Enterprise Georgia: applications opened for small hospitality businesses to receive 80% co-financing on loans

Georgia’s export support agency, Enterprise Georgia, has announced the start of the forth stream of applications for the 'Co-financing Mechanism for Supporting Family-owned, Small and Medium-size Hotel Industries' to help industry players tackle the economic challenges caused by Covid-19.

The project was launched as part of the Anti-Crisis Economic Action Plan unveiled by the government of Georgia in April and offers interest subsidies and co-financing of annual interest rates on hotel business bank loans.

As part of the project Enterprise Georgia will co-finance not more than 80 per cent of the annual interest rate on loans issued in the Georgian national currency and 70 percent issued in foreign currency (only Euro and US dollar) to family-owned, small and medium-sized hotels from March 1, 2020 for the next 12 months. 

The maximum loan amount under the co-financing mechanism is:

• 5 million GEL - in case of a loan issued in the national currency
• $1.75 million - in case of a loan issued in the US dollar
• €1.65 million - in case of a loan issued in Euro
• A loan must be issued by a commercial bank in the period before March 1, 2020
• A hotel must feature at least four rooms
• Not less than 80 per cent of the total loan amount must be disbursed for the purpose of purchasing / building / expanding / equipping / repairing / reconstructing / purchasing real estate (property) for the hotel

As part of the changes made to the state programme of Produce in Georgia, which is also implemented by the Enterprise Georgia, event companies and farmers who are engaged in growing grapes, citrus and other tropical fruit varieties will be involved in a credit guarantee mechanism that will enable them to get subsidised bank loans for 12 months. 

In August this year Enterprise Georgia announced that Produce in Georgia would support six new economic activities to tackle the economic challenges caused by Covid-19. 

These activities are: creation of computer games, hospital activities, general medical practice activities, specialised medical practice activities, dental practice activities, purchase and leasing of film production equipment.