USAID and Georgia
We believe that the Georgian television industry has real potential for development. Therefore, we have been promoting the film industry, Mark McCord, Director of Economic Security Program of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) told the Business Partner TV Program.
The TV program’s participants discussed USAID’s economic security program that aims to promote an inclusive economy in sectors with great potential of creating new jobs. The 5-year program calls for enhancing 600 small and medium enterprises, and creating about 4,000 new jobs.
Based on comprehensive research and analysis, the program has selected 4 priority fields such as: tourism (including gastronomy and culinary), the production of furniture and packing materials, the television and film industry, intellectual services, as noted by Mark McCord,and added that the program will cover the whole country, and the regions will be actively involved in the program’s implementation process.
As explained by McCord, they aim to achieve inclusive growth, first.
“Our objective is to involve people, widely, across the regions, so that they enjoy maximum benefits. We aim to promote shaping a highly qualified workforce in all the regions to improve living conditions there. Besides urban development, this program will also cover the whole country”, McCord said.
“We believe that the Georgian television industry has a good potential for development. Therefore, we cooperate with filmmakers, television show producers. We want to support them, and help them choose Georgia’s beautiful landscapes for shooting films. We want to strengthen the movie industry in Georgia”, McCord said, and specified key mechanisms of the program to provide potential beneficiaries with easier access to the program benefits.
“We aim to provide easier access to this program. Therefore, we have selected several mechanisms: a five-year grant program of 4 million USD for small and medium enterprises, which have the right ideas and potential for creating new jobs. This instrument will place emphasis on innovations to ensure inclusive development. At this stage, we work to create a program focused on skills development, and we plan to implement standards and certificates program.
We will also launch a product development and grant program. We want to see new products on the market, including in tourism and light industry fields. The key condition is that the products must be innovative. We also have a new assistance mechanism as part of a 1.5 million USD Partnership Development Fund for developing more complex employment opportunities. This will be a catalyst for another sort of growth, to expand the visibility of Georgia on international markets.
Technical assistance is an additional tool to offer expert assistance and experience with the aim to expand business’ access to financial resources, and ensure their steady operation”, Mark McCord told Business Partner TV Program.