Creating a better business environment for rural small and medium-sized (SME) enterprises in Georgia

The Rural SME Development project aims at creating a better business environment for rural SMEs and entrepreneurs in Georgia.
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Tiflis, Georgia
41.7151377
44.827096
Project duration
2021 - 2024
Financed by
  • Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
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While until 2020, Georgia experienced a period of economic growth, the county’s SME sector underperforms relative to others. In 2018, Georgian SMEs accounted for only 29% of employment and 33.2% of value addition compared to global averages of 71% and 67% respectively.

A key source of weak competitiveness can be found amongst rural SMEs. Heavily oriented toward low valued-addition activities including agriculture, agri-processing and trade, rural SMEs contribute only 16% of total SME output. This underperformance in the rural economy is itself both a cause and effect of unequal access to some of the key services and resources upon which a thriving SME sector depends.  The COVID pandemic has also underlined the importance of a better capitalised and supported SME sector.

The Project

A long-term and systemic approach to the challenges facing the sustainable financing of the rural SMEs in Georgia is needed.  The Rural SMEs Development Project focuses on sector resilience and offers a potentially critical lifeline as the sector adjusts to a post-pandemic reality.

Through its MSD approach, it promotes building a more effective and resilient system of rural SME services and support based on a realistic assessment of the capacity and incentives of market actors and project partners to guide and sustain those services. 

The Rural SME Development project aims at increasing rural income and employment in Georgia. The project will support the both the supply and demand-side of the market in order to improve financial and business support services to rural SMEs.

The direct beneficiaries of the project will be SMEs and market players (national agencies, business associations and consultancies) providing business advisory services to rural SMEs. The end beneficiaries will be women and men in rural areas of Georgia, who are SME owners or employees.

Goals

  • Enhance access of rural SMEs to bank and state finance by increasing awareness of rural SMEs on financial services, developing & piloting advisory packages for investment plans and loan applications.
  • Support SMEs in increasing their financial literacy and management capacities by promoting strategies for SME management and developing advisory packages.
  • Build capacity and align national agencies, business associations and consultancies with rural SME needs, as well as establishing communication mechanisms among key market players to support the further development of rural SMEs.

Project Partners

  • Mercy Corps
  • The Springfield Centre

Expected Results

  • Provide enhanced access to bank and state finance and enhance financial literacy and management capacities of rural SMEs.
  • Increase capacities of national agencies, business associations and consultancies to be better aligned with rural SME needs.
  • Establish communication mechanisms among market players to better understand and lobby for rural SME needs

News

Georgia
Entrepreneurial ecosystems
31.05.2024
Georgian Winemaker Blends Ancient Traditions with Modern Innovation 
In Georgia, where winemaking dates back over 8,000 years, Davit Kvrivishvili is reviving ancient traditions in modern times. Georgia, often regarded as the cradle of viticulture, enjoys a storied history preserved in the grape seeds and qvevris—clay vessels used for fermentation and storage. This legacy is woven into the fabric of Georgian culture, earning recognition from UNESCO for its intangible cultural heritage.
Georgia
Entrepreneurial ecosystems
07.12.2023
Georgia: a better environment for rural SMEs
Since 2021, Swisscontact has been working in Georgia on behalf of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to strengthen the resilience of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas. The “Rural SME Development Project” aims to bring about changes that will improve SME financial and management skills, among other objectives. Especially people from socially disadvantaged populations will benefit from these services. Joni Nachkebia’s story is a case in point for this important development in Georgia.
Georgia
Entrepreneurial ecosystems
26.03.2023
Women from the South Caucasus – pillars of the society
The diverse role women play in civil society and economic growth is colossal. Acting as farmers, entrepreneurs, workers, or artists, they contribute to vibrant rural and urban communities and viable businesses. Veronika Bakhchoyan is one of the young entrepreneurs who dream big in a small town in southern Georgia.