Beelab backs Silk Road Finance & Technology Forum, VEON's Ahmet Kayhan takes the stage in Tashkent

Tashkent – August 25, 2026: “The next phase of digital finance will be defined by how we build more connected and programmable financial infrastructure, enabling capital and financial services to move across markets while preserving the trust, stability and regulatory foundations of the system.”

 
That was the message from Ahmet Kayhan, Group Chief Payments & Digital Assets Officer at VEON, speaking at the inaugural Silk Road Finance & Technology Forum in Tashkent.
 
For digital operators with telecom roots, Kayhan said, the opportunity lies in using their scale and technological infrastructure to connect services that have traditionally operated in silos, creating platforms that people and businesses can use for payments and other financial services across increasingly connected markets.
 
Kayhan took the main stage at Central Asian Expo Uzbekistan (CAEx) for a panel titled “Building the Open Ecosystem: Rails, Capital & the Rules That Connect Markets,” alongside representatives from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, GFTN, Octobank, M2P Fintech, Speedinvest and the Central Asian Fintech Association.

 
The forum, co-organised by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan and the Global Finance & Technology Network from August 24 to 26, brings together central banks, regulators, investment funds and technology companies to discuss open banking, digital assets, cross-border payments, Islamic finance, investment and innovation. Beelab, the Uzbek fintech company behind Beepul, is the forum’s official sponsor.
 
Kayhan’s remarks reflect VEON’s growing financial services business across its markets. Financial services revenue grew 48.5% year-on-year to USD 151 million in the second quarter of 2026, accounting for 44% of VEON’s digital revenues, while the Group’s financial services platforms reached 59 million customers as of Q2 2026. VEON’s portfolio spans payments, wallets, digital banking, lending and insurance.
 
Across its markets, VEON develops financial services around local customer needs and unmet demand, with products tailored to the realities of each market. As digital financial services become more established, the opportunity is also expanding into products that give customers greater options to save and invest, alongside the infrastructure needed for the next generation of digital assets.
 
In Uzbekistan, Beepul has become the country’s fourth-largest payment platform by revenue, surpassing UZS 87 billion in Q2, 2026, and reaching more than 1 million active users. In Kazakhstan, VEON’s financial services platform serves 5.3 million customers. In Pakistan, 

JazzCash processed PKR 19.6 trillion (approximately USD 70 billion) in gross transaction value in the twelve months to June 2026. JazzCash was also named among the World’s Top Fintech Companies 2026 by CNBC and Statista in the Payments category. In Bangladesh, Banglalink is preparing to launch a new PSP platform, with commercial launch targeted for September.
 
Beelab’s sponsorship supports a regional conversation on the infrastructure, investment and regulatory frameworks needed to connect financial markets and enable the next stage of digital finance.

About Beelab

Beelab is an Uzbek fintech company founded on February 19, 2018, and a subsidiary of the telecom operator Beeline Uzbekistan (VEON Ltd.). The company develops and provides technical support for digital financial products, including the Beepul service, which ranks among the top five payment apps in the Uzbek market, and actively cooperates with banks and financial institutions.