Analyzing Alternative Sources of Finance for SMEs in Georgia

On November 29, PMC Research presented a study entitled “Access to Finance for SMEs: Alternative Sources of Finance in Georgia,” focused on exploring existing and available alternative financial instruments for Georgian SMEs.

The research identifies obstacles and opportunities in the path toward development of asset-based and equity-based instruments, examining best practices and cases from Lithuania, Poland, and Israel.

The study also covered several financial-innovation-driven practices increasingly implemented around the world to support the creation or development of alternative sources of finance, such as open banking, regulatory sandboxes, digital banks, and central bank digital currency (CBDC). Moreover, the paper also provides several recommendations to catalyze the development of alternative sources of finance in Georgia.

The presentation was followed by a panel discussion that brought together Mr. Papuna Lezhava, Vice President of National Bank of Georgia, Mr. Irakli Nadareishvili, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Mr. Levan Vepkhvadze, Executive Director of the Business Association of Georgia, to discuss issues regarding access to finance in Georgia.

“I am pleased to participate in such an important meeting regarding the issues for different forms of alternative finance and I would like to thank the presenters who provided comprehensive information and found relevant examples from Lithuania, Poland, and Israel”, said Levan Vepkhvadze, Executive Director of the Business Association of Georgia, adding that “The presented recommendations were relevant to all the ongoing issues we have in the country, and I think that these alternative funding mechanisms should be considered in the Georgian context.”

The study was conducted in the course of the project “Public Policy Discourse and Dialogue Platform,” implemented by PMC Research  with the support of PMCG.