VEON, the international telecom group that owns Banglalink, has committed $250 million to Bangladesh's digital economy and set a target of attracting $1 billion in foreign direct investment into the sector. The company announced the plan at an investor meeting it hosted with Banglalink in New York on 28 September 2026, during the week of the UN General Assembly.

The initiative is called "Invest in Bangladesh NOW". According to VEON, the meeting was attended by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and other government officials, representatives of the United Arab Emirates and the US State Department, and investors and development lenders including BlackRock, Rothschild, the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank.

Three announcements

VEON used the meeting to present three developments in Bangladesh:

  • Approval from the telecom regulator for Banglalink to launch Starlink Direct-to-Cell, a satellite service for ordinary 4G phones
  • Initial approval from Bangladesh Bank for Nova Digital Bank, a joint venture between VEON and Square Group
  • The launch of Mukto Pay, Banglalink's digital payments platform, which supports money transfers, merchant payments, bill payments and bulk disbursements

What the company said

VEON chief executive Kaan Terzioglu said Bangladesh's digital transformation offered "a compelling opportunity for long-term investment". VEON chairman Augie K Fabela II pointed to the country's population of more than 170 million, its young workforce and its fast-growing digital economy.

The $250 million is VEON's own initial commitment. The remaining part of the $1 billion target depends on other investors deciding to put money into Bangladesh, and the company has not named any further commitments.

Context

Bangladesh's technology sector has been short of investment. Startups in the country raised only a small amount of venture funding in the first half of 2026, and mobile operators have said high spectrum fees limit their spending on networks. Mobile financial services, by contrast, are widely used, including in Munshiganj, where families receive money from relatives in Dhaka and abroad. Competition among payment platforms such as Mukto Pay, existing mobile wallets and the new digital banks could affect fees and services for these users.

Sources: veon.com