Entrepreneur Business Awards
Last year was incredibly significant and successful for Entrepreneur Magazine Georgia, as its first issue was released in the month of April 2018. Throughout the remainder of the year, the Entrepreneur team worked to produce a high-quality magazine with interesting content and important news in the sphere of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneur Georgia has already published nine issues, which makes almost 1000 pages of entrepreneurial spirit.
Entrepreneur Georgia rounded off 2018 with a beautiful business awards ceremony, where on December 27, 50 of the most outstanding and courageous Georgian entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs were recognized at a ceremony held in Tbilisi’s Movement Theater.
The event was both interesting and unique in nature, as the organizers chose not to follow the typical style of awards ceremonies, commencing with a fascinating performance of the actors of the Movement Theater. This was followed by a welcome speech from George Sharashidze, Entrepreneur Magazine Editor-in-Chief, who summarized the first year of the magazine’s work.
“2018 has been a historical year, as one of the most prominent American magazines, Entrepreneur, published in numerous countries, was also launched on the Georgian market. In 2018, Georgia took its small place on the map of world entrepreneurship,” Sharashidze said, going on to emphasize the significance of entrepreneurship for boosting the business sector in Georgia.
The second part of the celebration was dedicated to awarding 50 Georgian entrepreneurs operating in different sectors. Sharashidze introduced all the nominees and gave brief information about their spheres of business. Each winner expressed their gratitude to Entrepreneur Magazine for the recognition, addressed the audience and introduced some of their future plans.
Significantly, many of the entrepreneurs awarded at the event were women, underlining the rising trend of female inclusion in the business sphere in Georgia.
We spoke to two of them.
Daria Kholodilina (Trails and Wines)
This Ukrainian lady, who moved to Georgia several years ago, has become a successful entrepreneur and today is able to offer one of the best and most unforgettable wine tours for both local and foreign tourists in Georgia. She is also author of a book about Georgian wine.
“It’s been a busy year. I moved from the public sector to private and founded the company Trails and Wines. I expect 2019 to be even more interesting and I have a number of exciting plans,” she told us.
Nina Menteshashvili, Rezi Beselashvili (AlterSocks)
The founders of the company AlterSocks, Nina Menteshashvili and Rezi Beselashvili, were recognized at the Entrepreneur Awards. They are also contributors to the magazine, offering a very interesting and informative column in every issue of Entrepreneur Georgia.
Menteshashvili focused on the hard work and effort that is put into producing the company’s colorful and fun socks, already enjoyed not only in Georgia, but also beyond its borders. She emphasized the importance of Entrepreneur Georgia’s recognition for more motivation and courage.
“This is an important award for us,” co-founder Beselashvili agreed. “It represents an extra source of motivation, as when you have your own business, you sometimes need to hear you’re on the right track. The Entrepreneur Awards is exactly that and has justified that we’re doing the right thing in the right sphere.”
The awarded entrepreneurs, as well as the Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine Georgia, also accentuated the importance of such awards for motivating other businesspersons and developing the sector in the country.
The ceremony was finalized with a pleasant reception, where the entrepreneurs and other guests were given the opportunity to share their impressions and discusses their current work or future plans.
By Ketevan Kvaratskheliya