Natia Turnava: Georgian Startups Attracted $200 Million in Funding
Interest in Georgian startups is growing. The Minister of Economy said in the format of "Minister Hour" in the Parliament that in order to improve the startup system, the state has been making significant investments for several years, which has aroused the interest of global companies in Georgian startups.
Natia Turnava noted that various competitions have been announced for startups and they are funded by GITA with various grants.
"Initial costs are funded. Up to 200 startups participated in these programs, from which they received 20 million GEL, but against this background they were able to enter the global market and attract 200 million GEL. There is interest from Silicon Valley. The 150,000 GEL program and the 650,000 GEL program can be increased in numbers," Turnava said.
She also noted the importance of creating a $ 50 million venture fund in the country.
Let us remind you that the Georgian Agency for Innovation and Technology and signed a partnership agreement with Catapult Georgia in October, according to which Catapult Georgia will invest $ 50 million in Georgian technology and innovation startups.
GITA will be presented to the fund with 5 million to facilitate the rapid advancement of Georgian startups in global markets.
Catapult is a venture capital fund that specializes in investing in emerging tech hubs outside Silicon Valley. They have invested in 100+ companies. The fund's managing partner, Jonathan Tower, invested more than $ 7 billion in returns (Exit), including early investments in Jet.com (acquired by Walmart for $ 3.5 billion), Dollar Shave Club (acquired by Unilever for $ 1 billion); Freshly (acquired by Nestle for $ 1.5 billion), IfOnly (acquired by Mastercard), MapR Technologies (acquired by HP) and many more.
Jonathan's other significant investments include Madison Reed, Qumulo, InsideView, Price.com, Zenplace, Kanler, Joy, Manufactured.Net, BillFloat and many other companies that have become market leaders. Catapult Ventures partners in Georgia are Startup Grand Tbilisi and the US Market Access Center.