Giorgi Papava
Giorgi Papava, Lead Economist at Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG), has over 15 years of experience in economic development, public policy, private sector growth, and international trade. He has held senior advisory and consulting roles supporting evidence-based policymaking, institutional reform, and SME competitiveness. His work centers on applied economic research, economic policy analysis, private sector development, value chain intelligence, and access to finance.
Before joining PMCG, Giorgi served as Lead Economist and Private Sector Development Practice Lead at the ISET Policy Institute, where he managed multi-disciplinary teams and oversaw policy research and consulting portfolios. He led initiatives to monitor economic reform progress, advised on sector and value chain analytics, and provided methodological leadership for impact assessments, competitiveness analysis, and financial sector development. He also serves as an Associate Professor of Economics at Ilia State University.
He has extensive experience in economic governance, private sector development, export promotion, SME finance and digitalization, and policy evaluation. Giorgi has led or contributed to projects across Georgia, the Eastern Partnership region, and Jordan, focusing on trade facilitation, competitiveness strategy, impact assessment, and reform prioritization. He has co-authored publications on SME development, trade policy, and export diversification.
Giorgi has worked with organizations including the World Bank, USAID, UNDP, OECD, ADB, GIZ, CARE International, UNICEF, and Helvetas, supporting policy reform, capacity development, and analytical innovation. He is recognized for leading data-driven research, managing complex multi-stakeholder engagements, and translating analytical findings into actionable recommendations.
He holds a PhD in Economics from Caucasus University and completed graduate studies (MA Degree and PhD coursework) at the University of Chicago, as well as an MA in Economics from ISET.