VEON Group: Jazz, JazzCash, Mobilink Microfinance Bank, digital services post 27.7c revenue growth

ISLAMABAD: Jazz, JazzCash, Mobilink Microfinance Bank, and digital services of VEON Group in Pakistan reported 27.7per cent year-over-year revenue growth in USD terms for the second quarter of 2024.

VEON, a global digital operator, provides converged connectivity and digital services to nearly 160 million customers across six dynamic markets, representing 7per cent of the world’s population. The contributions from Pakistan, including Jazz, JazzCash, and Mobilink Microfinance Bank, accounted for nearly one-third of the Group’s USD 1.9 billion revenue in the first half of 2024.

As of Q2 2024, Jazz serves 71.4 million cellular subscribers and 63.3 million monthly active users of digital services, nearly a quarter of whom are non-Jazz users. Jazz maintains a dominant 45 per cent revenue market share in the cellular services market, with a 17 per cent CAGR in revenue growth from 2021 to 2023. The topline growth for the reporting period is primarily driven by the increasing popularity of its fintech platform JazzCash, Mobilink Microfinance Bank, digital entertainment platform Tamasha, and cloud service Garaj.

This significant growth underscores the success of its recently announced ServiceCo structure, enabling a focused and agile response to the evolving needs of customers in fintech, cloud and data centres, software, IT services, and connectivity.

Aamir Ibrahim, CEO of Jazz and head of all VEON businesses in Pakistan, commented, “As a key partner in driving the government’s digital transformation agenda for socioeconomic growth, we are heavily investing in developing robust digital infrastructure that extends beyond connectivity. The growing engagement across all our services demonstrates our ability to swiftly meet evolving customer needs in fintech, cloud, data centres, software, IT services, and connectivity. Consequently, we closed the first half of the year with a revenue of USD 668million, reflecting the positive impact of our initiatives amid early signs of macroeconomic recovery."

The performance of Jazz’s digital services during the quarter solidified its position as the country’s leading digital operator. Boasting a customer base of 44 million, including 30 per cent women, Pakistan’s leading fintech JazzCash achieved an 83 percent YoY service revenue surge driven by a Gross Transaction Value of PKR 7.4 trillion in Q2 2024. JazzCash’s extensive network, comprising 252,000 registered agents and over 357,000 merchants, facilitated considerable digitalization of society and payment/loan services, effectively transforming Pakistan’s financial landscape. Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited continues to serve the underserved demographic, driving financial inclusion with a service revenue growth of over 73 percent YoY in Q2 2024.

Pakistan’s leading entertainment platform, Tamasha, reached 18 million MAUs, with revenue increasing 7.7x YoY, bolstered by AdTech during ICC cricket matches. In tandem, Jazz’s cloud platform, Garaj, effectively meets the needs of Pakistani enterprises and supports the nation's data sovereignty vision while driving digitalization. In just two years, the enterprise vertical has rapidly become a thriving business, serving 98 out of the top 100 PSX-listed companies. Moreover, the self-care and lifestyle app SIMOSA (formerly JazzWorld) increased to 15.2 million MAUs.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024