VEON this week announced that Banglalink, its mobile operator in Bangladesh, has launched AppLink, a digital services marketplace aimed at connecting Banglalink customers with local developers.
It provides customers with convenient purchase facilities and offers new earning opportunities for developers. AppLink provides a streamlined approach for local developers to make apps available for download by Banglalink customers and gives them a convenient way to monetize their apps while following local regulations. Local developers will be provided with online tools to present and monetize their apps, with published apps sorted into different categories such as health, education, sports, agriculture, public service, entertainment, and business. Banglalink customers will be able to purchase apps through their mobile balance.
With over 4,500 software companies and more than 300,000 ICT specialists and software developers in Bangladesh1, AppLink will provide a marketplace for the country's technology talent, including a strong community of young developers, to Banglalink's 13 million smartphone users.
Banglalink's AppLink mirrors other developments by VEON mobile operators to bring innovative digital services to mobile users. These include Toffee, a highly successful entertainment application launched in 2019 that is now used by 6.4 million people in Bangladesh; Health Hub, a recently launched digital health aggregator platform within Banglalink's self-care app; and JazzCash, VEON's mobile banking service in Pakistan that has 15.2 million customers2
Kaan Terzioglu, CEO of VEON Group
Innovation is at the core of our digital operator strategy. Nowhere is that more evident than in Bangladesh, a market with enormous potential that is undergoing a digital transformation. We serve markets with 680 million people across nine operators with 220 million customers and, through local initiatives such as AppLink, contribute to the development of countries' digital economies.
