First nine months of 2024: Jazz, associated cos invest over Rs33bn

ISLAMABAD: Jazz, along with its associated companies JazzCash and Mobilink Microfinance Bank, invested over Rs33 billion in the first nine months of 2024, strengthening Pakistan's digital ecosystem across key sectors, including banking, financial services, cloud, data centres, digital healthcare, entertainment and connectivity.

The company has also contributed Rs97 billion in corporate tax, sales tax, import duties, as well as, withholding tax collected from customers and suppliers to the national exchequer. Another significant contribution includes Rs41 billion towards expanding high-speed mobile broadband in underserved areas, supporting research and development, startup growth, and payments for license renewals, spectrum fees, and more.

Consistent investment has resulted in a robust revenue growth of over 25 percent YoY in the first nine months of 2024. Jazz serves over 100 million customers every month across various platforms on telecom, banking, entertainment etc. Moreover, its enterprise vertical Jazz Business serves 98 out of the top 100 PSX-listed companies.

Aamir Ibrahim, CEO of Jazz who also heads all VEON Group’s businesses in Pakistan, highlighted the growing contribution of digital services to the company’s revenue, with the segment contributing over a quarter of overall revenue in Q3 and driving customer engagement and retention.

Over the past few years, Jazz has solidified its position as Pakistan’s largest telecom and 4G provider, as well as, the most widely used app ecosystem across fintech, youth engagement, SIM-care and entertainment. However, as telecom revenues stabilise, the company has shifted its focus to higher-growth areas such as data centres, fintech, and IT solutions.

The data centre, fintech, and software industries are experiencing rapid growth, positioning Pakistan as a rising player in the global IT landscape. We believe our investments in these sectors will help further elevate Pakistan's presence on the world stage in the coming years, Aamir said.

This strategic shift follows the company’s recently announced ServiceCo structure, which enables Jazz to respond more quickly to evolving customer demands across fintech, cloud services, data centres, software, IT services, and connectivity. The company has also begun incorporating AI capabilities into its operations, with plans to expand its data hosting capacity within the next three years.

The digital operator already runs a state-of-the-art Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Tier-3 certified data centre – the Jazz Digital Park with an investment of over US$ 8 million. Earlier this year, Jazz’s specialized cloud and security services division Garaj achieved Premier Partner status with VMware and strengthened its position as an Operator CSP with Microsoft, delivering scalability and resilience for business-critical infrastructure. It also showcased its cutting-edge solutions at GITEX and signed partnerships with Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan and Mashreq Pakistan.

Jazz plans to expand its cloud services and IT solutions, scaling up its enterprise and fintech business beyond Pakistan. By focusing on large regional markets and high-tech investments, Jazz aims to grow its presence across the region.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024