Beeline Kazakhstan: Support to Digital Skills Development & Education
Beeline Kazakhstan: Support to Digital Skills Development & Education
Amsterdam and Almaty, 2 September 2024 – VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), a global digital operator that provides connectivity and online services (“VEON” or the “Company”), announces that its digital operator Beeline Kazakhstan, through its Corporate Foundation Zhyly Zhurek, is supporting digital skills development in Kazakhstan with the inauguration of a newly-constructed secondary school with high-end technology facilities.
The newly built school in the village of Shelek, near Almaty, was opened on September 1st, coinciding with Kazakhstan’s “Day of Knowledge”. The school will serve over 900 children and has been equipped with a state-of-the-art computer lab, workshops, laboratories and sports facilities.
Beeline Kazakhstan’s Zhyly Zhurek corporate foundation, which was established in November 2023, funded the new school as part of VEON and Beeline Kazakhstan’s longstanding commitment to supporting priority social projects in the country. Zhyly Zhurek allocates 1% of Beeline Kazakhstan’s annual revenue to CSR programmes ranging from supporting communities impacted by flooding to increasing the country’s educational standards, including equipping students in rural Kazakh schools with the skills necessary for the digital economy.
“Beeline Kazakhstan has a long history of giving back to local communities and investing in priority social projects, and we believe that secondary education is the foundation upon which future digital specialists and experts of Kazakhstan will build their professional skills and knowledge. Zhyly Zhurek’s school development project earned it the recognition of the Eurasian Business Association of Kazakhstan for “Best CSR Project” in November 2023 and we are thrilled to open the latest school, which will help hundreds of children to take their first steps in a modern and well-equipped educational institution. Our investments create well-equipped environments for these students, boosting the digital skills development of Kazakhstan’s future workforce no matter where they are living,” said Yevgeny Nastradin, CEO of Beeline Kazakhstan.
Zhyly Zhurek’s programme has already invested in the refitting of eight rural schools to the benefit of nearly five thousand children across Kazakhstan. Beeline Kazakhstan not only supports digital skills development but also creates job opportunities for local technology talent through its AI, big data and digitally focused businesses, including its IT company QazCode. Through QazCode, Beeline Kazakhstan provides technical infrastructure for training of the Kazakh Large Language Model (LLM) which will support the development of AI products and services in Kazakhstan.
Beeline Kazakhstan’s focus on education mirrors similar initiatives by VEON Group companies, demonstrating their commitment to digital skills development and creating inclusive digital opportunities for all. VEON’s Beeline Uzbekistan partnered with Astrum IT Academy in Uzbekistan in 2021 to help educate the new generations of software programmers, big data analysts and software engineers and as well as supports women in STEM. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, Jazz, Mobilink Microfinance Bank and Banglalink concentrate on digital and financial inclusion, including for example in initiatives geared towards increasing women’s participation in digital economy.
