BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 17
By Maryana Akhmedova – Trend:
USAID observed a lot of progress in terms of entrepreneurship and innovation in Georgia, although the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed some weaknesses in the economy, such as the need for more job opportunities, the need for greater digitization in the business sector, the USAID representative in Georgia told Trend.
Currently, USAID is cooperating with the Bank of Georgia through BizLink project within the USAID Economic Security Program, which is aimed at Georgia’s light industry enterprises support, the source said.
“Through this partnership, we are providing business development services to small and medium-sized enterprises to help them attract capital, grow their businesses, create new jobs, and in some cases access new export markets for their products,” the USAID said.
USAID’s BizLink project has already provided support to 18 Georgian enterprises, of which 13 are in the light manufacturing, while the others are in the creative industries, and tourism sector, the USAID noted.
USAID and the Bank of Georgia contributed 100,000 Georgian lari (about $30,000) each for this activity, which was used to provide technical assistance to the selected enterprises.
“However, these initial small investments have already resulted in $1 million of private sector investment in these enterprises,” the source noted.
“Our goal is to help these 18 businesses attract a total of $2.5 million in new private sector investment,” the USAID added.
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