VEON and Hala to Explore Partnership in Ride-hailing Services
MWN-AI** Summary
On February 17, 2026, VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator, announced a strategic partnership with Hala, Dubai’s premier e-hailing taxi service, co-developed by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Careem. The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at exploring collaborative opportunities to expand ride-hailing and mobility services across VEON’s operational markets, which include Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Bangladesh—regions home to over 530 million people.
The MoU, formalized at VEON's Dubai headquarters, serves as a framework for assessing joint market entry and expansion strategies, capitalizing on VEON’s ride-hailing experience in Ukraine and Uzbekistan. VEON plans to harness Hala’s operational efficiencies and expertise to bolster its digital services across frontier markets. The partnership is poised to create locally-relevant ride-hailing solutions that integrate into VEON’s extensive digital ecosystem.
Kaan Terzioglu, VEON Group CEO, emphasized the company's commitment to enhancing customer lives through digital innovations, while highlighting the potential for significant service expansion in underserved markets. Hala CEO Khaled Nuseibeh echoed this sentiment, noting Hala’s focus on operational efficiency and technology integration. The partnership aims to leverage both companies' strengths to create ride-hailing platforms that meet local needs while linking seamlessly with other digital services.
Both organizations will jointly explore various aspects, including customer acquisition strategies and technological foundations for locally tailored ride-hailing solutions. As VEON continues to provide diverse digital services to nearly 150 million users, this collaboration with Hala stands to enhance its mobility offerings and solidify its presence across its operational regions.
MWN-AI** Analysis
VEON's recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hala signifies a strategic expansion into the burgeoning ride-hailing market across its operational territories. This partnership seeks to leverage VEON's extensive digital ecosystem and Hala's operational expertise, particularly in the UAE, to create locally relevant ride-hailing platforms. Here are several insights for market participants considering the implications of this collaboration.
**Market Dynamics**: The ride-hailing industry has shown robust growth, driven by increasing urbanization and consumer preferences for convenient transportation options. By capitalizing on Hala's established market presence and VEON's capabilities in digital services, the partnership positions both entities to capture substantial market share in regions where VEON operates, including Pakistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
**Operational Synergy**: VEON brings valuable experience from its existing ride-hailing operations with Uklon in Ukraine and Uzbekistan. This integration will likely streamline technology adaptation and customer acquisition strategies, which are critical in new markets where consumer behavior can differ significantly from the UAE.
**Digital Ecosystem Integration**: The potential to integrate Hala’s services into VEON's extensive suite of digital offerings—from financial services to healthcare—could enhance user experience, driving greater customer engagement and retention across channels. This strategic alignment aligns well with the ongoing trend of creating super-apps that cater to multiple user needs within a single platform.
**Risk Factors**: Despite these opportunities, investors should remain vigilant regarding execution risks inherent in entering new markets, especially in a landscape that is often fiercely competitive. Additionally, socio-political factors and regulatory frameworks in frontier markets could serve as potential obstacles to seamless expansion.
**Conclusion**: Overall, the VEON and Hala partnership represents a proactive move towards capitalizing on the potential growth in mobility services. Market participants should monitor developments closely, as positive outcomes from this collaboration could enhance VEON’s market valuation and digital footprint significantly in underserved markets.
**MWN-AI Summary and Analysis is based on asking OpenAI to summarize and analyze this news release.
Dubai, February 17, 2026 – VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator (“VEON” or “the Company”), announces that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hala, Dubai’s leading local e-hailing taxi solution and a joint venture between Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Careem, to explore cooperation in expanding ride?hailing and mobility services across VEON’s operating markets. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed last week at VEON’s headquarters in Dubai.
The MoU establishes a framework for evaluating joint market entry and expansion opportunities, building on VEON’s existing experience in ride-hailing in Ukraine and Uzbekistan. VEON aims to leverage Hala’s operational expertise alongside its own digital scale and local market presence across frontier markets. The companies will also explore potential areas of integration within VEON’s broader digital ecosystem.
VEON Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu said: “At VEON, we are building digital services that improve the lives of our customers every day in some of the most exciting and underserved markets of our region. With our existing ride?hailing operations in Ukraine and Uzbekistan, we already see strong demand for locally-built, locally-relevant solutions that give us the opportunity to deliver valuable experiences to our customers with multiple touchpoints on any given day. Our partnership with Hala has the potential to significantly accelerate the scale and impact of our mobility service offerings across our other markets.”
Khaled Nuseibeh, CEO of Hala, said: “Hala has developed a scalable ride-hailing platform in the UAE built around operational efficiency, technology integration and consistent service delivery. Through this MoU with VEON, we are exploring how that experience can support expansion into new markets where VEON already has strong digital reach and customer relationships. By combining VEON’s scale and ecosystem with Hala’s mobility expertise, we see potential to develop locally relevant ride-hailing platforms that integrate seamlessly with other digital services.”
The MoU signing ceremony was attended by Kaan Terzioglu, VEON Group CEO, Vitaly Shmakov, VEON’s Chief Investment Officer, Khaled Nuseibeh, CEO of Hala, and senior leadership from both organizations.
VEON and Hala plan to jointly assess the commercial, operational, and technological foundations for locally rooted ride?hailing platforms to serve VEON’s markets. This includes evaluating collaboration models, customer acquisition strategies, and opportunities for future expansion.
VEON operates in Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh – five markets that are home to 530 million people, 6% of the world’s population. The company provides a broad range of services across digital platforms -financial services, insurance, entertainment, healthcare, online marketplaces, digital-first brands, learning, among others – serving approximately 140 million digital users monthly, in addition to its connectivity customers. Uklon, Ukraine’s leading ride-hailing platform which provides services in Ukraine and Uzbekistan, joined the VEON family of digital services in April 2025.
About VEON
VEON is a digital operator that provides connectivity and digital services to nearly 150 million connectivity and 140 million digital users. Operating across five countries that are home to more than 6% of the world’s population, VEON is transforming lives through technology-driven services that empower individuals and drive economic growth. VEON is listed on NASDAQ. For more information, visit: https://www.veon.com.
About Hala
Hala is Dubai’s most convenient e-hailing taxi solution, easily booked through the Careem app. A joint venture between Careem and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Hala leverages Careem’s ride-hailing technology and the local knowledge of the RTA to provide the most reliable and convenient rides across Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah. With a motivation to continuously elevate customer experience in public transportation, Hala has unlocked this incredible region by keeping Dubai connected and moving.
www.halaride.com
Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
This release contains “forward-looking statements”, within the meaning of the Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to VEON’s execution of its digital operator strategy and its expansion of ride-hailing services to new markets. There are numerous risks, uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially from those expressed by such statements, including risks relating to uncertainty over VEON’s execution of its digital operator strategy and its expansion of ride-hailing services to new markets, among others discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in VEON’s 2024 Form 20-F filed with the SEC on April 25, 2025 and other public filings made by VEON with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this release and VEON disclaims any obligation to update them, except as required by law.
Contact Information
VEON
Hande Asik
Chief Communications and Strategy Officer
pr@veon.com
Attachment
FAQ**
How does VEON Ltd. plan to leverage its existing ride-hailing operations in Ukraine and Uzbekistan to enhance the joint market entry strategy with Hala in Dubai and beyond?
What specific operational efficiencies does Hala bring to VEON Ltd. that can facilitate the expansion of ride-hailing services in VEON’s other operating markets?
Can VEON Ltd. provide insights into the potential customer acquisition strategies that will be explored in collaboration with Hala to develop locally relevant ride-hailing platforms?
How will the partnership between VEON Ltd. and Hala address the risks and uncertainties associated with the execution of VEON's digital operator strategy in new markets?
**MWN-AI FAQ is based on asking OpenAI questions about VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON).
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