Avtandil Kasradze Presented Georgian Startups at Economic Policy Committee

Avtandil Kasradze, Chairman of the Innovation and Technology Agency, addressed the sitting of the Sectoral Economics and Economic Policy Committee of the Parliament of Georgia. The committee hearing focused on the ongoing state programs promoting innovation.

The Agency implements programs to support the development of the innovation ecosystem throughout Georgia, and the regions are covered through technoparks and innovation centers. In particular, regional centers are represented in: Batumi, Gurjaani, Telavi, Kaspi, Zugdidi, Rukhi and Akhmeta. Up to GEL 22 million will be spent on the development of the innovation ecosystem in 2021, and in total the agency’s projects will bring together more than 10,000 beneficiaries.

Startups funded by the Georgian Agency for Innovation and Technology were able to attract GEL 35 million in private investment, of which GEL 28 million was raised in 2020, the year of the pandemic, and GEL 11.3 million in grant programs for startups since its inception. 77 startups were funded under the grant programs last year, and 20 startups have already been funded under the 100,000 GEL grant program this year, and up to 55 startups will be additionally funded.

At the initiative of the Agency and with the financial support of the Bank of Georgia, the world's top accelerator 500 Startups was launched in Georgia. The acceleration process and the 4 finalist startups will present their companies to investors in the US at Silicon Valley in 2021.

Also in active phase is a technology transfer pilot program implemented by the Agency for Innovation and Technology with the support of the European Union and the World Bank. Within the framework of the program, the agency is actively working on the licensing of Georgian scientific technologies and is negotiating with world-famous industrial partners, such as: Airbus helicopters, Naval Group, Urgo and others.

In 2020, the Agency for Innovation and Technology launched a pilot training program for 3,000 IT professionals, within the framework of which up to 600 citizens of Georgia are taking the course. Also important is the reform of the Georgian government, according to which IT companies selling their products abroad have had their income and profit taxes reduced by up to 5%, while property and VAT taxes have been reduced. It is within the framework of this reform that two large American IT companies Epam and Exadel entered Georgia in October 2020, employing more than 100 Georgian citizens.

At the committee hearing, Avtandil Kasradze presented the prototype of the Georgian startup product "MIZ-Mask" - a reusable electronic mask for protection against viral infections, as well as the following startups were physically represented: Ketevan Vachiberidze - B2C - Electric Commerce Platform;
Nika Abashidze - electronic queue management system;