Estonian Innovation: Tbilisi Wins Chance to Host Autumn Tech Events

Georgia’s Innovations and Technology Agency (GITA), a legal entity at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, with the Estonian organization Garage48 won a grant from the Estonian Government to be used for technological development.

The total amount of the grant awarded by the Estonian Government is 40, 000 Euros and will be spent on the hosting of three large technological events in Tbilisi this autumn.

GITA plans to start by holding a competition among programmers, a so called ‘Hack-a-thon,’ in September during which participants will have to create web and mobile applications on a time limit.

According to Irakli Kashibadze, Head of GITA, doors are open to everyone.

“No matter the age, gender or nationality, we welcome everyone who can think creatively. We are looking for the ideas which will bring progress and lead us to a brighter future,” said Kashibadze.

In October, Tbilisi will host a ‘Make-a-thon’ contest, in which engineers, programmers and designers will compete in the creation of various innovative products, again within a time limit. The participants will have the opportunity to use Iliauni’s Industrial Innovation Lab, which is equipped with a 3D printer, laser cutter, and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine.

The third and the final stage is a one week intensive training with Estonian mentors. Only the best participants from the Hack-a-thon and Make-a-thon will attend the training and get the chance to improve their business models and receive advice from successful and innovative Estonian company managers.

Garage48 is an organization that provides a variety of activities for the development of the Estonian startup ecosystem. The organization has a partnership with leading players of the technological world such as Skype, Transferwise, Taxify, and Pipedrive. Representatives of well-known companies will also attend the training as mentors.

Tatia Megeneishvili