Facilitating business linkages between SMEs and MNCs in Georgia

The official launch of a new pilot project – Supporting the Growth of Georgia’s Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises under the Good Governance Fund (GGF) was held on March 14.

The initiative aims to strengthen linkages between small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and multi-national corporations (MNCs) operating in Georgia.

The event, which was opened by Giorgi Cherkezishvili, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, and Susan Stern, First Secretary Political and Head of Good Governance Fund (GGF) at the UK Embassy to Georgia gathered together representatives of the business sector, private sector support institutions and international organizations, as well as officials from the Government of Georgia (GoG).

Topics including the potential benefits of SME-MNC linkages in Georgia, criteria for SMEs to consider and the roles of different players in this process were discussed during the event.

As part of the consortium implementing the GGF led by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), PMCG is assisting the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and Enterprise Georgia in analyzing the existing situation with regard to the linkages between MNCs and SMEs and is providing support in transferring and adapting international experience to strengthen business relations.

The project team will also design and implement a pilot linkage program in Georgia and support the process of its evaluation.

The project will enhance the level of collaboration between SMEs and MNCs, which, in the medium- and long-term, should have a positive impact on Georgia’s economic development.