MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development participated in the 500 Global Acceleration Demo Day event, where the founders of participating companies made presentations to investors.

The event was held on the initiative of the Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency and with the support of the Bank of Georgia. The acceleration program in Georgia was announced for the third time and 13 companies from different countries of the world (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Germany, Uzbekistan, etc.) were selected including Bonpara, Epoint, GOTCHA, iDialogue, Kings, KOVZY, LiveBoard, Praktika, Pyme, QuickShipper, TASS VISION, Text'nPayMe and Voiceloft. The acceleration program consisted of several stages and included both sessions and individual mentoring for each company.

The program aims is to promote the strengthening of the Georgian startup ecosystem, the development of investment potential and the exit of startup companies to the global market. The agreement between the Innovation and Technology Agency of Georgia, the Bank of Georgia and 500 Global (500 Startups Incubator L.L.C) was signed a few months ago, according to which 500 Global will train startups in Georgia for four years. The global acceleration program will be held twice a year, and startups from all over the world will have the opportunity to undergo an intensive training course, which will end with a demo day.

“Within the program, new companies, startups have the opportunity to share experience, gain knowledge and become stronger from very experienced mentors. At the end of such acceleration programs, we have a demo day where we get information about their products. We will have two acceleration programs per year, and at the end of the program, a demo day will be held, and we will be able to learn what the actual achievements of the startup companies are,” – Minister of Economy noted. 

Influential global venture capital platform, 500 Global entered Georgia in 2020 upon the initiative of the Innovation and Technology Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and the support of the Bank of Georgia. In 2020-2021, 500 Global conducted two acceleration programs in Georgia, where a total of 30 Georgian and international technology startups took part. Four of these startups - CARDEAL, Cargon, Payze, Agrolabs – had the opportunity to travel to Silicon Valley to participate in the final component of the program, which included activities to establish new contacts and connect with investors.