Winners of GITA Grant Program for Samegrelo Region Announced
The winners of the grant program offered by the Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA) have been announced for the Samegrelo region.
The program, titled "Up to GEL 25,000 Innovation Grants for Regions," saw seven projects emerge victorious. Among these, two projects received a funding boost of 50,000 GEL from JITA and USAID, while one project secured a grant of 25,000 GEL solely from USAID. The remaining four startups will be financed by JITA.
Here are the winning projects:
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Bnollar: A social network dedicated to the NFT marketplace, providing users with protection against fraud and personal data exposure, while contributing to the growth of the NFT industry.
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Eye2Eye: A project focused on mass-producing the Eye2Eye device, aimed at globally reducing cases of strabismus and amblyopia.
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ArgoFly: This project offers farmers the opportunity to enhance crop quality and yield through the use of agro-drones.
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Sphiqiz: A project that aims to provide users with a fast and effective way to learn English by leveraging phonetic similarities and interactive exercises.
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Nilos: The goal of this project is to develop a website and application following a C2C business model, granting users access to natural products while assisting farmers in selling their own natural products.
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Chela: Digital Agrimarket: This project seeks to streamline the agricultural supply chain, making products more affordable and reducing delivery costs.
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Nutri Genius: With the objective of improving overall population health and well-being, this project disseminates scientifically-based nutritional principles and offers personalized nutrition solutions.
The primary objective of the regional grant program is to strengthen the local innovative and technological ecosystem in Georgia's various regions. It supports the development of innovative products, services, technologies, and processes, fostering the creation and commercialization of innovative startups.
In collaboration with USAID's Strong Village Program, grant recipients from the municipalities of Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha, Oni, and Mestia will have additional resources available for implementing their projects.
The USAID's Strong Rural Program will partner with the Georgia Innovation and Technology Agency across three key areas: 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 aim to assist young individuals and local entrepreneurs in transforming their ideas into products, implementing startup projects, and thereby contributing to the socio-economic growth of the regions. Additionally, this collaboration offers residents of communities situated along the administrative dividing line an opportunity to explore alternative sources of finance and create potential for sustainable economic development amidst dynamic changes.
The grant program has already identified winners in the regions of Adjara, Imereti, and Guria. Starting from May 15, individuals and legal entities registered in Samegrelo, Svaneti, and Racha-Lechkhumi were eligible to submit their applications through the electronic portal www.grants.gov.ge. These proposals were evaluated by a commission consisting of domain experts, and the selected startups underwent specialized training to prepare their presentations to the commission. The training covered various aspects, including market research, market entry strategy, scaling, and "Fiching." It is important to note that the grant amount for each project should not exceed 25,000 GEL.