2016-11-14
As part of another initiative seeking to promote entrepreneurship and encourage young people to engage in entrepreneurial activities, Georgia, together with 160 countries, hosts Global Entrepreneurship Week. The event at the Technology Park was launched today by Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and US Ambassador Ian Kelly.
The Head of Government singled out the Technology Park as his favorite place because it is here that Georgia's future is born and numerous interesting ideas are implemented.
According to the Prime Minister, it is very important for Georgia to keep pace with the dynamics of advanced modern ideas because it is important for the country's future and the structural transformation of the economy.
"It is very important to have more and more people embrace entrepreneurial thinking, find out numerous opportunities that may prove successful for them, for the country, and for the world in general. It is equally important that we will hear success stories as they encourage new ideas," the Prime Minister stated.
Giorgi Kvirikashvili emphasized the importance of the discussion on crowd financing. According to him, it is a brand new direction in Georgia, which is currently associated with negative events, such as medical treatment and others.
"We, the Georgians, have showed solidarity in many cases when, for example, people are in need. We must learn how to show solidarity with innovative ideas to push the country forward, and do it fast at that. It is very important, so that young people may be motivated to engage as much as possible and raise funds to implement new ideas," Giorgi Kvirikashvili stated, adding that there are tens and hundreds of success stories across the world that testify to new initiatives financed in this manner.
The Prime Minister named a few examples, including new generation smartwatches, the idea of which has attracted 12 million USD through crowd financing, also the Flow Hive idea conceived in 2015, which, through internet crowd financing, garnered 13,200,000 dollars. Flow Hive is a brand new type of hive that enables to extract honey without harming the bees. The Head of Government addressed the Ministry of Agriculture with a request to take interest in this idea which may prove useful for Georgian beekeeping.
"We can start small, but we will engage and finance new interesting ideas, which will be a commendable and positive cause to benefit Georgia's young entrepreneurs," Giorgi Kvirikashvili stated.
The Prime Minister expressed hope that Global Entrepreneurship Week will enjoy significant support from the Innovation and Technology Agency which has already worked hard, becoming the sponsor of tens of startups financed through state-supported projects. According to the Head of Government, this direction will continue along with the growing engagement of international partners.
"Please accept my wishes for the successful implementation of new ideas using the many tools offered by our Government and the successful methods available today globally," the Prime Minister addressed the audience attending the opening ceremony.
The opening ceremony of Global Entrepreneurship Week was attended by almost 200 entrepreneurs. This far-reaching international project, which seeks to promote entrepreneurship and encourage the engagement of young people, is supported by the G4G Project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Embassy in Georgia, whom the Prime Minister thanked for their assistance.
As part of the opening ceremony, presentations of several startup businesses financed under the Startup Georgia Program were held, including Quick Cash (an innovative platform for financial assessment for SMEs), David OS (a universal medical records system based on block chain technology), and Tamashobana to produce traditional Georgian games.
Global Entrepreneurship Week will last through November 20. The working topics include entrepreneurship and innovation development and policy, the role of women entrepreneurs, and the establishment of agricultural entrepreneurship and startups. In addition, innovation and wine forums will be held as well. Global Entrepreneurship Week will enable startups and young entrepreneurs to share international experience, introduce their projects to wider audiences and experts and seek their advice, and to develop their businesses in the right direction.
Prime Minister's Press Office