MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

The methodology and primary results of small and medium business development assessment in Georgia were discussed during an extended meeting held at the Radisson hotel in which the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, its partner international organizations, including OECD, European Reconstruction and Development Bank, ETF as well as representatives of Georgia’s government and private sector. Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Ekaterine Mikabadze opened the meeting.

“This is an assessment of Georgia's SME development, which is implemented within the framework of the EU funding and the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the OECD and other partner organizations. The first assessment was held in 2016, where Georgia took the leading position among the Eastern Partnership countries and received the highest rating in seven out of 12 indicators. Consequently, the initial results are currently under discussion for the 2020 index and I believe that the reforms implemented since 2016 will be reflected in it,” – Ekaterine Mikabadze said.

Mikabadze noted that Georgia has already received very positive feedback from foreign experts and they identified the challenges that the Government is already addressing as well. “This assessment allows us to address the challenges in a proper way in order to significantly improve the SME environment in Georgia, because that is the driving force, which provides the inclusive growth,” – the Deputy Minister noted and expressed gratefulness for cooperation and support to each party involved in the evaluation process.