MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Natia Turnava, has heard the report for 2019 by LEPL Enterprise Georgia and information about the projects to be implemented in 2020. The agency carries out the entrepreneurial incentive program Enterprise in Georgia. The Deputy Minister, Irakli Nadareishvili, also attended the presentation.

As the Head of the Agency Mikheil Khidureli stated, 359 enterprises were launched in 2014–2019 with the support of the Enterprise Georgia program and 85 of them were funded in 2019. In addition, over 13,000 new jobs were created during the reporting period. As part of the hotel component of the program, 136 hotels were funded in the regions of Georgia in 2016–2019, thus, 3850 new hotel rooms have been added to the tourism sector of the country and more than 3,000 new jobs have been created. As for the development component of the film industry, 31 projects were implemented in 2016-2019 and 17400 temporary jobs were created. As for the film industry development, 31 projects were implemented and 17400 temporary jobs were created in 2016-2019.  

After the events of June 20, 2019, stoppages of regular flights from Russia have greatly affected small and family hotels in Georgia. To support them, within the frames of the “Enterprise Georgia” program, a co-financing mechanism has been set up to promote the small and family industry. According to Mikheil Khidureli, 177 applications were financed through the program during September-December 2019.

As the Head of the Agency said, a change was made to the program structure in 2020 and it became more focused on the needs of small and medium-sized businesses in the regions; as for the new sectors, the development of balneological resorts, fishing, ceramic production, tourism service provision and more, is also included in the program.

Mikheil Khidureli emphasized another priority area, such as export and its promotion. In 2019, with the help of the Agency, 120 Georgian companies participated in 16 international exhibitions. Additionally, the Agency regularly organizes trainings for export managers. About 263 export managers used this service in 2014–2019. By 2020, the Agency plans to develop the trading platform www.tradewithgeorgia.com.

The presentation also focused on the strategy for attracting investments in 2020-21 prepared by the Agency and the ways of its implementation. As a result of this strategy, along with many other benefits, 3500 new jobs will be created in the highest paid, prospective sectors in the next two years. The document was prepared using the methodology of IFC (International Finance Corporation) and with the involvement of international experts. It reflects the stage of Georgia's development, when it is possible to attract more high-tech, knowledge-based and strategically important investments to the country.

Enterprise Georgia is one of the most successful programs to stimulate entrepreneurship. Within the frames of the program, several hundred enterprises have become operational and thousands of new jobs have been created since 2014. Changes have been made to the program since 2020 and the new priority areas have been identified. It will more focus on supporting the economic development and business projects in the regions. More emphasis will be placed on small and medium-sized businesses, as well as promoting the areas such as fishing, ceramic production, development of balneological resort zones and tourism services. After being modified, the program will be more tailored to the contemporary demands and challenges faced by our country today. In addition, the directions, such as the development of export and import-substitute industries, will still be among the priorities,” - the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development said.