KARACHI: Jazz has divided the company into four segments and aims to double its revenue in four years.

In a statement, the company announced that its focus will remain on the core business and it will expand the outreach and capacity of its 4G network in semi-urban and rural areas.

However, 25 per cent of revenue will be generated from non-telco businesses such as fintech platform JazzCash, Garaj cloud and digital streaming service Tamasha by the end of 2027.

Jazz Chief Executive Aamir Ibrahim also asked the government to reconsider its move to impose additional taxes on smartphones, telecom and internet so that people from all socioeconomic backgrounds can avail themselves of these life-transforming services.

He said that Jazz is the largest telecom company in the country, with more than 71 million cellular subscribers. At the same time, it serves 67 million monthly active users on digital services, a quarter of whom are non-Jazz users.

The statement added that last year, Jazz and its sister concern, Mobilink Microfinance Bank, posted Rs313 billion in revenue. “To realise this vision and given the evolving needs of customers, we have executed a conglomerate set up with a service company approach,” the Jazz CEO said.

Jazz has said that Pakistan presents a massive digital growth opportunity, with 64pc under the age of 30, but over 100m adults remain unbanked and mobile broadband penetration is only around 55pc.

“Closing this digital divide represents the vast potential for economic growth and social progress”, Mr Ibrahim added.

Since its inception, Jazz has invested $10.6bn in Pakistan, focusing on strengthening the digital ecosystem across fintech, cloud services, and digital entertainment verticals over the last few years.

Technology can improve the lives and livelihoods of people, especially women. But for that, the policy of smartphone for all, broadband in every home, and a QR code in every corner shop had to be implemented.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2024