PM Introduces Startup Friendly Initiative

Startup Friendly, an extension of the 'Startup Georgia' program, aims to serve as yet another tool to encourage new business in Georgia. It was introduced by Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili at Tech Park, Tbilisi, earlier today.

Hailed by the PM as "the latest promising project under the government's Four-Point Plan," the initiative will help startups establish relations with large businesses. while allowing large businesses to engage in the development of various fields and to make mutually beneficial investments.

"Startup Georgia in itself has a great return as it transforms young people's thinking into a newer, more dynamic, future-oriented brand," the PM said today, going on to congratulate the winners of the latest Startup Georgia contest. "You won a transparent competition in which not only local startup experts but also venture capitalists, CEOs of leading companies from Silicon Valley and from various other countries took part. We have launched a bright new phase in the development of Georgia's economy," he noted.

He opined that startups are the most dynamic and fastest growing parts of the country's economy.

"Our goal is to have as many people as possible join this way of thinking. Startup Friendly seeks to provide a format for relations between rookie startups and large, established and successful companies," Kvirikashvili said. "Every startup needs access to technology and capital," he added. "This project is the bridge to providing young business persons with access to what they need to develop."

TBC Bank was the first to engage in the startup concept, its founder himself having started the business with just $500.

"Such examples help shape our economy, and demonstrate the enthusiasm needed to push this country forward," the PM said, pointing to the aim to have startups become a form of social responsibility for larger companies investing in and guiding them.

"Banks will no longer look down on startup businesses," Kvirikashvili said, concluding with the information that the Startup Friendly initiative will not be the last step in this direction as the Georgian government has more plans to develop enthusiam and innovative thinking in its youth. 

Image source: PCMag.com