Mamuka Khazaradze at “EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2015”
Mamuka Khazaradze, Head of TBC Group, represented Georgia at the final event of “EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2015” at the annual awards ceremony which took place on June 2 in Monte Carlo.
“EY Entrepreneur of the Year” is the world’s most prestigious business awards program for entrepreneurs. The program encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. “When business works better, the world works better” – says the citation on the website of the EY. That’s why the best business leaders from all over the world are engaged in this competition. Each of them has their own stories and their own ways of success.
Mohed Altrad of Altrad Group from France became the winner of this year’s competition. As Mamuka Khazaradze says, it was the right choice because Mohed Altrad is one of the best examples of how you can start from the zero point and end up with the status of Best Entrepreneur of 2015: “He deserved to win this competition! He was born in Syria and he grew up with Bedouins in the desert. Today, he really is the best entrepreneur of the year because he turned a bankrupted group into one of the most successful companies. He is the proof that it doesn’t matter where you’re born or how you grow up – you can achieve anything you want if you try your best!”
Mamuka Khazaradze was the first Georgian to represent his country on “EY World Entrepreneur of the Year,” ceremony having won the best entrepreneur’s prize in Georgia last year. As the head of TBC Group says, it was an incredible experience and he was honored to meet the founders of Starbucks, Twitter and other influential businesspersons.
“From $500 to $3 billion” – that’s how the media described the history of the Georgian representative. CNBC, BBC, Reuters and other influential channels took interviews with Mamuka Khazaradze in which he talked about business trends in Georgia and showed off the country’s best sides.
Mamuka Khazaradze: “53 countries were represented. Our country had never been there before which was a shame as few people had information about Georgia and even fewer knew about our recent business growth. They were quite surprised when they heard my story. The main accent I made was about the big steps we’re taking in Georgian business. Believe me, when you step out of Georgia and meet the people who don’t have a lot of information about your country, you immediately become the ambassador of your country and you try your best to represent the best side of your homeland. That’s what I tried to do.
Q: What did they want to know about Georgia and its entrepreneurs?
A: Numbers and facts are still the most important information you can give to someone interested in the business situation. But everyone has already agreed with the idea that social responsibility is even more important. That’s why it’s essential to think about our consumers as the main components of our companies. Your business can’t be successful if your people aren’t satisfied. You can’t be happy if the ones around you are unhappy! Sharing value – that’s what reduces the material distance between people.
Q: Who did you meet and what was the main thing you learned from them?
A: We met the previous winners (USA, Argentina, Japan, etc.) who shared their experiences and their innovative and interesting ideas. It was very impressive and I could hardly believe how fast the world is developing and how big revolutionary changes are happening out there! We need to be a part of these changes and we need to represent Georgia each year. I also met the famous and influential entrepreneurs who have been changing the business structure with their innovations, successes and behavior. Everyone is looking for a good place to invest their products. They need a place with potential and without corruption. That’s why we have to promote Georgia and we have to let them know about our reforms and international successes.
Q: Which other events did you attend apart from the awards ceremony?
A: We met the Prime Minister of Monaco and the Minister of Finance. We also met the founder of Starbucks who totally changed the idea about retail trading. This company is one of the best examples for the meaning of the social responsibility I mentioned above. Each Starbucks shop is opened by one of the employees of the company. The workers are the main part of the business and they truly feel their importance. That’s why all the employees are taking their parts in the success of the Starbucks industry. We also met the directors of different foundations and the winner entrepreneurs from different countries.
Q: Did you get any recommendations?
A: You don’t really get recommendations. Instead, they listen to you and learn from your experience. All the participants are learning from each other and you can never feel the difference between the smaller and bigger companies. Even the more influential businessmen listen to the beginners because the experienced people know that the key to growth is hidden in smaller businesses that are taking their first steps towards success. There is no competition between sizes. There is competition between innovations, growth and ideas. Each of them was unique. I wasn’t expecting to be part of such a great and important event and I’m very lucky that I had the chance to have this experience.
Q: Did you make any future plans with any of them?
A: I met the founder of the Abraaj Fund – one of the most influential and famous funds in the world. After our conversation he expressed his interest about Georgia and planned to visit our country this autumn. So, if he comes, some positive and important changes will definitely take place.
Elene Margalitashvili