Startup
Posted: 4 years ago

Tbilisi to Host Regional Event of Startup Grind

On November 8-10, 2019, the capital city of Georgia will host a regional event entitled Startup Grind, which is the biggest international network of startupers.

As part of this event, Georgia expects to attract investment to domestic startups, on the one hand, and develop Georgia’s startup ecosystem on the other, Startup Grind Tbilisi Director Giorgi Tukhashvili told the TV Program Business Partner . 

The Startup Grind Europe-Asia Connect will be held with the partnership of the Innovation and Technology Agency, and more than 1,500 persons will participate in it. 

The Startup Grind is the biggest international network of startups and beginner companies. It unites more than 600 representations and 2 million members. 

The regional event Startup Grind, which is to be held in Georgia, will be the third biggest event after Silicon Valley  (8,000 delegates ) and London ( 3,000 delegates). 

The conference unites more than 30 speechmakers from more than 20 countries. The regional event will assemble the world’s most successful startups, technology companies and experts to make the region attractive for the world’s most successful businesses, promote the development of innovations and technologies, and attract investments to the country. 

Speakers from giant technology companies such as Google, 500 Startups Fintech Fund, Picsart, Garage Ventures, Shift and others will take part in the event, as well as entrepreneurs, trainers and investors from Europe and the USA. Any citizen is welcome to attend the Startup Grind Tbilisi technological summit. 

As to what we should expect from similar large-scale international events in Georgia and for beginner entrepreneurs, Colin Donohue, head of the Startup Grind Tbilisi representation, noted that similar events, first of all, will assist Georgian startups in establishing international contacts. 

“International contacts are an important  for Georgia startups, because beginner business start operation on the domestic level, and only after that will they reach the international level,'' Donohue said. 

Giorgi Tukhashvili, The Director of the Startup Grind Tbilisi, says that similar events are important for Georgian beginner entrepreneurs, because Georgia has reached the phase where domestic companies manage to attain a certain stage of development, and after that they face problems penetrating to regional and international markets. 

“The Startup Grind event attracts similar speakers, mentors and counselors to assist various companies in taking the necessary steps,'' Tukhashvili said. 

Thanks to this event, Georgia will be able to attract investments and develop its own ecosystem. As a result, the country will be able to become a hub connecting countries other countries in the region, he explained. 

“We have two expectations: on the one hand, startups will be able to attract investments and on the other hand, Georgia will develop a real startup ecosystem. In the first case, we will select 30 of the best startups that will introduce them to investors. We are waiting for about 30 investors, and we enable them to get acquainted with the region’s opportunities as part of a single visit. The forum unites the space from Central Asia to Eastern Europe. This is a market with 700  million consumers, and western investors, as a rule, do not pay attention to this space, because they think nothing interesting happens there. As to for other expectations, this will be the third biggest Startup Grind event in the world, and we plan to compete with the London format, and we plan to invite very interesting speakers in 2020 to foster Georgia’s formation as a hub connecting the region’s countries”, Giorgi Tukhashvili noted.