VEON expands digital marketing offering with AdTech Business | Media Releases | media

Amsterdam, April 26, 2023 – VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), a global digital operator offering converged connectivity and online services, has established a dedicated adtech company, fully owned by the VEON Group, to provide digital marketing services in support of VEON Group companies in addressing the growing digital advertising opportunities in VEON markets.

VEON AdTech, headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, will work with VEON digital operators and support VEON Group in delivering highly targeted digital marketing services based on machine learning algorithms, while keeping VEON companies close to their customers build up. Digital ad spend in countries where VEON operates is estimated to exceed $1.3 billion in 2023(1).

“The digital advertising market offers significant potential for our group to build on the success of our digital operator strategy,” explains Kaan Terzioglu, CEO of VEON Group. “Each of our companies already has a strong portfolio of customer-facing digital assets. With increasing adtech capabilities, our digital operators can support the growth of local economies in our markets and bring businesses and end users together in meaningful and targeted ways.”

VEON AdTech will employ a dedicated technology team that will play a central role in software development in support of VEON Group companies and will manage VEON’s core AdTech intellectual property portfolio. The choice of Uzbekistan as the headquarters of VEON AdTech reflects the country’s progress in developing a technology-based economy as part of its vision “Digital Uzbekistan 2030” and will help further develop programming and data skills in the country.

“Uzbekistan is fast becoming an advanced digital economy and a tech hub for Central Asia,” says Andrzej Malinowski, CEO of Beeline Uzbekistan. “Over the past two years, Beeline Uzbekistan has supported this transformation with its customer-centric digital services, the growth of BeeLab, university partnerships, hackathons and continuing education programs. We are very pleased to welcome VEON AdTech to Uzbekistan, which will both benefit from the technology capabilities here and support the further development of a broader, highly skilled digital workforce.”

Since 2022, VEON Group digital operators have accelerated their digital advertising capabilities through partnerships with local and leading international brands. “The formation of a dedicated division will further drive the deployment of VEON Group’s adtech capabilities and the creation of new services,” explains George Held, General Manager of VEON AdTech. “In 2022, our digital operators across the group have demonstrated their ability to serve leading global and local brands with digital advertising, building on the robust architecture and audience potential of our digital assets. Because of the direct relationship we have with our clients, we are perfectly positioned to help advertisers large and small reach their target markets while supporting the growth of local economies.”

VEON AdTech’s digital marketing services will be built on top of VEON’s MobileID technology, which offers consumers more privacy and security. The company’s developments ensure consumers remain protected with simple, permission-based controls to disable data tracking and stop unwanted ads. All advertising campaign data is processed in each country of operation to improve consumer protection and also to develop local data skills and digital expertise.

(1) According to the latest available market estimates by Statista, total digital advertising spend in Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan is expected to reach $1.3 billion; with Ukraine having another potential of $443 million.

About VEON

VEON is a global digital operator currently providing converged connectivity and online services to nearly 160 million customers in six dynamic markets. We transform people’s lives, empower individuals, create opportunities for greater digital inclusion and drive economic growth in countries home to more than 8% of the world’s population. VEON is headquartered in Amsterdam and is listed on NASDAQ and Euronext. For more information visit: https://www.veon.com.

Disclaimer

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts and include statements relating to, among other things, VEON’s digital marketing initiatives. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, many of which VEON cannot accurately predict and some of which VEON may not even anticipate. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. VEON undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by US federal securities laws. There can be no guarantee that the above initiatives will be successful.