Georgia’s innovative startups have generated over $183.15mln, create 4,000 high-tech jobs since 2018 - Minister of Economy candidate

Levan Davitashvili, the ruling Georgian Dream party’s candidate for the Minister of Economy of Georgia, on Wednesday said startups financed by state grants had generated over ₾500 million ($183.15mln) in financial benefits and created about 4,000 new high-tech jobs since the introduction of the state financing programme for innovative startups in 2018.

Speaking at a joint committee meeting at the Parliament of Georgia, Davitashvili noted the programme had funded 270 startups with grants ranging between ₾100,000 ($36,630) and ₾150,000 ($54,945), totalling ₾44 million ($16.12mln).

The ministerial candidate credited the Government’s policies, including tax benefits for international IT companies, for a “remarkable increase” in the export of computer and information services, which he said had reached $784.4 million in 2023 - a 29-fold increase compared to 2016.

Davitashvili also announced plans to attract more international technology companies, with over 120 currently operating in Georgia and employing more than 10,000 individuals.

Legislative efforts will define statuses for innovative startups and research and development companies, accompanied by significant tax incentives. Starting in 2025, a new full-scale acceleration programme is set to support training and financing for 160 startups each year”, he said.

Establishment of international competence centres for artificial intelligence, phages, and agro-technologies is also on the agenda, alongside the opening of the first technological hub in the country’s western city of Kutaisi by 2025, according to the ministerial candidate.

Under the Produce in Georgia state programme, 700 new enterprises were created, 800 expanded or retooled, and around 10,000 projects financed through micro-grants, Davitashvili noted.

He said the programme had seen a total investment volume exceeding ₾4.4 billion ($1.61bln), leading to the employment of more than 43,000 people across various supported projects.

As part of the micro-grants component of the programme, a total of ₾115 million ($42.12mln) was awarded to 9,349 projects. Notably, 4,657 of these projects were startups. Regarding the credit guarantee mechanism programme, about 1,200 projects were implemented with a total funding of ₾880 million ($322.34mln), creating around 16,000 jobs”, Davitashvili said.

Furthermore, a new micro-loans programme is set to assist 6,000 entrepreneurs from 2024 to 2028, while a network of regional consulting centres will provide support to about 12,000 entrepreneurs, according to the ministerial candidate.