Start-up Georgia:
20 winners each attract 100,000 GEL funding
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Start-up Georgia, a Government-initiated competition to find the best new business ideas, has selected 20 winners who will each receive 100,000 GEL to bring their idea to life.
Business experts from Silicon Valley in the United States (US) and local representatives revealed the 20 finalists as the best of the best who had entered the competition.
All of the 20 finalists will receive 100,000 GEL (about $43,767/€ 38,769 *) to launch their innovative businesses in Georgia.
Additionally, five entrepreneurs were invited to Slovakia to attend a one-week training course.
When Start-up Georgia launched two months ago, creative entrepreneurs were invited to describe their business ideas and submit an application to the competition.
One of the winners received an award of Start-up Georgia. Photo by the PM's press office.
The competition attracted 726 applications of new business ideas. Of this 580 proposals were submitted as innovative ideas while 146 were regarded as high technology businesses.
With the help of the experts from successful businesses in Silicon Valley, the best 51 business ideas were selected in the first stage of the competition and those behind these 51 ideas took part in a five-day training program led by the US Silicon Valley experts.
The training taught the group how to properly prepare themselves and their business for launching, marketing tools and more ahead of their final presentation to a group of US investors.
From Monday entrepreneurs presented their 51 new business ideas to the US investors, Silicon Valley experts and local business representatives. Yesterday the 21 winners were announced.
PM Kvirikashvili congratulated the 20 winners their success and thanked them for applying the Start-up Georgia program. Photo by the PM's press office.
Start-up Georgia was an important part of the Government’s four-point reform agenda that was created to support local businesses and develop the economy. The scheme promised great financial and theoretical support for entrepreneurs to help bring their business proposals to life.
The Government established an initial fund of 11 million GEL (about $5 million/€4.19 million*) that will be shared between chosen business projects, however the amount of funds available is set to increase to 35 million GEL (about $15 million/€13.77 million*).
Investors from the United States (US) are pledging to financially support the best of Georgia’s young, creative minds to turn their new business idea into reality.
Hundreds of Georgia’s young, creative minds have applied to a new program that offers funds and support to turn their new business idea into reality.
The Government of Georgia has today officially launched an innovative startup program that offers support to all entrepreneurs with interesting, new business ideas.
The Government of Georgia is starting a new program to finance start-ups in the country as a way to foster entrepreneurial spirit, encourage the creation of new businesses and develop the economy.
The Government of Georgia is creating a special group to convey the opportunities, problems and ideas of the business society to the Government, to foster entrepreneurial spirit in the country.
Supporting start-ups and infrastructure development
The Government of Georgia is taking action to speed up the creation of vital infrastructural projects and assisting entrepreneurs who establish new start-ups in the country.
“Gov’t makes Georgia a heaven for entrepreneurs”
"Georgians are very warm, hospitable and passionate people serious about making difference, improving Georgia and putting Georgia on the map."
20 winning business ideas undergo intensive training
Winners of the nationwide Start-up Georgia competition are preparing to undergo intensive training before heading to the United States (US) where they’ll present their creative ideas to business experts and investors.
Georgia is welcoming nine completely innovative ideas and fully-funded ventures to the most viable sector of Georgian economy - the high-tech and innovations-based industry.
Two Georgian technology startups finished among the top 10 projects from thousands of international initiatives at one of the largest mobile innovations event in Spain last week.