8 Startups in Samegrelo Win GITA Grant Program Up to 25,000 GEL
The winners of the Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency's grant program "Up to 25,000 GEL Innovation Grants for Regions" have been announced in the Samegrelo region. Out of the eight winning projects, four will be awarded grants by GITA, while the remaining four startups will be financed by USAID's Strong Village Program.
Winning Projects:
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LiveCourt: A mobile application that helps sports fans find public stadiums and see the number of people in the stadium in real time, including those who are currently playing, waiting for their turn, or watching the game. This allows users to choose the stadium that best suits their needs.
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Incom For Business: A platform where small business owners can post information about their products and their business. The algorithm on the website will analyze trends on various social networks and suggest ideas for videos that, when posted, can gain a lot of views and build audience trust.
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Legends Forge: Prototyping an innovative computer game to attract investment from an existing network.
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Smart Tskvita: A device that helps people monitor their electric energy consumption and accurately determine costs.
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Shipify: Business analytics models aimed at minimizing the time from order registration to completion, providing customers with all necessary information about the order in real time, and increasing the throughput of ground shipments in the region.
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ParaTicks: A second-hand ticket platform designed to create an organized, easy-to-use, and reliable platform for trading second-hand event tickets. This will reduce the risks of dishonest transactions and allow users to easily search for and buy desired tickets, while ticket holders will have a new, reliable, and secure sales channel.
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RESTART: A seamless intermediary platform between employers and job seekers, facilitating the recruitment and hiring process.
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Sano: A C2C medical platform that helps people get medical services online without leaving their homes.
The regional grant program aims to strengthen the local innovative and technological ecosystem in Georgia's regions, promote the development of innovative products, services, technologies, and processes, and create innovative and technological startups through exploitation and commercialization.
In cooperation with USAID's Strong Village Program, grant beneficiaries from the municipalities of Zugdidi, Tsalenjikh, Oni, and Mestia will have the opportunity to receive additional resources for project implementation.
USAID's Strong Rural Program collaborates with the Georgia Innovation and Technology Agency in three different directions: 1) Pre-acceleration programs in Samegrelo, Svaneti, Racha-Lechkhumi, Shida Kartli, and Mtskheta-Mtianeti; 2) Technological weeks in Kaspi, Gori, Mestia, and Zugdidi; 3) Component of regional grant programs. These programs will help young people and local entrepreneurs develop products from ideas and implement startup projects, contributing to the socio-economic strengthening of the regions. This cooperation will enable communities located on the administrative dividing line to learn methods of finding alternative sources of finance and create potential for sustainable economic development amid dynamic changes.
The winners have already been identified in the regions of Adjara, Imereti, and Guria. Applications were accepted in Samegrelo, Svaneti, and Racha-Lechkhumi from May 1 to May 31 through the electronic portal www.grants.gov.ge. Grant proposals were evaluated by a commission of invited experts. Selected startups presented before the commission after undergoing a special training course that included market research, market entry strategy, scaling, and pitching. The maximum grant amount for each project is 25,000 GEL.