Report: renewables, transport, logistics, digital transformation key sectors for boosting Georgia’s growth
A new report the IFC and the World Bank, identified renewables, transport and logistics and digital transformation as key sectors to boost Georgia’s growth. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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A new report published on Wednesday by the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, identified renewables, transport and logistics and digital transformation as key sectors to boost Georgia’s private sector-led growth and help the country reach high-income status.
Alfonso Garcia Mora, the IFC's Vice President for Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean, said reforms in key sectors could help the country realise its renewable energy potential, increase its participation in global value chains and drive productivity.
Attracting private sector investment would be key and IFC is ready to underpin these efforts”, he said.
Rolande Pryce, the World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, said Georgia had the potential to “further unleash” private sector development.
As the report shows, this could be achieved by increasing the enforcement and predictability of laws and regulations as well as by supporting connectivity and logistics, digital transformation, and green investments as catalyzers of growth”, she said.
Here are the key sectors identified by Georgia Country Private Sector Diagnostic report:
Renewable energy
The report says Georgia boasts a substantial renewable energy potential of 18 gigawatts - with less than 20 percent harnessed - and says the country would benefit from a clear and reliable policy, regulatory, and permitting framework and sustainable incentive schemes to tap into this potential.
Transport and logistics
In order to accomplish the goal of becoming a regional logistics hub, the report suggests Georgia expand the capacity of seaports, strengthen information flows and data accessibility, and improve the reliability of railroad operations, among others.
Enhancing connectivity along the Middle Corridor [a multimodal transport corridor connecting China to Europe through the South Caucasus] would facilitate the integration of Georgia into the global economy”, it notes.
Digital business
The report said e-commerce and financial technology were among the “most promising” digital subsectors, suggesting the country to foster programming skills and address challenges related to technology and early-stage finance.
Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Tuesday said the country had “all conditions” to be a net exporter of electricity, adding the Government’s “main goal” was to ensure export from local generation to the European Union.
Natia Turnava, the Acting Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, on Tuesday said access to diverse investment resources and innovative financial products could benefit the domestic private sector, in an event organised by the Financial Innovation Programme of the United States Agency for International Development.
Paweł Herczyński, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Tuesday said the bloc was "looking forward" to seeing improvements in conditions for doing business in Georgia.
Natia Turnava, the Acting Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, on Monday said Georgia had “all the prerequisites” to develop as a regional hub for financial technology in the Middle Corridor, a logistics route connecting China with Europe through the South Caucasus region.
Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Guram Guramishvili on Friday said the Agreement on International Passenger and Freight Transportation, reached with China, would contribute to the development of the Middle Corridor - a multimodal transport corridor connecting China to Europe through the South Caucasus - and boost trade between the countries.
The Georgian Energy Development Fund and the Emirati state-owned renewable energy company Masdar on Tuesday signed an agreement on establishing the “largest” solar power plant in Georgia, the Ministry of Economy announced.
The National Bank of Georgia on Wednesday said Georgia had taken a “leading position” in the World Bank's latest Enterprise Surveys in terms of access to finance for companies, with indicators exceeding the average results of European and Central Asian countries.
Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Tuesday met United Arab Emirates officials to discuss trade and economic ties on the sidelines of the ongoing World Governments Summit in Dubai.