MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia signed a contract with 500 Global, a venture capital company envisaging retraining of Georgian startups during the next four years.

“With the participation of a professional and experienced accelerator, local start-up companies in Georgia are given the opportunity to become more successful and competitive. That is the reason we decided to extend the acceleration programme for 4 years, which envisages retraining of the chosen startups, including the international startups, within total of 8 sessions,” – Levan Davitashvili commented after the signing of the contract.

Global acceleration programme with sessions twice a year will provide an opportunity for Georgian startups to undergo an intensive training course with demo day in the end of the session. In addition, the winner startup of each session will have the opportunity to participate in an international programme organised by the global company.

“Our partners in this programme is Bank of Georgia, which is also investing 5 million dollars together with the state. With the entry of 500 Global in Georgia, we can say that Georgia will be a regional hub to encourage, support and finance the startup ecosystem. I am sure that this step will definitely attract investors and the venture capital funds will be established. I think, such decisions help to strengthen the role of Georgia as a regional center,” – Levan Davitashvili stated.

During 2020-2021, 500 Global conducted two acceleration programmes in Georgia, which were attended by a total of 30 Georgian and international technology startups. Four of these startups – CARDEAL, Cargon, Payze, Agrolabs – traveled to Silicon Valley to participate in the final component of the programme envisaging establishment of new contacts and connections with the investors.

500 Global gave an impetus to the growth and development of local startups in Georgia. After the completion of the programme, the companies were much better prepared for receiving and management of foreign private capital. Many of them expanded their markets reaching different countries, including Ukraine, Uzbekistan and India.