The priority of the Georgian government is to develop small and medium size businesses in order to strengthen the private sector, create jobs, promote innovation, increase exports and create modern entrepreneurial culture, said Minister of Economy Natia Turnava at the seminar ‘From Access to Finance towards Inclusive Growth’ organized by the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The seminar was held today to discuss how to increase access to finance for Georgian small and medium businesses (SMEs) and the importance of SMEs in inclusive economic growth.

Economic growth is mainly dependent on private sector development…increasing the competitiveness of the private sector, especially of small and medium-sized businesses is a crucial aspect for sustainable, strong and inclusive economic growth,” said Turnava.

Turnava noted that the production of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) increased by 13.5 percent in 2014-2018 and SMEs created more than 118,400 new jobs.

She said that in the third quarter of 2019, more than 443,400 persons are employed in small and medium-size businesses which accounts for 99.7 percent of active economic entities.

Support for economic development and smart, sustainable and inclusive growth is a key priority of the EU’s work with Georgia,” said EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova.

Turnava said that despite the global economic slowdown and external shocks, in the first 10 months of 2019 the economic growth of Georgia amounted to 5.1 percent.

Turnava noted that Georgia significantly improved its rating in the ranking of the Eastern Partnership in the small and medium enterprises policy index by OECD.

Georgia named leader in SME policy index in Eastern Partnership countries.

Turnava said that the government supports the private sector to improve its competitiveness and help their integration into international markets.

source: AGENDA