EBRD Presents New “Trade Ready” Initiative
On Tuesday, October 16, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Georgia presented a new initiative called Trade Ready.
Opening the presentation at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Tbilisi, remarks were made by EBRD Director in the South Caucasus Bruno Balvanera, Department of Foreign Trade Policy, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development Mariam Gabunia, and Private Sector Development Program Officer, EU Delegation to Georgia Dominic Papenheim.
Severian Gvinepadze, EBRD’s Principal Manager on Advice for Small Businesses in Georgia presented the Trade Ready initiative to attendees on Tuesday. Following the presentation, a moderated panel discussed whether Georgian SMEs are “ready for Trade Ready.” The panel featured Zviad Kvlividze, Deputy Director of Export Development at the governmental Produce in Georgia program, Koba Kharkheli, Chief Financial Officer of Khatetian Traditional Winemaking, Ana Kavtaradze, Director of the Trade Finance Department at the Bank of Georgia, Giorgi Basiladze, Managing Partner at GTEX, and Ines Rocha, Director for Financial Products, SME Finance and Development at the EBRD.
The EBRD describes Trade Ready as a new initiative that will support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by increasing the availability of trade financing and business consultation opportunities.
As Georgian companies grow and increasingly participate in the international trade landscape, the EBRD identifies a lack of trade financing and business consultation as the Georgian economy’s two main challenges. The concept underlying Trade Ready is the idea that with increased access to trade financing the business consultation services will boost Georgian companies, facilitating their further development and enhance their competitiveness on international markets.
The Trade Ready initiative in Georgia follows its launch in Serbia earlier this month, and EBRD plans to expand the initiative to further countries. “For Georgian companies,” says the EBRD, “improving their competitiveness is key to win a permanent presence in international markets...The initiative offers trade finance training and trade-related business advice for SMEs, networking opportunities with local banks, as well as policy dialogue to facilitate improvements in the regulatory environment. While banks can expect to attract new clients with the introduction of new trade finance products, businesses will benefit from better access to finance and the chance to expand to international markets.”
Trade Ready is associated with the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP), operating since 1999, and its Small Business Initiative. The TFP was developed to promote and facilitate international trade to, from and within the EBRD regions. In Georgia, the programs have facilitated more than 2,000 foreign trade transactions amounting to more than 1.2 billion Euros.
The Trade Ready Project is funded by the European Union within the "EU4Business" program. The EU4Business website explains the program as supporting “the government's ambitious plan to reform and improve the business environment” and boosting “SME growth by improving their access to finance and new markets as well as targeting women entrepreneurs and projects in green energy.” SMEs account for over 40% of employment in Georgia, according to EU4Business, which offers SMEs assistance in getting the most out of Georgia’s Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, including financial and technical help to adapt production to EU quality and hygiene standards and to move into foreign markets. From 2009-2017, EU4Business boasts that it contribution 69 million Euros directly, triggered 882 million Euros in loans to companies, supported 37,800 enterprises with loans, trainings, and advice, and created 10,300 new jobs in the country.
By Samantha Guthrie
Photo: EBRD