Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Contents

Contents

Introduction 4 Financial and Operational Sustainability 5 Legal Activity 5 Services and Offers 6 Technical Progress 9 Inter-carrier Cooperation 10 Application of Latest Technologies 10 Digital Services 11 Customer Service 12 Customer Feedback 12 Compliance and Ethics 13 Opportunities for the Personnel 13 Corporate Citizenship 16

2 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Contents

Message from the Chief Executive Officer

Responsible companies, quite like responsible people, not only plan their actions but also regularly analyze their success and achievements. This is crucial in evaluating our past and finding out our place in the community and country life. I believe, this Report will be a solid proof that Beeline is a decent citizen of the Republic of Armenia and a trustworthy member of “VEON” international family. We trust that our customers and partners can feel our continuous growth and sustained endeavors of development and progress in their daily routine and work.

3 Introduction 4 For more information pleaseFor more information visit www.veon.com. “VEON Armenia” CJSC is owned by VEON Ltd. (with the HQ in in HQ the (with Ltd. VEON by owned is CJSC “VEON Armenia” integrated largest world’s the of one is VEON Amsterdam). and NASDAQ on listed is It operators. telecommunication Euronext Amsterdam and includes telecommunication transfer data and communication voice providing companies 212 over to access Internet services, as broadband as well subscribersmillion worldwide. Beeline provides GSM 900/1800, GSM (LTE) 4G provides 3G (UMTS) and Beeline services, and telephony fixed communication, mobile standard CDMA, FTTB via ADSL, VDSL access and Internet provides technologies. “VEON Armenia” CJSC is one of the largest telecommunication telecommunication largest the of one is CJSC “VEON Armenia” connectivity services under providing Armenia, in operators 2008. Armenia throughout since BeelineTrademark INTRODUCTION Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Financial and Operational Legal Sustainability Activity 5

- an Enactment by the Activity During 2019 Beeline of the Armenia team legal in active engaged been has efforts. Our specialists not only participated processes, but they in corporate activities in various involved governmental follows: as were and cross-border In scope of the working EEU group negotiations were held to approve profitable roaming tariffs for all the partiesstakeholder the throughout Union. In compliance with Public Services Regulatory Commission of RA, the Company was obliged to handin to the Regulator the four digit 8xxx numbers used for technical purpos es. as However, a result of negotiations it was agreed to extend the term of numbers’ use by two more years until completion network fixed of upgrading. Legal woods is consumed on consumed is woods 17 to equals which average, recycling By trees. trees. save we wastepaper, Interesting statistics: for one statistics: Interesting for of two paper of tons ton reduced almost twice, which equals to 2.5 tons of paper per annum. ciousness in Administrative HQ HQ Administrative respect. Financial function Beeline not of only of financial Armenia in charge is statements work of at the the offices of company organization but for also andBelow technical some maintenance. are achievements 2019 of in this amount of wastepaper has been mind, the Company is continuously having waste paper recycled. also Today, thanks to the digital document the flow, comfortable state-of-the-art open space office located at 24/1, Azatutyan Avenue. environmentalHaving cons and other duties and payments to domestic budgets. and national All 560 staff of the are now working at the new and In 2019 “VEON Armenia” CJSC paid 12 271 337 045 AMD,which includes taxes Sustainability Financial and Operational and Financial Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Services and Offers 6 9 special promotions were in place for iPhone mobile handsets, by offering 25 GB of Internet for 30 days and up to 30000 AMD as a bonustransferred to the balance. In scope of the New Year promotion, at the end we of the year, presented Samsung Galaxy A30S smartphone, where at purchasing it customers were provided with 100 GB of Internet for two months. The offer was available to the customers for 4660 monthly. AMD simultaneously receiving 100 GB internet for two months asa bonus. The offer included the opportunity to purchase the above smartphone for 3300 monthly. AMD 201 during Furthermore, traditional the Smartphones customer was provided a special number with 033 code. Within the scope of special promotion dedicated to the Knowledge our customers Day, had the opportunity to purchase Samsung Galaxy A10 smartphone without any advance payment and with no payment of interests during the first 12 months, Within the framework of a spring promotion Xiaomi month was announced, offering the subscribers Xiaomi Redmi 6A smartphone and providing 50 GB of Internet for six months. The smartphone was available for purchase by monthly instalments of only 2200 AMD. In scope of Summer promotion, we offered the new series of Samsung Galaxy A, upon purchasing which the During 2019 Beeline customers various made of offers, use receiving cutting-edge services and smartphones affordable by prices, as: such additional mobile extras and special offers. Up to three times more free mobile internet capacity provided COMBO to users. New offer: Year 100Mbit/s fixed internet provided when connecting to all bundles COMBO to enable maximum usage of fixed internet network features. Introduction of a bonus system, enabling Beeline users accumulate to points for using the connectivity services and exchange them with ent servicesent subscribers, been the has following fixed internet network. A half-price offer for COMBO in 1” to give more customers“4 the opportunity to use the upgraded new COMBO servicenew COMBO bundles. Expanded availability to watch BeeTV providing additionalby TV receiver boxes to the customers. payment terminals. Provision of one-off cashback as an incentive to promote connection of More user-friendly procedure of connecting fixed to services by requests connection sending through user connection and delivering faster service at Beeline offices through designated specialists of convergent bundles. Mbit/s available to over 80% of Yerevan. in households Improved procedure of fixed internet Wide-scale upgrading landline of internet network in Yerevan, making super-high-speed internet of 100 Optimization of internet speed for serviceCOMBO bundles, with high speeds becoming more accessible and affordable pricewise. Services Offers and created: for subscribers.for In 2019, activities carriedout were in several in these areas directions: For Beeline’s and fixed converg Beeline constantly continues develop to both services and the service quality Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Services and Offers 7 with the Beeline Bonus renewed terms for its customers, where the customers accumulated points for each 10 AMD spent on mobile connectivity them services, exchanging for various bonus offers. The customers can register program through “Bonus” section of “My Beeline Armenia” app or via www.beeline.am through website “Personal Office” and manage their bonus accounts by themselves. At subscribing the customers shall receive extra bonus points. The customers are assigned a Standard, Gold Silver, or Platinum status with the new programme based on their spending during the previous six months; the pointsaccumulation of done is according to the coefficient designated for respective statuses, i.e. from 1 up to 1.7 points. large capacities of internet in roaming starting from December called “Roaming Plan 500MB”and “Roaming Plan 100MB” worthof 3500 AMD and 6000 AMD respectively.These plans offerInternet to the customers starting from 6 AMD per 1 MB. These bundles are also available in all above countries and on all networks. carrier As a New gift, Year Beeline launched the new Beeline Bonus programme with offer, we have offer, Roaming receive calls and make calls to Armenian Beeline networkfor only 29,99 AMD whereas the tariff for inbound and outgoing calls to Armenia in over 65 countries independent of the carrier the tariff is 150 AMD. Following the Summer launched new and convenient Roaming Internet bundles for the customers using For our compatriotstravelling overseas we have completely revised the tariffs in more them making by roaming affordable in over 65 countries. Thus, in Georgia, Russia, all countries in Europe as well as in Egypt, Israel, the USA, Thailand and number a of other countries the customers of Beeline enjoyed the unprecedented tariff for Internet starting from 5,9 AMD during all monthsSummer September and inclusive. It is worth mentioning that the tariffs were available on all carrier networks without the need to enable any special services. Starting from June 2019 on Beeline networks in Georgia and Russia, as well as on Wind Italy and Kyivstar Ukraine the customers can ue project Internet From June 2019 another uniq was launched, offering to tourists visiting Armenia purchase Wi-Fi of 4G router on loan and use of high-quality internet throughout their entire journey. Based on popular market demand we continued the policy of increasing internet capacities. Hence, startingfrom July 2019 the capacities of the bundles provided in scope of “Giga” internet service saw an increase. instead Now, of the “Giga bundle 6” our customers can obtain the “Giga 10” bundle for the same price of AMD 3500 receiving 10 GB instead of the former 6 GB respectively. internet instead of the former 1.5 GB.

ribers of “Smart” “Smart” bundles 033 Code 033 Code “Smart 1500” plan now offered 3GB of been enjoying this feature since 2016. From May 2019 all subsc plans started getting more internet, e.g. customers the unused internet volumes would be transferred to the next month. recap, the post-paidTo customers had We madeWe an exclusive offer to all of our customers of “Smart” plans. Starting from February 2019 for prepaid new 1000 numbers were listed for sale, available to purchase when subscribing to “Smart” tariff plan. and the final prices for premium class numbers were shaped by the auction participants. Following this, additional In May 2019 we announced of kick-starting the sale of telephone numbers with the new 033 code. The start was announced via online auction Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Services and Offers 8 high-speed internet replacing the former 1200 minutes, 200 and SMS 7GB, aswell as providing 10,000 minutes to Beeline mobile network after consuming the included minutes. In December we announced of improving the “Smart Business All Net” postpaid plans. The bundles designated for business customers wererenamed i.e. into “PRO”, PROgressive, PROductive, and PROfessional for business. The plans give the customers the opportunity to get more internet, call minutes and texts for the same monthly fee. For instance, the “PRO bundle 3” worth of 5200 AMD provides 1300 minutes to Russian Federation (Beeline) and all networks of RA, NKR, USA and Canada, 1300 and SMS 20 GB of super d is aime customers for calls to the numbers of RA and Russian Beeline network, talk time to other networks of RA and Russia, all mobile and landline networks of Artsakh, the USA, Canada, short messages and internet, included in the bundle. It includes five offers starting from 2000 AMD up to 9000 AMD per month. In December we launched the new postpaid “Business” tariff plans. The line offers airtime to business separate page for our business customers on Facebook. The Beeline Business pageis useful for not only existing businesscustomers but also for people interested in offers available to the business segment. The Beeline Business page at keeping the business customers in the know of new services and offers, sharing experience and keeping in touch with them. The page allows new customers to quickly learn of new offers for the business. In September, we launched a of the new line tariff plan, which provides 450 minutes of call time and unlimited calls inside a “closed to the group” customer for 4900 AMD per month. The leading “Business 9900” 1100 includes bundle alternative minutes of call time per month. technical support. threeIn July, new tariff plans of landline telephony were launched for legal entities. The updated assortment ofpost-paid tariff plans offers airtime to local businesses, that can be used on all landline and mobile networks of Armenia, Artsakh, the USA, Canada and China, as well as for calls to Russian Beeline network numbers. The initial tariff plan is the alternative “Business 4900” offer the business customers could connect to Beeline VDSL internet with 15, 30and 90 Mbit/sec speed for a monthly subscription feeof 6000, 9000 and 15000 AMD respectively. The service 24-hour includes December 31, 2019. In scope of this landline internet by VDSL technology was launched, designated for legal entity customers effective only, until enjoyed the benefit of landline network upgrade. Starting from May 20 the offer for super high-speed bundle by paying for them from a single account, enjoying the benefit of more affordable prices. Our business customers additionally enable both Beeline fixed voice connectivity (with a non-geographic andcode) internet services in one launched. The offer comes along with vPBX (virtual switch) service. By becoming a subscriber to the new vPBX service plans, the customers can In May, theIn first May, convergent bundles designed for business customers were calls and to use mobile apps without internet. for billing and specifics. Through special bundles available, the new offer allows to make both international Business” tariff plan was launched for Business customers. The offer allows a client to configure their own bundle based on particular business needs In February, thenew “Smart A number improvements of have carried been B2B out customers, for too: Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Offers and Services

Subscribers to “PRO” bundles can make unlimited use of WhatsApp, This year is exclusive in terms of Technical Progress Facebook, Messenger, Zangi, improving business customer support. Progress Technical Telegram mobile apps with no billing Definitely, we can state that new A key pledge to sustainable development is the continuous technological for internet. services and opportunities created by progress. During 2019 many technological initiatives were carried out, such as: us for our beloved customers are even During 2019 Beeline Armenia Khoznavar communities, thanks to more user-friendly and easy for use. introduced the FTTC/VDSL which the population got access to Andrey Pyatakhin, Chief Executive technology in Central, Jrvezh and broadband services. Vardashen districts of Yerevan. This Officer of Beeline Armenia. Network switch upgrading was means that internet connectivity of delivered in Martuni, Vanadzor, Koti up to 100 MB became accessible to and Ashotsk communities. around 67,000 of population in Armenia. Taking care of the environment, Beeline Armenia has not only In 2019 Beeline’s 3G network was installed energy saving LED light expanded with 68 new base stations bulbs at its offices but also solar built. Now, over 87% of Armenian panels have been placed in three population can use the opportunities automated telephone switches in provided by 3G mobile network. Ajapnyak, South-Western and In 2019 the LTE network was Shengavit districts of Yerevan. Each launched in Yerevan and provinces. station shall operate as minimum 20 Currently, the state-of-the-art mobile years, producing around 26000 – network is accessible in Yerevan, 27000 kWh of energy, with no harm Syunik, Lori, Kotayk, Shirak, to the nature. Gegharkunik, Tavush, Ararat and Armavir provinces. Over 57% of the Armenian population can now enjoy the features offered by LTE mobile connectivity. Provision of services via FTTB technology has been delivered in three more communities of Yerevan: Kanaker-Zeytun, Arabkir and Malatia-Sebastia. ADSL technology was rolled out in Yerznka, Moughni, Vaghatur, 9 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Cooperation Inter-carrier

Inter-carrier Cooperation Application of Latest Technologies Latest Technologies of Application

By developing the domestic network, Beeline never forgets of cooperation Beeline Armenia is also a huge IT corporation, which, by providing internet between the carriers. Important achievements of the last year were: access, continuously improves the customer service in this industry, privacy and technologies applied to organize the work inside the company. In particu- Resource localization/ cache projects lar, during 2019 the following activities were performed: were implemented with Facebook and Akamai, thanks to which access to these 17 cases of DDoS attacks were ID-Scanner Access to Information internet resources was accelerated for detected and prevented during 2019 our customers by 8 to 40 times and at the Armenian border, thanks to based on Geolocation With the purpose to speed up customer outbound internet traffic capacities which the Armenian subscribers service through applying innovative from Armenia were reduced by 31.1% skipped any challenges. Great Thanks to cutting-edge technologies a technologies we introduced the (Facebook-27.8%, Akamai- 3.3%). attention is paid to internet security customer can receive information on ID-Scanner software at our retail offices. particularly on holidays and memori- services and features available based on It allows the employee to scan the their current location. Now the al days. customer’s passport via smartphone, customers at the airport can receive after which it immediately appears in text messages on features available the company’s system helping skip when in roaming. Our cooperation with international unnecessary extra steps. This enhanced partners towards various geopolitical the service speed and data security, and directions was expanded thanks to prevented wrong entry of data. The which we were able to offer better software protects customer data quality and more affordable internet and privacy and security. international voice services to the customers. In 2019, as compared to the previous year, the number of 4G partner carriers increased by 23% and the fourth genera- tion network became accessible in 77 countries instead of the former 67. From now on, the 4G network is available to Beeline customers in Albania, Portugal, Mexico, Norway, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Sri Lanka, Kuwait and New Zealand.

10 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Services Digital

Digital Services

Service through Live Chat to sign electronic documents quickly. or upon receiving the goods. The service reduces the need to visit The section for selling telephone state agencies. It allows performing Last Summer the company’s official numbers was also updated and became transactions online, securing data page updated the online service more user-friendly, now being privacy. platform. The platform is now more connected to the warehouse and convenient for the servicing staff, since allowing selecting and purchasing a it is supported by a single system, number of one’s choice easily. allowing to collect requests coming from the website and from My Beeline Later on the same service was also Armenia app. launched for the corporate customers, making it easier to handle challenges New Personal Office related to document flow in the company. For the customers (B2C segment) the personal office was fully updated at the official page of Beeline Armenia for both desktops and smartphones. The new office obtained a more user-friendly design, access to subscribing to different services (mobile, landline connectivity, internet), access to topping up the numbers of friends and relatives, linking a bank card for a quick top-up, more convenient options for getting call Upgrading the E-Shop detailing records and availability to configure different services. In Autumn the upgraded E-Shop was launched, with more flexible tools, Mobile ID Service simple and user-friendly design and online integration with the warehouse. Mobile ID service is an efficient tool for Now our customers can easily find, authentication through a smartphone research, compare and select a new and validation of documents through smartphone. Requests for receiving a digital signature. The service is loan or making subscription were made accessible everywhere, allowing the user easier, too. Payments can be done online 11 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Service Customer

Customer Service Customer Feedback Feedback Customer

For the purpose of improving the Call Centre operations a number of At the end of the day, the end purpose of the company’s business is customer innovations were made that essentially reduced the customer service waiting satisfaction. In order to enhance this indicator various projects were time by the Contact Centre employees as follows: implemented in 2019, such as:

Online Consultant service is now The Company launched Bottom-up organized during the year, when the delivered via a new system, which NPS system, thanks to which surveys managers from company’s has now become even more were made among 104,513 headquarters visited the retail stores attractive for the customers thanks customers. As a result, 17,736 and worked with customers. As a to its colorful design and user-friendly feedbacks were given, where the result of feedback received many interface. Covering a number of customers received solution to their urgent issues were settled, starting interesting and useful features, the issues, settings were configured, from office refurbishment up to new system has made the routine compensations were provided, etc. service quality improvement. service work of servicing personnel Another program was implemented The feedback indicator of this year Many training workshops were easier, improving their performance too, where screens were placed at was higher as compared to the conducted for the staff involved in indicators. the Contact Centre, displaying the previous years. Thus, we were able to customer service to foster their A new platform was developed and number of customers calling the support more customers. professional skills. We are planning launched, where the Contact Centre Contact Centre and the time-slot of Four “Customer Days” were to continue training in 2020, too. staff can see all limitations connecting to an agent, as well as potentially affecting or having statistics related to the operations affected the service level quality. of the Call Centre staff.

12 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Ethics and Compliance

Compliance and Ethics Opportunities for the Personnel for the Personnel Opportunities

As part of international VEON Group, VEON Armenia has adopted a highest Beeline Armenia always strives to provide the best conditions for its ethics standards compliance policy and confidently introduces compliance employees, contributing to their development and career growth: culture in all internal procedures and external partnerships. In particular, the following initiatives were implemented: Social Benefits Package Working Environment

In Yerevan and in Provinces 70 training and Corporate Culture All employees of the Company are workshops were organized for the staff. provided with medical insurance, For the entire staff five online trainings The Company lives by the five values covering four types of insurances, were conducted related to general as follows: including the international travel compliance topics. All employees that insurance. Customer-obsessed were not available to take the online Entrepreneurial The personnel is provided with training, had personal meetings with our Innovative mobile connectivity and special specialists. Collaborative discounts for the services and devices On the occasion of International Ethics Truthful offered by the Company. Day the Company organized a series of These are the values that define another employee was awarded by The staff also enjoy the benefit of events such as surveys, watching a employee reward and new employee Group HQ in Amsterdam. corporate discounts offered to the themed movie, etc, as well as recruitment principles. informative newsletters were sent to During 2019 three large corporate Company by various organizations. The Company has an internal business partners about compliance meetings took place at the corporate network in place, where procedures in operational companies of Headquarters office of Armenian Beeline Material and daily news and various company VEON Group. with the participation of the Chief Executive Officer. Non-Material Motivation events are published. There is also an During 2019 six employees received internal Telegram channel for the 22 non-official workshops on various awards for commitment to compliance staff. Each quarter a video call is held compliance and ethics matters were The company has a corporate reward and ethics and based on his work results with a format of Q&A and organized for the top management of and bonus system designed to participation of Company’s top the Company. motivate the best employees who demonstrate high performance, live management, where they present The company fosters and develops the by corporate values and bring added ongoing activities of Company’s SpeakUp culture of raising concerns to value with their innovative ideas, functions. compliance officers for the purposes of demonstrating ethical behavior. Internal surveys are conducted on avoiding any actions conflicting with regular basis, facilitating ethics. There is a wide choice of training opportunities, including free improvement of company processes professional education platforms through new projects based on with certification. feedback received. 13 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 for theOpportunities Personnel

The working conditions are equal for The Company practices some most holding key positions. Moreover, everyone in the Company: all platform has been launched with traditions and lives an interesting one of the program participants is now employees, including top managers educational resources as follows: corporate life, full of events, social employed by one of the Group operating and the Chief Executive Officer are LinkedIn gatherings, team plays and companies in Ukraine. performing their work in open space Coursera adventures. WebTutor, offices. The Company is equipped with a Digithon Webinar.ru Specialists, whose presence at the Telco Museum, which hosts visitors In total, as minimum 30% of the office is no must, are given the option every Friday. One can also opt for a In September Beeline held Digithon 2019 employees participated in various to work remotely in the framework 360-degree virtual tour. for its staff. As part of Digithon, growth events during 2019. of BeeFree strategy. The Company holds many events for employees of various Beeline functions The Company has adopted a Code of the staff and their children, including develop prototypes of innovative digital services. This year four teams took part Conduct, encouraging ethical culture; The Company encourages career sports and intellectual events (for in the Armenian batch of the corporate there is a hotline to report growth of its employees. Majority of instance, there is a “Who, Where, digital marathon. “Big Data and misconduct and incompliance with Company’s management has started When?” team); every last Friday of a Customer Values Management” was ethics. their career here, from the position of month is declared as open-door day The Company encourages the desire a specialist. At the moment, 10 out of for children, when the kids are of its employees to gain new 12 top managers in the Company allowed to accompany parents to knowledge and further develop as a have started their career from the their workplaces. professional. For this purpose, there specialist level. is a wide choice of opportunities All employees are given the Third Generation (3G) available in the Company to share opportunity to join social projects experience and hold educational implemented by the Company as As a socially responsible Company and training. Particularly, Beeline volunteers, such as community one of the largest employers in Armenia, corporate university holds training cleanup days, financial support to Beeline implements the “Third courses with the involvement of families in need and events for Generation” internship program. The chosen as a theme for Digithon 2019, internal and external experts. Any exchange of experience. In 2019, in “Third Generation” kick-started in 2008 which was one of the trending topics in employee can share their own scope of the “Good Deeds” initiative and up to date 160 students did their the telecommunications industry. Just knowledge and experience with the Company’s employees rendered internship with Beeline. More than half like the world-renowned hackathons, co-workers in a format of special support to tens of families. of them are employed by Beeline today, Digithon lasts 24 hours. During this clubs or other format after taking With the purpose to foster favorable period, the teams develop prototypes of certain training. environment at the workplaces, every their solutions and present them to the floor at the company’s office is jury. This year, the jury included Beeline equipped with kitchens and leisure executives, chaired by Andrey Pyatakhin, Beeline University offers a wide zones, as well as there is a cafe and a Chief Executive Officer of the Company. choice of growth tools to the staff. canteen with discounted prices for Then, the winners of the Armenian VEON LEARNING self-education the employees. batch took part in the VEON Global 14 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 for theOpportunities Personnel

Digithon 2019 in Amsterdam. One Armenia became a winner at the Global participant from winning team in Digithon 2019.

15 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Citizenship Corporate

Corporate Citizenship

Committed to the best traditions of social responsibility, Beeline Armenia continuously contributes to the economic development of Armenia: Corporate responsibility (CR) projects by Beeline Armenia are implemented in two main directions: Make your Mark and Digital Skills and Literacy, that are based on two global development strategic goals of UN; i.e. quality education for everyone and sustainable economic development. The purpose of “Make your Mark” global strategy is fostering the development of Armenian start-ups and their establishment at the market. The idea is to provide the youth with business learning and a working platform so that they are able to shape their future by using the knowledge and skills acquired. Beeline Startup Incubator networking; many of them are now enjoying success in the Armenian and/or with Business Angels international market. Network of Armenia (BANA)

This project, which has been implemented since 2016 is not any more Areg Vardanyan, Co-Founder, Forge- lots of extra motivation. a mere project, but a full member of the Fiction Thousands of incubators worldwide Armenian start-up eco-system. During analyze start-ups based on books they its 3rd to 5th batches the Incubator have read. Dissimilarly, BSI is hosted more than 15 start-ups, four out At first glance, BSI seemed to be abundant with professionals with of which ended up receiving investment just a good fit for our start-up to from angel investors. advance in sales. Now, when we look real-life business experience & One of the most active platforms intelligence that help the rough The mission of Beeline Startup incubator back, the Beeline Incubator not only if you are looking for information is supporting Armenian start-ups helped in sales but also, in legal, diamonds (like us :)) spark in the regarding new as well as successful throughout their journey to success. accounting, and finance issues. The sky. They receive all necessary knowledge start-ups, and the events and people co-working space is full of enthusiasts Arman Sargsyan, and skills and take consulting from who can help to start your business in participating BANA angel investors, also working day and night on their CEO of RendChain Armenia! making use of their business incredible projects, and this brings up 16 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Citizenship Corporate

updated, providing important information to start-ups of various opportunities, competitions, investment funds, etc. In parallel, a series of offline meetings were held with the participation of influential representatives from Armenian Start-up eco-system discussing current challenges of the industry. The program will continue in 2020.

During these 14 weeks our team had an opportunity to participate in StartHub with different events organized by Beeline the Technological Start-up Incubator and Business Angel Development Center Network of Armenia (BANA). Experts from different fields answered our The platform “StartHub” (StartHub.am) questions, advised us, shared their was created in collaboration with experience, and gave opportunity to be “Technological Development Center” in touch with them. The incubator foundation for the purposes to providing team supported us in creating our potential technical assistance to the pitch deck, introduced us to potential start-ups. During its activity the investors. And by their support and platform published guidelines on how to start a Start-up in Armenia, information BANA’s big network we already raised on organizations providing assistance as $51,000. well as newsfeed about start-ups and interviews with Armenian Start-up      Levon Galstyan, CEO of 4u.am representatives. The platform is always      17 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Citizenship Corporate

Sevan Startup Summit with the “Startup Armenia” foundation

Four years in a row the shores of lake Beeline was again the strategic partner Sevan hosted Sevan Startup Summit of the Summit. The Company’s staff had aimed at inviting start-ups from also active participation in both Armenia and other countries along with organization and holding of the mentors and experienced businessmen Summit, including Andrey Pyatakhin, and investors for the purpose of Chief Executive Officer. Experts networking, sharing experience and collaborating with Beeline Startup enjoying active leisure time all in a single Incubator met the participant teams space and in an unofficial environment. and consulted them. Beeline Startup As an active participant of Armenian Incubator staff and participating Start-up Eco System and a company start-ups had active participation in the providing support to the start-ups, events as well.

Sevan Startup Summit 2019 in numbers:

Total number of participants: 10 000

Participating start-up teams: 120

Prize fund: 100 000 USD

Investment fund: 100 000 USD

Countries represented: 50

18 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Citizenship Corporate

Data Science Summer leading specialists were among the NerUzh Diaspora The goal of the “NerUzh” program is tutors. engaging talented entrepreneurs, School with the American The students obtained knowledge Technology Start-up engineers from Diaspora, facilitating University of Armenia applicable in data science sector; they Program repatriation and fostering start-up studied Python programming language, eco-system development in Armenia. basics of machine learning, the The program allows to turn In July 2019, American University of mechanisms of learning human speech In 2019 Beeline Armenia and Beeline technological ideas and projects of the Armenia organized the “Data Science by a computer and received other Startup Incubator united their efforts Armenians living abroad into a business Summer School” where the participants trendy knowledge that would enable together with almost all representatives in Armenia and to enter global markets. were granted the unique opportunity to them professionally progress in this of the Armenian Start-up eco system to It must also be noted that three of the learn basics and methods of Data area. join the NerUzsh program implemented Beeline Start-up Incubator resident Science by a series of training courses by Ministry of High-tech Industry of RA At the end of the programme the start-ups Rendchain, Garoon Tech and fostering critical-thinking. and the RA Office of High Commissioner participants were divided into GuideMe, which have Diasporan Over 70 representatives from different for Diaspora Affairs. 80 Representatives competing groups, after which the Armenian in their teams, were among industries participated in the Summer from 47 technology start-ups selected authors of the three best ideas received the best finalists of “NerUzh”. “Garoon School, including students and employed from 47 countries participated in monetary awards. Tech” was awarded the second prize and specialists from Armenia and overseas. “NerUzh 2019”. received other prizes by the sponsors. Around twenty local and international In scope of Digital Skills and Literacy mission, Beeline provides support to the Armenian youth in obtaining cutting-edge digital knowledge, which could be useful in their further education and activities allowing a better future for them.

19 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Citizenship Corporate

Tech Workshops programmer of the world renowned Airbnb platform. Reinforcement with Tumo Center Learning lies in-between the crossroad for Creative Technologies of artificial intelligence, computer science and psychology, dealing with computer’s interaction with the environment and gaining experience based on that interaction. The goal of the workshop was providing theoretical and practical knowledge to In scope of the joint project with Tumo the students about Reinforcement leading specialists from abroad were Learning. By the end of the workshop invited to Armenia and passed on their the students learnt to write knowledge of various digital trends to cutting-edge algorithms for computer the Center’s students. games. The skills gained shall enable The Reinforcement Learning workshop them to continue success in this in 2019 was run by Nitarashan Rajkumar, trending area.

Croatian architect Luca Piscorec As a result of working with Piscorec, facilitated a workshop for developing Mohite and Nazarian the students generative models, where Tumo worked on virtual reality, 3D modeling students designed 3D modeling in Rhino and printing projects. At the end of the program by using generating algorithms workshops the delivered works were of Python programming language. demonstrated in Tumo Yerevan on At the workshop facilitated by Ashish July 12. Mohite, an architect and doctoral candidate of Aalto University, programmed a 3D printer in Arduino and assembled own printer from separate details. The TUMO students attending the workshop by Scott Nazarian selected locations of crucial importance for the Armenian Diaspora and designed an environment in virtual reality to unite the Armenian people around a virtual dinner. 20 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Citizenship Corporate

Digital Opportunities Google AutoDraw, Goo.gl, Google Drive, Google Documents, Google Slides, for Schoolchildren with Google Sheets, SafeSearch, as well as Child Development Storymap JS, Thinglink, Readymag, Canva programs and tools during 2019. Foundation

Aided by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of RA, Beeline Armenia and Child Development Foundation set a goal to improve the education process of children living in provinces by providing them with knowledge of various digital tools. Around a hundred schoolchildren from four provinces of Armavir, Ararat, Vayots Dzor and Kotayk learnt how to use

Leading experts of IT industry had been experts guidelines were designed that working with children aged 13-16 for five were given to the Ministry of Education, months, teaching them how to use Science, Culture and Sports of RA to digital tools by turning a smartphone facilitate self-learning among all and a computer into useful tools for schoolchildren and teachers and apply learning and working. these programs in their routine learning As a result of competition between the process. participants and cooperation with the

21 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Citizenship Corporate

Educational programs for an adventurous tour of their choice   Storymap JS, Thinglink, at the Center for the Arts. Readymag, Canva     : with Cafesjian Center “DesignLab.chairs” project gave the for the Arts opportunity to the participants to design their own chairs.

The traditional cooperation between Beeline and Cafesjian Center for the Arts continued in 2018-2019. Around 1210 children and teenagers participated in ten projects implemented together. Among the most beloved projects were: “The Miracle of New Year and Christmas” a project much popular with the children by now. “Make your tour” project, where the participants were able to create and go

On the occasion of the International The works by “Studio” photography Children's Day the participant children project of Cafesjian Teen Council were joined the flashmob dedicated to the displayed in Dilijan, Gyumri and 10-year anniversary of the museum and Yeghegnadzor. took part in “Your Flag” creative project. The platform for teenage artists was “Musical Promenades” project was created by the initiative of the Teen continued, where the children were Council aimed at demonstrating the art introduced to classical music in an of young people. interactive format.

22 Corporate Responsibility Annual Report 2019 Citizenship Corporate

Lecture and Environment Master Classes Beeline considers environment protection as As a part of corporate responsibility the one of its social responsibility areas. On March 26, 2019 by the active involvement of Company’s staff, in particular Andrey its staff, the Company joined the Earth Hour Pyatakhin, Chief Executive Officer, global event by turning off electric power for Naira Nazaryan, Head of PR and others one hour at the Headquarters office and in hold various open lectures and master some offices of the company to save energy classes for audiences such as School of and to once more remind of the importance PR, Leadership School, students and of caring for the environment. graduates of Yerevan State University, students of the International School for Young Leaders, as well as for the residents of Beeline Startup Incubator.

The goal of the Awards is to put on record the achievements in public relations industry, foster and highlight the importance of the culture of competent communication in Armenia, promote active involvement of PR specialists in political-social processes and in public life. The results of PR Awards are based on scientific research; polls and research are carried out among focus groups, i.e. PR Awards PR experts, mass media representatives; the activities of agencies, governmental, political and public figures are regularly Beeline Armenia joined the Armenian PR monitored. Awards for the fourth time now, conducted by the initiative of “Armenian PR Association” scientific-information NGO. 23 “VEON Armenia” CJSC PR service Naira Nazaryan Anzhela Alekian Grigori Yurin [email protected] +37410 29 05 14 24/1 Azatutyan ave., Yerevan, Armenia