MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

A 50 million USD investment fund will be set up in Georgia to invest in Georgian startups – the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Natia Turnava said after the signing of a partnership agreement between the Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency and the Catapult Georgia.

According to Natia Turnava, it is important that the fund is created with the participation of the famous American venture capital fund Catapult Ventures, the managing partner of the fund Jonathan Tower has been making serious investments in Silicon Valley for 20 years and with his support many startups have become successful companies.

For the past three years, Jonathan Tower has been a member of the Investment Committee of the Innovation and Technology Agency Co-financing Grants Program, staffed by invited experts from various countries, including the United States.

“During these three years, American experts and investors have been convinced that a lot has been done to create a startup ecosystem in Georgia and make our startups globally competitive. So, we come to the part where we talk about the middle ground – the 50 million USD investment fund that the state is going to invest in. The Innovation and Technology Agency will be represented as a minority partner. It is not related to a large investment, but it is important that the state will be represented in this new initiative,” – Natia Turnava stated.

As the Minister noted, it is the result of state support that private investors are interested not only in financing Georgia startups from abroad, but also in creating the first, top-class venture capital fund in Georgia.

The agreement signed between the Innovation and Technology Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and Catapult Georgia foresees that Catapult Georgia will invest 50 million USD in Georgian technology and innovation startups while the Innovation and Technology Agency’s participation will amount to 5 million.

Catapult is a venture capital fund that specializes in investing in emerging technical hubs outside Silicon Valley. They have invested in 100+ companies. The fund's managing partner, Jonathan Tower, has invested more than 7 billion USD.

The US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan, National Bank President Koba Gvenetadze, Georgian and foreign investors as well as representatives of business associations and large businesses also attended the event.