VEON’s Mobilink Microfinance Bank wins prestigious Diversity & Inclusion CSR Award

Humqadam sustainability initiative provides individuals with disabilities digital and financial skills for the corporate world.

AMSTERDAM, 22 February 2021 – VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), a leading global provider of connectivity and internet services, announces that its digital bank in Pakistan, Mobilink Microfinance Bank (MMBL), has won a CSR award as a “Diversity & Inclusion Leader” for its Humqadam initiative at the 10th Annual CSR Summit in Pakistan.

Humqadam, MMBL’s flagship sustainability initiative, helps people with disabilities develop essential digital and financial skills to support them in the corporate world. Humqadam trainees are given the opportunity to work across multiple MMBL departments based on their skillsets. During this rotation, they undergo an intensive three-month training programme, undertake projects and receive mentoring from team leaders.

The Humqadam initiative is aligned with the ambition of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to increase labour productivity, lower unemployment and improve access to digital and financial services through equal opportunities for all.

VEON-owned MMBL is the nation’s largest digital bank with over 27 million registered users. It is a leading lender to small and medium-sized enterprises, with over 700,000 traditional individual and micro-enterprise loans disbursed, alongside more than 3,600,000 digital nano loans as of December 2020.

The annual CSR Awards were established in 2011 and are organised by The Professionals Network (TPN), a leading corporate entity based in Karachi. The awards recognise leading corporations and NGOs for their innovative and outstanding efforts to bring about positive socio-economic change in Pakistan.

Sergi Herrero, VEON’s co-CEO, said: “As a leading provider of digital services and connectivity, we have an important role to play in supporting wider inclusion by enabling people technologically, digitally and financially. Not only does this help to improve opportunities for individuals, but it also has a positive impact on the economic prosperity of the markets we operate in. Mobilink Microfinance Bank’s outstanding Humqadam initiative is a great example of this and it’s excellent to see recognition for its contribution to inclusive and sustainable growth in Pakistan.”

MMBL was recently recognised as “Digital Microfinance Bank of the Year” by the CFA Society Pakistan and was a semi-finalist in the recent European Microfinance Awards. The Institute of Bankers Pakistan has also recognised MMBL as the “Bank of the Unbanked” in recent years.

About VEON
VEON is a NASDAQ and Euronext Amsterdam-listed global provider of connectivity and internet services.  For more information visit: www.veon.com.

About Mobilink Microfinance Bank
Mobilink Microfinance Bank Ltd. is Pakistan’s largest digital bank with over 27 million registered users. Backed by a multinational telecommunication services company, VEON, MMBL is a sister company of Jazz and is a leading player in lending to small and medium-sized enterprises. For more information visit: www.mobilinkbank.com.

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