the general public to follow the three key messages to be safe from COVID-19, we in collaboration with the Government aired COVID-19 awareness Public Service Announcements from multiple channels of mass communications. We have also been airing a radio program to ensure continued learning of children in rural Nepal who do not have access to internet in collaboration with ACORAB & CIN. Apart from this, to ensure 24/7 free connectivity of our customers with doctors for taking any immediate medical consultation on COVID-19 and general health and wellbeing, we had also placed Ncell Hotline service in place.

Despite adversities of the pandemic, our commitment to serving customers remain our utmost priority. To ensure continued communication of our customers, we introduced series of products and service offerings to ease continued communication of our customers including 120% bonus on recharge, free balance transfer service, discount on PAYG internet, increased Saapati limit, free access to various digital services among others. Addressing the growing communication needs of front-line workers, we extended free services to all the frontline workers. We have extended support worth NPR 9.70 billion from the first day of lockdown which includes customer friendly relief offers and contribution in the

COVID-19 fund. To ensure availability of customer care service, our Ncell Centres were partially open adopting all the safety measures even during the strict lockdown.

Keeping in mind safety and wellbeing of our colleagues, we observed 100% work from home modality with free access to internet keeping the business continuity in mind. Adopting to the new normal, we ensured continued engagement with our colleagues via digital platform (Microsoft Teams) throughout the work from home session. Appropriate safety measures and facilities were duly provided to the colleagues reporting from office to ensure safe working conditions and their wellbeing. Aiming to ensure health and wellbeing of our colleagues during the pandemic, we also organized stress management sessions, health week among others. We also collaborated with key hospitals for immediate required medical support to our colleagues and their family members. Amidst the pandemic, we also relocated to our new workstation Ncell ICON wherein we have been strictly following the WHO defined COVID-19 safety parameters.

Contribution to National EconomyOur approach to sustainability is based on a strong commitment to inspire people by empowering them and growing together, aiming to create a long-term value proposition for our community and stakeholders at large.

I am pleased to share with you all that Ncell has been, and still is, the largest telecom operator of Nepal based on the Revenue Market Share (RMS) and we hold our strong presence across Nepal in all 7 Provinces. Considering the size of our contribution towards the Government treasury in the form of taxes and fees, we take pride for being one of the highest tax payers of the country. Our direct and indirect contribution to the country’s GDP stood at 1.6 percent1 in FY 2019/20. We made capital expenditure of NPR 26.77 billion and contributed NPR 32.62 billion in taxes and fees to the Government of Nepal which accounts for around 3.8 percent2 of total tax revenues of the Government.

As a committed investor in Nepal, we have made a substantial investment in infrastructure for service expansion and enhancing service quality. Our CAPEX investment in the year increased to NPR 26.77 billion from NPR 11.97 billion as of the last fiscal year 2018/19. The increased investment in the CAPEX has contributed in increasing the overall connectivity across Nepal. Our best-in-class network connectivity ensures that 92.47 percent of Nepal’s population has access to mobile communications services. Likewise, in our endeavour to contribute towards digital inclusion, we are continuously expanding our 4G infrastructure beyond high-density areas and cities. As of FY 2019/20, 59 percent of our base transceiver stations (BTS) are in rural areas. Our 3G coverage has reached to more than 59 percent of

its population ensuring availability of high-speed mobile data connection in even rural and remote areas. Launched in 2017, we have witnessed a leap in our 4G service expansion across the country with population coverage of 58 percent.

Contributions to the societyAs a responsible corporate citizen, we have been working for the sustainable development of the society via numerous social initiatives and we are proud that we are driving from the front in terms of CSR as well. As of FY 2019/20, we have invested more than NPR 1.25 billion in different social initiatives in sector including Health, Education and Environment, among many others.

As provisioned in the Industrial Enterprise Act, we have been allocating 1% of our profit to CSR. Company remains committed to focus in CSR areas defined in the Industrial Enterprise Regulation and we shall remain committed to work within this framework driving the sustainability initiatives across the country. In the FY 2019/20, our focus remained primarily on Health, Education and Environment under which we undertook key big projects including Health Awareness Initiatives, Digital Lab, Green Belt, Telemedicine and Health Informatics Programme that aim to create positive impact on larger population segment of the country. Under our CSR initiatives, last year we extended our collaboration with key Government agencies including Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MoCIT) and Department of Forest and Soil Conservation (DoFSC). We also partnered with UNICEF. Further to this, we have a continued collaboration with the Institute of Engineering (IoE) for Ncell Scholarships and Excellence Awards and collaboration with the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology for the flood Early Warning System (EWS).

In-line with the Axiata Group’s philosophy on talent development, at Ncell we believe in investing in our talent, encouraging innovations and identifying future leaders for becoming a Modern Agile Digital (M.A.D) organisation. We have a skilled pool of 543 people working across the country directly driving the vision of Today. Tomorrow. Together. In addition to this, we also supported more than 18,0003 indirect employment and around 38,000 jobs were supported by capital investments.

Being a customer centric company, enhancing customer experience remains our major priority. We have been continuously enhancing our customer experience via 24/7 customer care, 32 Ncell Centre and over 100,000 POS.

1 National Contribution Report of Ncell for FY 2019/202 National Contribution Report of Ncell for FY 2019/20

3 Axiata National Contribution Report 2019

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Our Business

About NcellNcell Axiata Limited (previously Ncell Private Limited) is the first private mobile service provider operating in Nepal for the past sixteen years. The company is committed to building the best-in-class mobile network experience, connecting some of the remotest areas of Nepal with digital communication offerings.

Ncell was first incorporated as ‘Mero Mobile’ in 2004. Four years later, it was acquired by Telia Company (previously known as TeliaSonera Group of Sweden) and rebranded as ‘Ncell’ in 2010. On April 12, 2016, Ncell became part of Axiata Group Berhad, one of Asia’s leading telecommunications groups with a strong presence across the region, serving 150 million customers with its vision to be the New Generation Champion by 2022.

3G

2004Established as Mero Mobile

2008Acquired by TeliaSonera

2010Rebranded as Ncell

2010Launched 3G

2017Launched 4G

2016Joined Axiata Group

2020Change in company name

and conversion toPublic Limited Company

2019Ncell for Business (N4B)

KeyCorporateMilestones

7 NTA MIS Report (Mid July, 2020)

Year of Investment2016

Nature of BusinessMobile Telecom Operator

Year of Shareholding80%

Total Subscribers15.76 million7

The company converted into a public limited company and also changed its name to ‘Ncell Axiata Limited’ on August 03, 2020. As a subsidiary of Axiata Group, and a long-term investor in Nepal, Ncell is constantly working towards its goals of connecting every Nepali through its network, providing high quality modern services to consistently create better value for its customers and partners, contributing to the vision of Digital Nepal and development of the country’s economy and infrastructure. The company operates the widest 4G network in the country fulfilling the national need of high-speed mobile broadband and creating new opportunities for the people of Nepal taking the country towards a brighter digital future. Technology Deployed

GSM, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA, 3G, 4G

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Ncell Sustainability Report FY 2019-20


National and International AwardsNcell has received numerous prestigious national and international awards, along with various recognitions for our contribution towards the country and society in the course of our operations.

Appreciation from Ministry of Health and Population for Mass COVID-19 Awareness Support

Appreciation from UNICEF for Mass COVID-19 Awareness Support

Appreciation from Ministry of Health and Population for National Measles Rubella Vaccination Campaign

2019/20

GSMA Global Mobile Awards 2016 - Mobile in Emergency or Humanitarian Situations (February 2016)

2015/16

Awards and Recognitions

Government of Nepal - Highest Income Taxpayer Award (2014)

New Business Age - Best Managed Joint Venture Company of the Year Award 2014

National Excellence Awards 2013 - Service Excellence Award 2013 (Large Enterprise)

National Excellence Awards 2013 - People’s Choice Best Brand (Multinational Nepalese Company) Award 2013

2013/14

8 RMS-Revenue Market Share Figures as of FY 2019/20

Telecom Asia Awards 2017: Most Innovative Telecom Project in Asia Pacific

Frost & Sullivan Awards 2016 - Nepal Mobile Service Provider of the Year

Frost & Sullivan Nepal Best Practices Awards 2016 - Mobile Service Provider of the Year (November, 2016)

Highest Advertisement Tax Payer: Kathmandu Metropolitan City

2016/17

Government of Nepal - Highest Income Taxpayer Award (2015)

Frost and Sullivan Awards 2015 - Nepal Mobile Service Provider of the Year

2014/15

Frost and Sullivan Asia Pacific Awards 2017- Nepal Mobile Service Provider of the Year

World HRD Congress, 2018- Nepal Best Employer Brand Awards 2018

Frost and Sullivan Nepal Business Excellence Awards 2017 Gold Award – Telecom Sector, Mega Large Business

Dr. Rishi Ram Sharma Disaster Response and Readiness Award, 2017

2017/18

Key Highlights of FY 2019/20

NPR 60.51 billion Contribution to GDP (Approx 1.6% of National GDP)

NPR 32.62 billion Contribution in taxes and fees (Approx 3.8% of govt tax revenue)

NPR 26.77 billion CAPEX Investment

1% of net profit Allocated to CSR initiatives

No. 1 Telecom Operator (Based on RMS)

58% 4G Population Coverage

59.46% 3G Population Coverage

92.47% Total Population Coverage

NPR 20.28 billion OPEX Investment

Over 57000 Jobs Supported (Direct/Indirect)

15.76 million Subscribers base

6.71 million Data Subscribers

58.92% Rural Connectivity

64% Smartphone penetration among Ncell users

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Service Subscribers TotalNDCL UTL* Ncell STPL ISPs

Fixed Broadband (Wired)

ADSL# 946559 946559

Cable/FTTH# 181234 4353507 4534741

Internet Lease Line

1149 1149

Fixed Broadband (Wireless)

Radio (Wi-Fi)# 144570 144570

Wi MAX# 90237 90237

Mobile Broadband

3G 8626133 2963498 11589631

4G 843969 3746990 203148 4794107

EVDO 136573 136573

Total 10825854 6710488 203148 4498077 22237567

Services Subscription (%)

Fixed Broadband (Wired)# 18.35

Fixed Broadband (Wireless)# 0.79

Mobile Broadband 55.30

Total Broadband (%) 74.43

Service Fixed Mobile Others TotalOperators PSTN WLL VSAT GSM CDMA GMPCS

NDCL 664342 118506 581 17480964 1683715 19948108

UTL

Ncell 15761903 15761903

NSTPL

STPL 2147080 2147080

Others 2905 2905

Total 664342 118506 581 35389947 1683715 290537859996

783429 37073662 2905

Services

Fixed 2.62

Mobile 124.09

Others (GMPCS) 0.01

Total 126.72

Telecommunication operating landscapeTelecommunications sector in Nepal registered an impressive growth over the last decade largely due to the policy of sector liberalisation adopted by the Government. Competitive intensity of the sector has increased and as a result, telephone penetration rate increased significantly. Mobile sector has registered

impressive growth as evidenced by its sustained successful trajectory over the past few years. In voice telephony, mobile service covers 98 percent9 of the market share. As of mid-July 2020, the mobile penetration rate of the country is 126.72%10.

2% Fixed

98% Mobile

Subscription of Voice Telephony Service:

Broadband Service:

9 MIS Report of NTA (Mid-July 2020)10 MIS Report of NTA (Mid-July 2020)

Population Projection (2011-2031) 29,876,531 (Source: cbs.gov.np)

Note: Data/Internet Service through GPRS Service is excluded in Broadband subscription # 1 Connection equal to 4.88 subscribers for fixed broadband (Source: cbs.gov.np) * Data for the month of Shrawan not received FTTH- Fibre to the Home NDCL- Nepal Doorsanchar Company limited UTL- United Telecom Limited NCELL- Ncell Axiata Limited NSTPL- Nepal Satellite Telecom Pvt.Ltd

5% STPL

0% Others

55% NDCL40% Ncell

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Sustainability at NcellAs a subsidiary of the Axiata Group, our approach to sustainability is closely aligned with Axiata Group’s Sustainability Framework which is based on a 4P approach – Beyond Short-term Profit, Nurturing People, Process Excellence & Governance, Planet and Society. In line with this, we have localised the Group’s Sustainability Framework to our national context by incorporating the Government defined areas in the new CSR regulation. All information is up to year ending mid-July 2020 (FY 2076/77), unless specified.

Culture of Integrity& Performance

Diversity &Inclusivity

ConduciveWorkplace

Nurturing People Nurturing

Future Leaders

People

Best PracticesAcross the

Value Chain

CustomerCentricity

DigitisingProcesses

StrongGovernance

Process Excellence& Governance

Process

EnvironmentManagement

Disaster Management& Reponse

CorporateResponsibility

Planet & Society

Planet

Beyond Short-TermProfits

Long-TermInvestments

DigitalEcosystem

DigitalInclusion

GSMAPartnership

Profits

Sustainability is an integral part of our operations and the company remains committed towards fulfilling our responsibility towards the people, planet and society, and has adopted highest standards of governance and process excellence to provide innovative products and services to deliver world class customer experience. We have implemented numerous social projects in areas of Education, Health, Environment, Promotion of Digital Talent, Promoting Ethical Business practices

and Disaster Preparedness and Response, Livelihood Support, among others.

Since the implementation of the Industrial Enterprise Regulation (2019) 2076, we have aligned our CSR areas and priorities in line with the verticals/areas that is allowed under CSR. As provisioned in the Industrial Enterprise Act 2076, we provision at least 1% of the annual net profit for contribution under company’s CSR initiatives.

Sustainability efforts of Ncell

CSR Pillars for 2018/19 and ahead

Education Health Livelihood Infrastructure

CSR VerticalsArt &

CultureDocumentariesand Awareness

DisasterResponseEnvironment

Section 48(1) of the Industrial Enterprise Act (IEA) requires an industry to set aside 1% of its profit for CSR activities every year. Rule 37 has elaborated the following 8 broad areas wherein those funds can be utilized in coordination with local level Governments.

Education

Scholarships for community schools and Universities, distribution of educational equipment & materials and other activities related to development of education sector.

Health

Providing medicine and health equipment to community health organizations, conducting heath awareness programs, health camps and other health related activities.

DisasterResponse

Natural disaster prevention and rescue related activities.

Environment

Pollution control, waste management, tree plantation, preservation of water source, alternative energy promotion and other environment conservation activities.

Livelihood

Skill development and income generating programs for people with low income, from backward areas, rural women, differently abled, minority groups and marginalized society.

Arts & Culture

Preservation and conservation of Nepali art, cultural heritage and monuments.

Documentariesand Awareness

Production and broadcasting of documentaries and awareness programs against social disorders such as smoking and drinking.

Infrastructure

Construction of rural drinking water, road, drainage & sewage, patipauwa, old age home, sports ground, religious site, community health building, other community building (including its repair and maintenance), orphanage, park, meditation centers, bus park, bus stand, other physical infrastructure for social welfare.

At least 25% of such set aside CSR amount should be expensed in the areas affected by the industry. Industry can deposit amount (limited to maximum 10% of the set aside amount for CSR) in any fund recommended by DOI and such deposited amount can be claimed as expensed from related planned CSR areas.

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Commended for Mass COVID-19 Awarness Initiatives with a Letter of Appreciation from the Ministry of Health and Population and National Health Education Information Communication Centre (NHEICC)

Received Letter of Appreciation from Ministry of Health and Population for our contribution to the National Measles-Rubella Vaccination Campaign 2020

Letter of Appreciation from UNICEF for Mass COVID-19 Awareness Initiative.

Collaborated with Tribhuvan University, Higher Institutions and Secondary Schools’ Association Nepal (HISSAN), Private & Boarding Schools’ Organization Nepal (PABSON) and National Private and Boarding Schools Association of Nepal (N-PABSON) for student plan

MoU with Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), National Health Education Information Communication Centre (NHEICC) and UNICEF for Mass COVID-19 Awareness Campaign

Unlimited WFH data to employees while working from home

Launched COVID-19 Safety Tracker, Ensuring Employee Wellbeing via series of webinar sessions on mindfulness and stress management, Health and Safety Week, collaboration with hospitals for immediate medical support among others

Implemented 100% WFH culture via SoPs and guidelines in place, ensuring continuous engagement in digital platforms (Microsoft Teams).

Relocated Ncell headquarters to the new state-of-the-art building. Ncell ICON

Investing and innovating for the long term

Directly Employed 543

Operational indirectly supported

18,398

Jobs Supported by Capital Investment

37,969

Total Jobs SupportedApprox. 57000

Contribution to Gross Value Added (GVA)NPR 60.51 billion1.6% of Nation’s

GDP

NPR 26.77 billion CAPEX Investment

Contribution to Public FinancesNPR 32.62 billion3.8% of total tax revenue of

the Government

Contribution to public finance

41.08% in Urban58.92% in Rural

Contribution of NPR. 100 million to the Coronavirus Infection Prevention, Control and Treatment Fund and mass media COVID-19 Awareness campaign

Supported the Government for Migration Tracking and Contact identifying COVID-19 infected people through the USSD and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) survey

Greening of Ring Road’s Green Belt in the Koteshwor-Kalanki stretch

Contributed to the Government’s National Measles Rubella Campaign

Setting up of modern digital IT Labs in 60 community schools across the country

Radio Outreach Programme in collaboration with ACORAB and CIN

Ncell Call to Doctor service and Ncell Hotline service for free COVID-19 consultation with doctors

Telemedicine and Health Informatics Programme in collaboration with Dhulikhkel Hospital

Network Coverage

No. of BTS Sites2G 3G 4G

Population Coverage

3586

92.47%37003600350034003300320031003000

100%90%80%70%60%50%40%30%20%10%0%

59.46% 58.10%

32183314

26.77

11.97

FY 2019/20FY 2018/19

In N

PR b

illion

In N

PR b

illion

34.5532.62

FY 2019/20FY 2018/19

In N

PR b

illion

In N

PR b

illion

Partnerships

People

Planet & Society

Rapid Assessment Survey in collaboration with Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens and UNWOMEN to identify how COVID-19 impacted Women and Children.

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Beyond Short Term ProfitsAs a leading telecom operator of Nepal, we are committed to delivering value which goes beyond short-term gains. We have contributed over NPR 242 billion as taxes and fees to the Government since inception and as a long term investor in Nepal, our deeper commitment for the overall development of the country is well addressed through our presence across the country connecting 15.76 million customers with widest telecommunication network across Nepal. In the last FY 2019/20, we made a substantial investment in network expansion, system upgrades and network modernization for which our capital investment for the year stood at NPR 26.77 billion. As, a responsible corporate citizen of the country, we

have always been a leading contributor to the Government’s public finances through taxes, licensing fees, royalties and statutory contributions. In the last FY 2019/20, our contribution towards Government treasury stood at NPR 32.62 billion which equivalents to approx. 3.8% of country’s total tax revenue. We had also been recognized by the Government as the largest taxpayer for our contribution in FY 2014/15 and 2015/16. These investment and development activities carried out by Ncell represent direct contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. Its contribution in the GDP in the FY 2019/20 is equivalent to approximately 1.6% of the country’s GDP.

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Smartphone penetration among Ncell users

2020 (2Q) 64%

2019 (2Q) 61%

2018 (2Q) 58%

2017 (2Q) 47%

2016 (2Q) 36%

CAPEX Increment YoY

FY 2017/18

7.32 Bn

302520151050

FY 2018/19

11.97 Bn

FY 2019/20

26.77 Bn

Contribution to Public Finance

26.86 Bn

FY 2016/17 FY 2017/18 FY 2018/19 FY 2019/20

35302520151050

28.23 Bn

34.67 Bn 32.62 Bn

Data Usage Per Customer (in MB)

2000

1500

1000

500

0

160341

698891

1931

2016 (2Q) 2017 (2Q) 2018 (2Q) 2019 (2Q) 2020 (2Q)

Network Coverage

No. of BTS Sites2G 3G 4G

Population Coverage

3586

92.47%37003600350034003300320031003000

100%90%80%70%60%50%40%30%20%10%0%

59.46% 58.10%

32183314

Subscribers Base (in Million)

15.75 16.51 16.63 15.76

2016 (mid July)

2020 (mid July)

2019 (mid July)

2018 (mid July)

2017 (mid July)

14.26

20

15

10

5

0

41.08% in Urban58.92% in Rural

Digital InclusionOnline RechargeChatbot ServiceNcell JobshopAudio Class

NPR 20.28billion

OPEX

NPR 26.77billion

CAPEX Investment

NPR 60.51 billion Contribution to GDP

(Approx. 1.6% of National GDP)

15.76 millionSubscribers

NPR 32.62billion

Contribution in taxes (Approx. 3.8% of

Government tax revenue)

58% 4G3678 6.71 millionPopulation CoverageTotal Physical Sites Data Subscribers

15.76 Million 3.74 million92.47%Subscribers Base 4G SubscribersPopulation Coverage

64% 543 Direct 59.46%Smartphone

penetration among Ncell users

Jobs Supported (Direct/Indirect)

3G Population Coverage

TDO NepalMerolagani AppPRBT Service

2G population coverage- 92.47% 3G popuation coverage- 59.46% 4G population coverage- 58.10%

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COVID-19 Response

Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, as a responsible corporate citizen, we have remained at the forefront from the day one of the lockdown and left no stones unturned to ensure connectivity of our customers to stay connected and updated during the crisis with their families and friends.

Citizens are relying on communications services to stay connected and updated during this crisis. In fact, as a critical infrastructure provider, Ncell views it as our civic duty to step up and keep our customers and communities connected. Despite adversities of the pandemic, our commitment to serving customers remain our utmost priority. To ensure continued communication of our customers, we introduced series of products and service offerings to ease continued communication of our customers including 120% bonus on recharge, free balance transfer service, discount on PAYG internet, increased Saapati limit, free access to various digital services among others. Addressing the

growing communication needs of front-line workers, we extended free services to all the frontline workers. We have extended support worth NPR 9.70 billion from the first day of lockdown which includes customer friendly relief offers and contribution in the COVID-19 fund. To ensure availability of customer care service, our Ncell Centres were partially open adopting to all the safety measures even during the strict lockdown.

In order to address the communications need and keep our customers and communities connected, we introduced numerous offers with high digital engagement to mitigate overall business impact despite challenging environment. We launched series of products and services both on voice and data to our customers making the connectivity more affordable than ever from the first day of nationwide lockdown. We also ensured continuous engagement with our customers with various customised lockdown awareness, engagement and promotional activities.

Business Continuity, Digitalization Acceleration and Subsidized services

- 120% bonus on recharge - Double credit loan considering 88% RC dependency - Data & SMS on credit - Free balance transfer - Multiple balance transfer possibilities - Customized loan to LVC customers - Promotion of online recharge

Balance Assurance

- Health Consultation - Psychological Counseling - Playzone - Kidsee - Loksewa - Hungama and Daami music - Story Portal - Prabhu TV - Music Content - Astrology

Entertainment, Health and More

- Stay Home Pack - Voice Pack - Discount on PAYG - Call discount in 15 countries - SIM Cards with free resources to 150K frontline workers - Student plan for online education - 3000 complimentary seats of MS enabled for corporate clients

Always Connected

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Ncell is committed to maintaining the highest standard of corporate governance as it supports long-term value creation. We comply with all relevant laws of the country and uphold strong ethical code of conduct in our operations. We uphold maximum compliance that is assured by the internal and external audits, monitoring and inspections. As a member of Axiata Group, we comply with the Group’s comprehensive governance framework which is assured by quality inspections followed by internal and external audits.

Process Excellence and Governance

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Ensuring best practices

across value chain

Strong Supplier Code of Conduct

Local Vendor Deployment- More than 50% of spending on local vendors

100% of the suppliers screened through environmental criteria

Anti- Bribery & Anti- Corruption (ABAC) PolicyNcell takes pride in its beliefs and core values of Uncompromising Integrity and is committed to conducting business with zero tolerance to any form of bribery and corruption. We advocate free and fair trade, striving for forthright competition and ethical conditions within the legal framework of Nepal. We strictly prohibit the receipt and the giving of bribes or participation in any acts or situations that may lead to or be perceived as bribes. Likewise, the stakeholders are also required to adhere to Ncell’s ABAC governance instruments (Framework, Policies and Procedures, Code of Conduct) which will be governed by Ncell. The Management is committed to implementing effective measures to prevent, monitor and eliminate corruption in any form, in accordance with Anti- Bribery & Anti- Corruption (ABAC) Policy

Strengthening Data Privacy and Cyber SecurityWe uphold the highest standards of customer data privacy protection to gain our customers’ trust and confidence in the digital world.

Guiding Principles for Ncell SuppliersCompliance to Laws Avoidance of Forced or Involuntary Labor Child Labor Avoidance Respect and dignity of Employees

Ensuring Customer SatisfactionNet Promoter Score Brand Equity Score

24/7 Customer Helpline

32 Ncell Centers

2G/3G/4G Services

100,000 POS across the country

CustomerCentricity

Ncell Ethics Framework

EnhancedTrust &

Reputation

CompanyVision

Leadership

ImprovedFinancial &Operational

Performances

Whi

stle

Blo

win

g

Def

alca

tion

Com

mitt

ee

Nce

ll Va

lues

&

Beha

viou

r

Code

of C

ondu

ct

Empl

oyee

Byl

aws

Communication& Engagement

Training& Reinforcement

PerformanceManagement System

SupportiveEnvironment

Non- Discrimination Freedom of Association Health and Safety Protection of the Environment

Responding to COVID-19: Our Customers and Partners

Social Media response, online chat and call me back service via SMS

Additional credit limit to channel partners.

Ncell App and online recharge

Partially operational walk-in Ncell Centre.

Supplies maintained at essential FMCG grocery chains and supermarkets.

Setup and operation of 9 regional warehouses

Consumer and Enterprise Call center and channel helpline.

Increased wallet size of onine

Tie-up with local e-comm stores.

26 27



Nurturing PeopleGuided by ‘One Company, One Family’ philosophy, we at Ncell have come together from different parts of the country to create synergy. Our workforce of 543 employees is our greatest asset. We drive a Modern, Agile and Digital (M.A.D) workforce that strives to create an inclusive workplace. We provide a high performance, world class working environment that safeguards our employees’ wellbeing.

We aspire to be an employer of choice in Nepal, presenting a unique opportunity for local employees to be part of a business that is driving to be a national champion, leveraging on the scale, technology and resources of the Axiata Group that has its strong footprints across Asia. In line with our core values, we strive to create a digitally inclusive workplace that is modern in outlook, agile in our processes and inculcates digital first mindset in all we do for better digital tomorrow.

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25 MembersOHS Committee

5% Joint ManagementOHS Committee

Injury Rate 0% ODR 0% Fatal Incident Rate 0%

Occupational Health, Safety andEmployee Wellbeing

• Strategic Thinking• Business Acumen

think

• Uncompromising Integrity• Exceptional Performance• Customer Loyalty

Think before we act,And we shall act according towhat we embrace

embrace

Talent Management

• Results Achievement• Coalition Building• Customer Orientation• People Management & Development

act

Training & Development

NonDiscrimination

EqualOpportunity

Equal Pay forEqual Work

6 Nationalities

76% Male

98% Employee Retention Rate

100% Employees Receiving Performance Review

3.5% New Recruitment

22% Senior Management Hired Locally

Average Training per employee- 19 hours

Trainings: Face to Face, LinkedIn Learning,

Axiata Fast Forward77% Millennial Workforce

24% Female

98% Local Employee Proportion

2.2% Females in Leadership Position

24% Female

76% Male

2% Non Local

98% Local

Traineeship Program

Internship Program

Employee Mentoring

Top 5 preferred Courses

Time Management: Working from Home

The Six Morning Habits of High Performance

Operational Excellence Foundations

Learning Python

Cross – Selling

Uncompromising IntegrityWe do things right and do the right thing.

Exceptional PerformanceThrough grit comes greatness.

One Company, One FamilyWe are many, we are one.

Customer at our HeartOur customers first. Always.

Breakthrough InnovationWe innovate to excite and design to delight.

COREVALUES

543 Total

Employees

30 31



Group Talent Management Framework

Training and DevelopmentWe empower employees to take charge of their professional development and continuous learning through face-to-face training and digital platforms.

20 hours Male

15 hours Female

Driving M.A.D. Organisation

Activities enrolled in Ncell to enhance Talents

Freedom to Learn

Oversee talent development aligned to our organisational

transformation and aspiration

Data driven analytics for insights and talent

development

Regular performance review and assessment

of talents

Identify, assess and develop talents for future senior

management and managerial roles

Group and OpCo Talent

Councils

Driving Agility -Agile Roadmap Adoption -Agile Awareness Session

Synapse-Knowledge sharing Platform

Launch of Ngage

Launch of Ignite

COVID-19 Safety Tracker

Accelerator ProgramNcell Accelerator ProgramMentoring Program360 Degree Assessment Program

Accelerates sharing by subject matter experts of best practices, library of internal content, and case studies of lessens learnt Connects six countries and eight OpCos

A one stop solution integrated with HR Platform. Towards employee lifecycle management portal

Performance Management System

LinkedIn Learning Stats

Fast Forward

UI•EP Behaviours

2,531 Hours Viewed

95% Active Users

1.12 Hours Average Time Per

Viewer

1325 Course Completion

Axiata’s intelligent learning technology platform to curate learning modules.

In 2019, we launched ‘Speak Up’, a regional compliance hotline

Facilitates the reporting of actual or suspected misconduct and illegal or unethical behaviour.

Collaborate: Working together with the team and cross functional for better results

Act Different: Being innovative and executing fast without compromising on the quality. Growing self and helping others to grow

Responsible/Accountable: Taking responsibility of one’s own work and owning it. Being solution oriented while performing any task Ethical: Doing what is right with humility & being honest

Driving Culture of IntegrityEmployee Engagement Score Sustainable Engagement Score U.I.E.P Ethics Performance

Speak Up Hotline

Ncell CARE

Join communities to discuss and share a topic Explore useful videos and resources Record and post knowledge and ideas

Open to all stakeholders to whistle-blow on any employee across Axiata Available in all local languages

Do the right thing Own it

Collaborate to win

Respect every

individual

Think different. Do faster. Do Better.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all segments of society and as we continue to confront the challenges-health, safety and wellbeing of our employees remains our top priority. In line with the new normal safety guidelines issued by the Government, we have been continuously adapting to the norms to ensure safe working conditions for our employees.

Responding to COVID-19: Our Employees 100% Work-From-

Home (WFH) implemented

Unlimited mobile data facility for employees while WFH

Use of virtual platforms like Microsoft Teams to facilitate the workflow

Continuous engagement in virtual platforms

Launch of employee safety tracker

Corporate and functional SoPs in place in line with Government defined protocols

Series of webinars on Mindfulness, Stress Management and Managing Mental Health during crisis

Collaboration with hospitals for immediate medical support

Flexible working modalities adopted with ease of movement

Continuous disinfection of office premises, vehicles and workstations

Strict adherence of SMS (2-meter distancing, Use of Masks, Sanitization) inside office premises

Employee Handbook

Regular company wide update to employees

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Improving Environmental and Social OutcomesAs a responsible corporate citizen, we are continuously working towards reducing the environmental impact generating directly and indirectly from our operations while improving the societal impact through a range of social initiatives under our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. We are committed to promoting a sustainable business through responsible use of resources.

Planet & Society

36 37



Zero Carbon Emission Roadmap by 2050Corporations play a key role in the mitigation of global warming and to keep global temperatures from rising by 1.5°C, through decisions they take to invest in researching and implementing new energy technologies as well as energy efficiency measures. We, as a part of Axiata Group, are committed towards carbon reduction as we operate in a region particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change which can potentially affect the long-term sustainability of our business.

In line with the Axiata Group, we are developing a robust strategic approach in the management of climate change. This includes developing a climate governance framework and setting targets. The pathway establishes mobile network operators to lower emissions by at least 45% by 2030.

At the end of 2019, the GSMA launched its Zero by 2050 commitment, one of the first major sectors to voluntarily set an emissions reduction target. The commitment calls for GSMA members to set verifiable Science Based Targets (SBT) at 1.5°C or a target that aligns and meets national commitments.

Disaster Response ReadinessAt Ncell, we have our Business Continuity Management (BCM) framework in place to act in case of any crisis. Our BCM framework is continuously updated to enhance its effectiveness. Annual simulation exercises like network drill and redundancy test are also carried out on a regular basis.

BCM Policy& Plans

EmergencyResponse

IT & NetworkRecovery

Annual SimulationExercise

Flood Early Warning SystemSince 2016, we have partnered with Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) for the implementation of flood early warning system with an aim to save lives and minimise loss of property damage during incidents of floods that hit the country annually. Over the years, we have broadcasted over 2.85 Million flood related alerts to people.

We have provided 500 Ncell SIMs, each with monthly 250 MB Data to DHM. These SIMs are used by DHM in their telementary data transfer devices in hydrology and meteorology stations to transfer weather and river level data/information to server. We will continue providing such support, during the term of the MoU, as per verified needs of newly established stations by DHM in order to strengthen its EWS capacity.

A toll free number ‘1155’ has also been assigned wherein customers can dial in for free and get the recent updates on disasters.

Energy Consumption

GreenInitiatives

Energy Consumption by Source (GJ)*

Total Emissions t/CO2e*

Lithium-Ion Battery (LIB)

Planted 50,000 trees in 33 hectare land in Dhanushadham-2014

Building and maintaining the greenary along 10.2 Km Ring Road stretch.

11.87% of Solar Powered Sites

Fuel Cells

7%

93%

15%

3.03 Million (GJ) 85%

Direct Energy Indirect Energy Scope 2Scope 1

3315.19 t/CO2e

Our largest impact on the environment is from carbon emissions. Our base stations are primarily powered by national electricity grids and in places that are not connected to the national grids, base stations are either powered by diesel/petrol or solar energy. We aim to reduce our carbon footprints while growing our businesses.

* We are currently undergoing an exercise to enhance our collection, analysis and assurance processes of our energy and emissions data, and this will continue throughout 2021, as we enhance the reporting accuracy of carbon data towards a strengthened climate roadmap

Figures as of December 2020

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Contribution to the SocietyNcell has always been one of the largest contributors to the country through several projects that have been implemented under our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. As of FY 2019/20, we have invested more than NPR 1.25 billion in social projects in various sectors like Education, Health, Environment, Disaster Preparedness and Response, and Livelihood Support among others. In line with the Industrial Enterprise Regulation, we have been allocating 1% of annual net profit for CSR initiatives under the verticals defined by the Government.

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CSR Pillars for 2018/19 and ahead

Education Health Livelihood Infrastructure

CSR VerticalsArt &

CultureDocumentariesand Awareness

DisasterResponseEnvironment

Section 48(1) of the Industrial Enterprise Act (IEA) requires an industry to set aside 1% of its profit for CSR activities every year. Rule 37 has elaborated the following 8 broad areas wherein those funds can be utilized in coordination with local level Governments.

Education

Scholarships for community schools and Universities, distribution of educational equipment & materials and other activities related to development of education sector.

Health

Providing medicine and health equipment to community health organizations, conducting heath awareness programs, health camps and other health related activities.

DisasterResponse

Natural disaster prevention and rescue related activities.

Environment

Pollution control, waste management, tree plantation, preservation of water source, alternative energy promotion and other environment conservation activities.

Livelihood

Skill development and income generating programs for people with low income, from backward areas, rural women, differently abled, minority groups and marginalized society.

Arts & Culture

Preservation and conservation of Nepali art, cultural heritage and monuments.

Documentariesand Awareness

Production and broadcasting of documentaries and awareness programs against social disorders such as smoking and drinking.

Infrastructure

Construction of rural drinking water, road, drainage & sewage, patipauwa, old age home, sports ground, religious site, community health building, other community building (including its repair and maintenance), orphanage, park, meditation centers, bus park, bus stand, other physical infrastructure for social welfare.

At least 25% of such set aside CSR amount should be expensed in the areas affected by the industry. Industry can deposit amount (limited to maximum 10% of the set aside amount for CSR) in any fund recommended by DOI and such deposited amount can be claimed as expensed from related planned CSR areas.

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NPR 100 million (10 Crore) contribution to the Government’s Coronavirus Infection Prevention, Control and Treatment Fund

Mass Awareness on COVID-19

45 million COVID Awareness SMS sent

Continuously updating our call tone service with most relevant COVID-19 information to ensure safety and wellbeing of the general public

Implemented change in network name as Staysafe@Ncell effective from the first week of nationwide lockdown

Over 20 million OBD calls disseminating the COVID-19 Awareness messages among our subscribers

COVID-19 Awareness PSA In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), National Health Education Information Communication Centre (NHEICC) and UNICEF, we have developed COVID-19 Awareness Public Service Announcement (PSAs) endorsing three recommended behaviors for the general public to adopt in their everyday lives in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus. These PSAs seek to promote behavior change by focus on three messages- maintaining two metre distance between persons, proper use of mask and frequent handwashing for at least 20 seconds. These messages were widely circulated via multiple channels of communication including radio, television, online portals, print as well as others to ensure continuous reach amongst all segments of people across the country

Staysafe@Ncell

Together for Country during Crisis: COVID-19 Response

On March 24, 2020, we contributed Rs 100 million (10 crore) to the Government-established COVID-19 Infection Prevention, Control and Treatment Fund to support the Government for the preparedness to

procure logistics such as personal protective gears, health equipment, PCR testing kits and other materials required in the testing, quarantining and treatment of COVID-19 patients.

As a health awareness partner of the Government and a responsible corporate citizen, we as a part of our CSR initiative proactively discussed with the Government and started COVID-19 Awareness via our internal channel of communication among our customers.

Ncell Private Limited contributes Rs 100 million to Government’s COVID-19 fund

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Ensuring free digital connectivity with doctors for emergency teleconsultation on COVID-19 and general health & wellbeing

Ncell Free Hotline Service From the first week of lockdown, we have set up our own ‘Hotline’ to enable our subscribers to seek free teleconsultation with doctors for their concerns regarding COVID-19 and general health and wellbeing in general. For this we have collaborated with Med Pro International who supported in addressing each and every call from customers and addressing their non prescription based health concerns.

Free Access to Government Hotlines As a part of our effort to support the Government in the fight against COVID-19, two of the Government Hotlines 1115 and 1133, were made available free-of-cost.

Support in identifying COVID-19 infected via Survey In collaboration with the COVID-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC), we launched

a self-assessment survey through USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) medium to support the Government of Nepal in identifying people

infected with COVID-19.

In this survey, respondents or Ncell customers were required to answer five questions related to coronavirus by dialing USSD code *17100#.

Upon answering the questions, respondents would immediately receive a message with a suitable health advice followed by Government

defined helpline numbers and Ncell hotline number: 9801575005 through which they can consult with doctors free of charge. If any

of them fall under the suspected categories, they were instantly recommended to seek immediate health consultation. The

details of the suspected customers were shared with CCMC of the Government. All respondents are informed that the

objective of the survey is to support the Government in containing the global pandemic.

Ncell Call To Doctor Service (Video call service) In collaboration with Hamro Patro App (one of the top-

rated App in Nepal), we launched a new feature that allows the general public to seek teleconsultation with

doctors via video calls. Our implementing partner- Smart Ideas collaborated with National Media

Association to bring more than 50 doctors onboard on a 24*7 availability basis.

If you want consultation on coronavirus, call the hotline no. +9779801575005 established in support of Ncell. Let your friends and family too know about this helpline.

Rapid Assessment Survey

Radio Outreach Program

Amidst the pandemic, we collaborated with the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens (MoWCSC) for conducting a Rapid Assessment on how COVID-19 has affected lives of people in Nepal differently. The same survey was carried out in 8 different countries by UNWOMEN in collaboration with local authorities.

Leveraging on our platform we supported the Ministry and UNWOMEN to run a survey among our subscribers. The survey was well responded by all. We received response from more than 8000 responded that helped the Government and rescue agencies to get an insight on impact of COVID-19.

With the increasing cases of COVID-19 across the country, there is still uncertainty regarding the reopening of schools. Amidst this pandemic, most of the private level schools have already adopted to the new normal and shifted to digital modality for running regular classes via applications such as Teams and Zoom.

The greater and long-term impact of COVID-19 will be on the students of public schools in remote Nepal who do not have proper access to internet and gadgets to support online learning. For this reason,

we have collaborated with Rato Bangla Foundation and ACORAB (Association of Community Radio Broadcasters) for running a radio program to ensure engagement of primary level children in rural Nepal.

As shown by research studies, Radio is a wide-reaching medium and a credible source of information for people in remote areas of Nepal. Hence, we have started a radio program to enhance ‘learning by doing skills’ among primary level students and to ensure their continued learning at home.

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CSR Initiatives: Improving Social Outcomes

48 49



Health

Health has always been one among our core focus area under CSR. As a part of our support in providing health services and infrastructures to the people across the country, we have been working closely with the Ministry of Health and Population as an exclusive

health awareness partner of the Government on areas including immunisation, responding to COVID-19 and other epidemic and non epidemic diseases. Below key highlights of CSR activities under this vertical.

Telemedicine and Health Informatics Programme; improving Health Care System in Nepal

We have collaborated with Dhulikhel Hospital (DH) under our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for Telemedicine and Health Informatics Programme to serve remote and underserved communities through quality health care services, using technology and data-driven health care methods.

Under this project, Ncell has supported DH with telemedicine equipment, local supplies and services needed for establishing connectivity infrastructure at the local community health centres. Dhulikhel Hospital (DH) under this joint-collaboration is providing support in allocating space and utilities, qualified Medical Doctors and Consultants as well as carrying out periodic training sessions, monitoring the project to run in optimum quality.

Under this collaboration, Ncell-Dhulikhel Hospital Telemedicine, and Healthcare Informatics Centre will be established at Dhulikhel Hospital, which will supervise activities and innovation in telemedicine and health informatics. The project implementation mainly focuses in two areas—Telemedicine and Personalized Health Programme (PHP). Under the telemedicine component, the project will

deliver quality healthcare services from eight health centres operating under Dhulikhel Hospital by using connectivity and modern telemedicine kit. This service will help directly connect the rural health centres with health professionals/experts in Dhulikhel Hospitals for the next two years.

For the project implementation, four community health centres of the hospital: Manekharka (Sindhupalchowk), Dorpu (Solukhumbu), Thangsin (Nuwakot) and Bolde Kavrepalchowk have been selected that have more than 15,000 households. Locals of the project areas will get treatments on communicable and non-communicable chronic diseases.

Under the PHP, a preventive programme, locals from catchment areas of these community health centres will get personalized health services wherein health workers will conduct regular monitoring of the health of local people for timely intervention at the local level. This component intends to develop a data-driven behavior change for the betterment of the health of local people, aiming to scale up PHP in communities beyond the catchment areas.

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Measles Rubella Vaccination Campaign- 2020Under the same collaboration with the Government, we are also supporting the Government’s mass immunization campaign. Lately, Nepal has been witnessing increasing cases of Measles and Rubella year after year. The WHO has targeted to eliminate Measles Rubella (MR) cases by 2023 globally. In line with this target, the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) launched a mass immunization campaign targeting to vaccinate over 2.5 million children across the country between the age group 9 months to 5 years.

Ncell as an awareness partner, worked closely with the immunization wing under the MOHP from the time of the campaign design to campaign execution. The two-month long campaign kicked off from mid-February 2020 in two phases- the first phase of the immunization campaign covered Provinces 1, 2 and 5 and the second phase covered Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces.

We also emphasized on the need of MR vaccine for children between the age group of 9 months to 5 years through a multimedia campaign. We broadcasted the MR vaccine related message via print, television, radio, miking to disseminate vaccine related messages among the general public. Leveraging on our platform, we also broadcasted SMS and OBD calls to share the vaccine related information to people. The campaign was a huge success witnessing 101% vaccination results and we as an awareness partner hold a significant role for this result.

After the huge success of the MR campaign, we are currently working on Routine Immunization (RI) campaign endorsing the message “Vaccine as right of every children”.

Health Awareness Initiatives: Advocacy program driving health awareness from the forefrontSince October 2019, Ncell has been working closely with the Ministry of Health and Population to support the Government in raising heath awareness among general public for epidemic/non-epidemic including immunization. National Health Education Information Communication Centre (NHEICC) which is focal

point under the MoHP for planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of health promotion and communication programs of all health programs and services in an integrated manner, is the implementing partner for this project.

Dengue Awareness- October 2019

The mosquito season brought fast dengue outbreaks to regions across the Asian tropics. Nepal faced an unprecedented outbreak of dengue virus in 2019. As per the Government records, at least 9,000 people — from 65 of Nepal’s 77 districts — were diagnosed positive with dengue with few incidents of casualties.

Ncell under its CSR initiatives supported in raising awareness among the general public across the

country regarding the fast spreading mosquito borne disease—Dengue via a multi media campaign. The technical content for the dengue awareness was endorsed by the Government with expertise from UNICEF and WHO. Ncell as a awareness partner, supported in mass dissemination of dengue awareness related messaging in radio and television. The initiative received an overwhelming response from stakeholder organizations.

Province Targeted Children

No. of children vaccinated Coverage

Province 1 418488 414694 99%

Province 2 536085 717243 134%

Province 5 430790 449509 104%

Bagmati 550415 405318 74%

Province Targeted Children

No. of children vaccinated Coverage

Gandaki 210545 183473 87%

karnali 154542 160848 104%

Sudurpaschim 247474 232725 94%

National 2548336 2563810 101%

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Education Ncell Scholarships and Excellence Awards to outstanding students: Encouraging the young talents

Promoting Quality Education in Nepal

In 2019, we collaborated with Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) and Rato Bangala Foundation (RBF) for promoting quality education from early childhood. The program aimed to empower education from the roots by delivering special skills, knowledge, and expertise within the education sector to help empower in aspects such as skills training, enhancing early-childhood education and knowledge sharing with those involved in the education sector at large.

Under this collaboration, we supported in organsing a three-day international conference on quality education from August 24-26, 2019. The conference witnessed participation of officials from the Government as well as district-level, teachers and national and international researchers and sepakers. The conference featured more than 75 expert-led presentations, 60 workshops, 14 parallel sessions over three days, focusing around the theme ‘learning by doing approach on early-childhood development model.’

The conference shared local and global experiences on quality education, showcased best education practices (national and international), and provided suggestions for SSDP and implementation of its reform agenda. It also developed a network of stakeholders engaged in achieving quality education and provided recommendations for the roles of those stakeholders to enhance quality education. Ultimately, the conference created criteria for bringing high standard to early childhood education. The participants took back new skills and methods in education while the presenters were given a platform to share their knowledge and expertise with the participants.

Over 700 participants, including more than 300 Government level teachers from 55 districts, attended the three-day conference. Experts from Singapore, the United States, India, China, and Bangladesh participated in the conference as trainers. We under our corporate social responsibility supported enrollment of 300 Government school teachers from across the country.

“ I have been receiving Ncell Scholarships under this programme since last 3 years. This year too, I have received ‘Ncell Excellence Awards’. This programme provides motivation to work hard and aspire for the award. This award also supports students financially.”

Selina ShresthaElectronics and Communication Engineering (Batch 2071), Winner of ‘Ncell Excellence Awards 2019’

“ Ncell has been providing Scholarships and Excellence Awards since 2014, I am grateful for incorporating Mechanical and Civil Engineering from this year. Such programmes motivate students as this is a special recognition for academic excellence and encourages the students. “

Abhishek BhusalMechanical Engineering (Batch 2071), Winner of ‘Ncell Excellence Awards 2019’

We have been conferring Ncell Scholarships and Excellence Awards to the outstanding students of five various faculties of the Institute of Engineering (IoE), Pulchowk Campus since 2014. In 2019, we entered into an extended collaboration with the Institute of Engineering (IOE), Pulchowk Campus to give continuity to the coveted ‘Ncell Scholarships and Excellence Awards’ programme for the next 5 years, incorporating two more engineering faculties under this initiative.

The Ncell Scholarships aims to promote the best and brightest minds, whereas Ncell Excellence Awards aim to recognize and felicitate the academic achievers. Both Scholarships and Excellence Awards carry amount worth Rs 100,000 each. Under the Ncell Scholarships and Excellence Awards programme, Ncell has agreed to provide scholarships and excellence awards worth Rs. 13 million to top scoring students for the next five years (2019-2023).

This year 18 Ncell Scholarships were conferred to

the topper students of BE Electrical, Electronics and Communication, Computer, Civil and Mechanical engineering. Similarly, 6 students who graduated from these five faculties securing highest marks received Ncell Excellence Awards.

Ncell Scholarships are provided based on annual scores of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year and students receive it for studying in 2nd, 3rd and 4th year, respectively. The 18 scholarships receivers include 3 toppers of 1st year, 2nd year and 3rd year from Electrical, Electronics and Communication, Computer, Civil, and Mechanical faculty and 3 female toppers from 1st year, 2nd year and 3rd year among all female students of these five faculties. Ncell Excellence Awards, on the other hand, are given to the students graduating with top scores from each of these five faculties and to a female student graduating with top scores among all female students of the five faculties. Both scholarships and excellence awards are worth Rs. 100,000 each.

“ In 2071, I had a wish to buy a laptop. When I received the ‘Ncell Scholarships’ for the first time in that year, I bought a laptop from that scholarship money. This award and my laptop are both special for me. This year I have been conferred with ‘Ncell Excellence Awards’. “

Prakriti DumaruComputer Engineering (Batch 2071), Winner of ‘Ncell Excellence Awards 2019’ (Topper among all female students in all 5 faculties)

Students in 5 Faculties Electrical Electronics Computer Civil Mechanical Engineering

120 Students receiving Scholarships and Excellence Awards

NPR 13 million Scholarships and Excellence Awards (2019-2023)

2014 Instituted Scholarships and Excellence Awards

2019-2023 Scholarships and Excellence Awards

80 Students receiving Scholarships and Excellence Awards (2014-2018)

NPR 8 million Scholarships and Excellence Awards (2014-2018)

Program Highlights

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Modern Digital Computer Labs in 60 community schools

With the aim to foster quality education and enhance capacity of community schools, Ncell has supported 60 community schools across the country mostly in rural parts of Nepal, by setting up modern digital IT Labs. This initiative is in-line with the Government’s vision of ‘Digital Nepal’ wherein Ncell is enabling the Government/Community run schools to be equipped with hi-tech digital IT labs. The programme implemented in collaboration with Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), directly benefits in learning of over 30,000 students and contributes towards narrowing the digital divide.

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EnvironmentGreening and maintenance of 10.2 Km Ring Road stretch

In 2019, Ncell in collaboration with the Department of Forest and Soil Conservation (DoFSC) has taken an initiative to build and maintain greenery in 10.2 Km stretch with tree plantation, landscaping on both sides and maintenance of Kalankai to Koteshwor stretch of the Ring Road. Under this collaboration we have planted trees

in the stretch and have taken up the ownership to take care of the greenery maintained in this section for a period of 5 (five) years. Under this collaboration, we aim to reduce the existing pollution in the Ring Road stretch area by setting up an exemplary green belt area.

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Renovation of National Table Tennis Hall for 19th South Asian Games (SAG)

The 19th edition of South Asian Games was hosted in Nepal from December 1-10, 2019. For this, we had collaborated with the National Sports Council of Nepal, the official Government agency for sports to support the Government and undertook the responsibility of renovating the National Table Tennis Hall located in Lainchaur, Kathmandu. Our extended support for the renovation of the National Table Tennis Hall supported the Government for smooth hosting of table tennis match during the 19th SAG which we are proud of.

World Nepal Literature Festival 2020

Literature Festival is one of the most widely appreciated and much coveted event in Nepal. This year, Literature Festival was organized in Dhangadhi of Kailali District. For this, we collaborated with Sudhur Sahitya Samaj for organizing the event with the objective to to promote Nepalese language and literature to showcase the entire world that Nepal is rich in terms of language, literature, art, culture. The 4-day long event witnessed participation of over 800 people from different fraternities and regions.

Senior Citizen Park

We have also partially supported the construction of Manoram Senior Citizen

Park located in Bhaktapur. This park in the heart of the city benefits more than 300

households in the area as a perfect place for children and senior citizen for

recreation.

Other Social InitiativesApart from the three main core CSR areas i.e. Health, Education and Environment, in the last FY we also initiated few social initiatives as detailed below.

Women Adult Literacy Programme

Aiming to support women from marginalized communities across the country, we have collaborated with the Zonta Club for providing literacy classes to 200 women from 3 districts. Under the one-year literacy class, the women will be able to read and write on their own. Under the same program, we also aim to provide digital literacy class to these women helping them to make use of internet and smartphone for their day to day operations.

Promoting renewable energy

Aiming to promote the use of renewable energy and to support our community people in the area of our operations i.e. Nakhhu, Lalitpur- 4, we have taken initiative to install solar lights in 1.7 km stretch from Ekantakuna to Nakhhu Road. So far, we have already installed 150 solar lights. Under the same project, we have also installed a bus stand to facilitate easy and safe boarding and onboarding in public vehicles.

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National Contribution ReportAbout NcellNcell Axiata Limited (Previously Ncell Private Limited) is the first private mobile service provider operating in Nepal for the past sixteen years. The company is committed to building the best-in-class mobile network experience, connecting some of the remotest areas of Nepal with digital communication offerings.

Ncell was first incorporated as ‘Mero Mobile’ in 2004. Four years later, it was acquired by Telia Company (previously known as TeliaSonera Group of Sweden) and rebranded as ‘Ncell’ in 2010. On April 12, 2016, Ncell became part of Axiata Group Berhad, one of Asia’s leading telecommunications groups with a strong presence across the region, serving 150 million customers with its vision to be the New Generation Champion by 2022.

As a subsidiary of Axiata Group, and a long-term investor in Nepal, Ncell is constantly working towards its goals of connecting every Nepali through its network, providing high quality modern services to consistently create better value for its customers and partners. Contributing to the vision of Digital Nepal and development of the country’s economy and infrastructure, Ncell is contributing in building best in class networks and communication services to people living across Nepal. The company operates the widest 4G network in the country fulfilling the national need of high-speed mobile broadband and creating new opportunities for the people of Nepal taking the country towards a brighter digital future.

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Ncell’s total economic contribution to Nepal’s economyLed by Ncell’s total operating expenditure of NPR 20.28 billion and capital investment of NPR 26.77 billion, Ncell’s total Gross Value Added (GVA) contribution to Nepal’s economy was estimated at NPR 60.51 billion in the FY 2076/77, accounting for 1.6% of the national GDP.

Ncell’s operation directly contributed NPR 28.98 billion GVA accounting for 48% of total GVA in the FY 2076/77. A further NPR 10.29 billion was indirectly generated through the expenditures by Ncell’s suppliers, accounting for 17% of the total GVA. Further NPR 21.23 billion contribution came from the capital investment, accounting for 35% of the total GVA contribution.

Figure 1: GVA contribution to Nepal’s economy FY 2076/77

Ncell’s total economic contributionsNcell’s total GVA contributions for the FY 2076/77 stood at NPR 60.51 billion, accounting for 1.6% of the national GDP. The share of GDP contribution witnessed a slight decline this year from earlier 2% (as of FY 2075/76) mainly due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investing and innovating for the long termNcell’s total accumulated capital investment for the FY 2076/77 was NPR 26.77 billion. Capital investment plays a significant role in enhancing company’s competitiveness and contribution to Nepal’s economy. Capital investment in the FY 2076/77 has more than doubled in comparison to the FY 2075/76 which was at NPR 11.97 billion.

Contribution to public financeIn the FY 2076/77, Ncell contributed NPR 32.62 billion as taxes and fees, accounting for 3.8% of total tax revenue of the Government of Nepal. The accumulated tax contribution of the company to the Government since its inception accounts for over NPR 242 billion.

Total employment impactIn FY 2076/77, a total of approximate 57,000 jobs were supported by Ncell’s business in total. Ncell directly provided 543 jobs in the FY 2076/77 of which more than 98% of Ncell’s employees are Nepali residents and 24% employees are female. Of the total employment, more than 18,000 jobs were supported indirectly by its operations and around 38,000 jobs were supported by capital investments.

26.77

11.97

FY 2019/20FY 2018/19

In N

PR b

illion

In N

PR b

illion

Directly Employed 543

Operational indirectly supported

18,398

Jobs Supported by Capital Investment

37,969

Operational Direct GVA:NPR 28.98 billion

Capital Investment GVA:NPR 21.23 billion

Operational Indirect and Induced GVA:NPR 10.29 billion

Productivity GVANPR 9.82 billion

Employment543 Total Employees

Female 24%

Male 76%

Nepalese 98%

Contribution to Gross Value Added (GVA)NPR 60.51 billion

Total Jobs SupportedApprox. 57000

1.6% of Nation’s GDP

Capital + Operating Expenditure

CAPEX Investment

NPR 26.77 billionOperating Expenditure

NPR 20.28 billion

Contribution to Public FinancesNPR 32.62 billion

3.8% of total tax revenue of the Government

Figures: FY 2019/20

National Contribution Report

NPR 60.51 billion 48%

35%

17%

NPR 28.98 billion Operational Direct Value Added

NPR 10.29 billion Operational Indirect and Induced Value Added

NPR 21.23 billion Value Added by Capital

Investment

34.5532.62

FY 2019/20FY 2018/19

In N

PR b

illion

In N

PR b

illion

64 65



Methodologies for NCR Calculation1. Methodologies and computational formula

1.1

1.4

1.5

1.2

1.3

Direct Value Added contributions were estimated based on operational data of Ncell for the FY 2017/18 regarding operational revenue, operating expenses, compensation to employees and indirect taxes and levies.

Productivity Analysis Ncell’s contribution to GDP = National contribution to GDP growth * Market share of Ncell Where, National contribution to GDP growth= National penetration growth * Growth Factor Penetration = Number of customers/population

Multiplier Analysis CAPEX multiplier = Total Ncell’s value added contribution/CAPEX expenditure

Capital investment Total Value Added = Capital Expenditure * Proportion spent in Host Country * Average Value Added Multiplier

Operational

1. Total Value Added = Direct Value Added * Total Value Added Multiplier Where, Direct Value Added = Operating Revenue- Operating Expenditure + Compensation of employees + Indirect taxes and levies

2. (a) For countries employment multipliers are available, Total Employment = Total Operational Expenditure * Average Employment Multiplier

(b) For countries employment multipliers are not available, Total Employment = Total Indirect Value added/Average Value Added per worker + Direct Employment

Total Value Added contributions were estimated using an economic multiplier (Type II) for the Telecom industry. They were derived from national Input-Output (I-O) tables published by OECD, ADB and national statistical agencies.

Employment is generated through number of direct employees employed by Ncell.

Annexure-I Our Footprints

4G3G

2G

66 67



Ncell Axiata Limited Registration Number: 239567/077/078

Registered Office Ward No. 4, Ekantakuna, Lalitpur Metropolitan City,

Lalitpur District, Bagmati Pradesh, Nepal

Corporate and Contact Office Ncell ICON, Ward No. 26,

Lainchaur, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Kathmandu District, Bagmati Pradesh, Nepal

Tel: +977 980 555 4444 www.ncell.axiata.com

Printed on 100%recycled paper

Ncell Sustainability Report

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Transcript of Ncell Sustainability Report