Ukrainian mobile operator Kyivstar aims to boost non-telecom revenue to 50% within 5 years via $1 bln investment
Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest telecom operator, expects that non-telecom revenue—projected to reach about 20% of its total by the end of this year – will grow to 50% over the next five years, driven by a $1 billion investment plan scheduled for the next three years. The announcement was made by Zoia Dronshkevych, Kyivstar's Chief Business Development Officer and board member at Helsi.me and Uklon, during the Forbes Money Forum in Kyiv.
"In five years, we aim to reach about 50% of our group revenue from non-telecom segments, supported by approximately $1 billion in investment over three years. That's our goal," Dronshkevych said.
She outlined the key investment areas, noting that Kyivstar, which this year acquired ride-hailing service Uklon and increased its stake in healthtech company Helsi, is focusing on healthcare, education, fintech, entertainment, and advertising.
"We have several promising organic experiments that could evolve into inorganic opportunities. We've also placed strategic bets on certain industries that will help us close the gap and achieve our revenue goals," she added.
Dronshkevych stressed that the core objective is to generate revenue through synergies across these business lines.
"Our strategy is not to micromanage from telecom but to provide access to capital, leverage telecom's ecosystem synergies, create new value, and scale Ukrainian products abroad," she said, describing Kyivstar's partnership model.
Speaking about the acquisition of 100% of Helsi, she confirmed that this would not be Kyivstar's last move in healthcare.
"We are definitely committed to developing healthcare over the coming years. It will become a full-fledged ecosystem and an integral part of Kyivstar's larger galaxy," she said.
Kyivstar is investing in both B2C and B2B healthcare segments. "Soon, clients will see new products in the Helsi app, and we've already approved an investment in private clinics to compete in that space as well," Dronshkevych revealed, also mentioning plans for health insurance.
She added that the company is investing in R&D for international expansion, and parts of the ecosystem will extend to markets served by VEON, Kyivstar's parent company.
"We've already built Kyivstar TV, which is now the second-largest player in the OTT entertainment space, and we plan to grow this direction further. Fintech is also a natural fit for our ecosystem – it's a complex but promising area," Dronshkevych said, noting that the company is weighing both organic and acquisition-led strategies in fintech.
She also highlighted investments in delivery services, where the acquisition of Uklon has already added a few percentage points to the company's revenue.
"AdTech is another natural interest for us. Our customer base, data, and ecosystem create a competitive edge in this space and offer potential for additional revenue streams," she noted.
Kyivstar is also exploring B2B SaaS solutions and core B2B infrastructure services. Dronshkevych pointed out that the company has already become Ukraine's largest Microsoft distributor, and that this strategic partnership will continue to grow.
She also acknowledged strong interest in the education sector and shared that she has recently interviewed 17 founders of LMS (Learning Management System) platforms in Ukraine.
"Over the past month, I met with eight different founders. We've narrowed it down to a top three across different segments. We might start with commercial partnerships or even joint ventures. Education is definitely an area of interest for us," Dronshkevych concluded.