“The development and support of entrepreneurship remain among the main priorities of the Georgian government. Special focus is given to nurturing the small and medium-sized sector, which forms a cornerstone of Georgia’s economy,” emphasised Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Irakli Nadareishvili regarding recent updates to the Produce in Georgia programme.

The Deputy Minister explained that efforts are underway to refine the main initiatives of the Produce in Georgia agency, aiming to further facilitate development and growth within this vital sector.

The Ministry of Economy, through the Produce in Georgia agency, is expanding support for entrepreneurs. Notably, modifications to the universal industrial component include a two percentage point increase in co-financing for loans and leasing interest. These updates will come into effect on September 1. Additionally, beneficiaries can now access new grant components, covering high-mountain, agro-tourism, green initiatives, digitalisation, and research and development (R&D). The grant amount for women entrepreneurs is also set to rise across all these categories.

Furthermore, the State Programme for Supporting Micro-Entrepreneurship has been revised to include new economic activities, such as food production, specialised construction works, and the cultivation of various annual crops.

Nadareishvili highlighted that over 3,000 projects within the small and medium-sized sector have been supported through the Produce in Georgia programme, with investments exceeding three billion GEL.

“These achievements demonstrate significant growth in the sector, production output has nearly quadrupled, added value has increased three and a half times, investments in fixed assets have grown two and a half times, and employment levels have risen by approximately 30%,” he noted.

The Deputy Minister of Economy also affirmed that continuously adapting the Produce in Georgia programmes to meet business needs remains a top priority and will be maintained moving forward.