To support businesses of all sizes throughout their entire business cycle

For the ongoing change to discover new opportunities

<p style="text-align:justify;">PSP is one of the biggest pharmacies in Georgia, they import and distribute pharmaceuticals in approximately 220 PSP pharmacies located almost in every region of Georgia. Their products are imported from over 100 of the world’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturers. Every month 2 million customers choose PSP as their family's pharmacy.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">In 2017, SavvY implemented the following services: Full Diagnostics of IFRS, IFRS Implementation and Audit Support. Deriving from the company’s specific business activities the most critical elements were Property, Plant, and Equipment, Inventories, and Revenue.</p>

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IFRS Adoption & Implementation

IFRS Implementation in pharmaceutical company

<p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">Fixed Assets Inventory Service</p><p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">„VEON GEORGIA“ is owned by Cellfie, leading international provider of telecommunications and internet services, headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">In 2019 – 2020, JSC “SavvY” Valuation Department provided fixed assets inventory service to LLC "Cellfie". The project included an inventory of fixed assets on the company’s balance sheet.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">JSC “SavvY” Valuation Department has provided the following services: physical inspection of fixed assets and assign them with individual barcode stickers, reconciliation of the lists of described fixed assets and the company’s balance sheet.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">JSC “SavvY” Valuation team has compared and then arranged lists of the fixed assets described during the inventory procedure with the items in the company’s financial accounting system.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">Market Value Appraisal Service</p><p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">"Cellfie" is Georgia’s third-largest telecommunications operator. The company is owned by VEON, a leading international provider of telecommunications and internet services, headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">In 2020, JSC “SavvY” Valuation Department carried out an inventory assessment process and determined the market value of the identified assets. Due to the company’s work specificity, the company owns mainly specialized assets (servers), which is one of the most crucial components for the given company to operate.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">The valuation process was divided into the following stages:</p><p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">Valuation team have audited the assets, identified them to be evaluated and outline the purpose of the valuation, have communicated with stakeholders, identified the company’s expectations and requirements;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">Optimal methods and approaches for the valuation of movable property were determined.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">After preliminary analysis, data selection and moving property market research, with selected methods and approaches, the team calculated the market value of the assets.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;text-align:justify;">At the final stage, the evaluation report was prepared in full compliance with IVS and IFRS 13 standards.</p>

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Cellfie

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Asset Valuation

 Fixed Assets Inventory Service in Cellfie

<p style="text-align:justify;">SavvY was the implementing party of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Capacity Building Activity across Georgia which was initiated by the Ministry of Finance of Georgia’s Service of Accounting, Reporting, and Auditing Supervision (SARAS) and supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project “Governing for Growth” (G4G).</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The project had very significant role in supporting the companies in successful IFRS implementation that was required by the new law regarding Audit and Financial Reporting.&nbsp;</p><p>The project had the following outcomes:</p><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li style="text-align:justify;">The pool of IFRS trainers was created: 30 English-speaking and 58 Georgian-speaking trainers were trained&nbsp;</li><li style="text-align:justify;">The interactive training modules materials and syllabus was created that became publicly available resource&nbsp;</li><li style="text-align:justify;">100 accountants were trained via the newly designed interactive training modules</li><li style="text-align:justify;">35 training modules with the materials amounting to more than 2500 pages were translated to Georgian language</li></ul><p style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</p><h2 style="text-align:justify;">How We Helped</h2><p style="text-align:justify;">Together with the international experts, such as Mike Wells, SavvY team helped SARAS to implement multi stage capacity building activity for smooth implementation of IFRS standards within Georgian companies that was required by the new law of Accounting, Reporting and Audit.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">SavvY did outstanding stakeholder coordination, as this project aimed to increase the capacity of the existing talent pool in Georgia that would result in having lasting effect.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">SavvY has created different platforms to engage all existing stakeholders in different roles:</p><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li style="text-align:justify;">All existing experts in the field were cordially invited to join the distinguished Review Committee that would thoroughly work on checking the quality of the translated 35 modules of IFRS for SME. Eventually, the Review Committee worked out to be very effective.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">All newly trained and retrained trainers were invited to join the IFRS Training Network that became the platform to share any upcoming training opportunities as well as insights and new developments within the industry</li></ul><h2 style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</h2><h2 style="text-align:justify;">Impact and Potential</h2><p style="text-align:justify;">The project had multiple areas of impact, which include but are not limited to:</p><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li style="text-align:justify;">A new pool of high-quality trainers in IFRS was created – The project created 88 new trainers in IFRS that resulted in the increase of supply of trainings that was indeed of the crucial importance to support the companies to transfer from National Accounting Standards to IFRS. In addition, this activity facilitated additional quite strong income stream for consulting companies and freelancers&nbsp;that started to offer IFRS related training products.&nbsp;</li><li style="text-align:justify;">35 Modules of IFRS for SME translated in Georgian language – these materials were the core stone support while country’s transition to IFRS standards as it enabled the practitioners in the field to have access on the demanded content in the local language. These materials are used even today by the accountants and reporting specialists in Georgia.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Training Modules in Georgian language – specifically for this project, SavvY designed training materials that were used to train the pilot company’s accountants that were selected for this activity. It’s worth mentioning that these materials are public on the SARAS web page until today and all trainers, even those that did not participated int the training of trainer’s activity back in 2018 are eligible to utilize these resources for their training</li></ul><p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="https://saras.gov.ge/ka/Home/Modules?Length=4">You can see this module on link</a>.</p>

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USAID (G4G)

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Saras

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Ecosystem Development

IFRS for SME Capacity Building Project

<p style="text-align:justify;">SavvY created a business plan for Goodwill JSC to expand its hypermarket chain and fast food direction. Goodwill is Georgia's first hypermarket chain, providing customers with a diverse range of products. It has its own line of prepared meals, meat products, and confectionery. Additionally, Goodwill stands as a significant importer of food and non-food products from various countries including Germany, Netherlands, Italy, France, Bulgaria, and Ukraine.</p><figure class="table" style="width:100%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:31.58%;"><col style="width:68.42%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><h2><span style="font-size:27px;"><strong>How we helped</strong></span></h2></td><td>Throughout the project, SavvY’s&nbsp;team investigated the main target markets and assessed the potential demand.&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="text-align:justify;">The market investigation included secondary research, statistical data analysis, as well as primary research, face to face interviews with the sector representatives. On top of that, the team explored direct competitors operating in the local market&nbsp;and&nbsp;assessed their concept, pricing strategy, strength and weaknesses, and their current financial position.&nbsp;In the end, the team came up with the business concepts describing the business model, emphasizing the competitive advantage of the project and further development potential.&nbsp;Finally, a detailed financial model was prepared and various scenarios were discussed.</p><figure class="table" style="width:100%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:25.15%;"><col style="width:74.85%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><h2><span style="font-size:27px;"><strong>Impact and potential</strong></span></h2></td><td>As a result,&nbsp;the&nbsp;client was provided&nbsp;with a detailed business plan document with information about&nbsp;favorable and&nbsp;unfavorable conditions for business development in Georgia.</td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</p>

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Goodwill

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Business Plan

Financial Modeling

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<p style="text-align:justify;">The project was dedicated to develop the FDI attraction strategy for the agency Enterprise Georgia (under the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia). SavvY team worked on this project with our international partner FDI Center, which is specialized advisory firm in the field of foreign direct investment Based in Berlin, Germany. FDI Center is entirely focused on helping governments and investment promotion agencies (IPAs) to attract investment and retain more efficiently and successfully.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The project's objective was to pinpoint the sectors and sub-sectors in which Georgia possesses competitive advantages and relevant capacities or resources to attract international companies. This was addressed through a range of expansion initiatives outlined in the operational plan.</p><figure class="table"><table><tbody><tr><td><h2>How we Helped</h2></td><td><p style="text-align:justify;">The project covered several phases. The aim of the first phase of the project was to gain a solid understanding of Enterprise Georgia’s current structure and operations, including the factors that have contributed to its success and any challenges or constraints that may be affecting the agency. In addition, our team worked actively with Enterprise Georgia to acknowledge the approach to investment attraction, and facilitation, including the selection of target sectors and companies and the support provided to potential and existing investors.&nbsp;</p></td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="text-align:justify;">The second phase was research intensive and our team worked actively with the secondary data as well as conducted numerous interviews with sector experts, key stakeholders, government representatives, representatives in international companies in specific sectors or fields, etc. The goal of this phase was to determine “target groups” that have genuine potential for locating in Georgia. A target group is defined as a specific group of companies that share similar characteristics with respect to their activities, operations, and investment potential. The term can be translated as “sub-sector” or even more detailed description of the activity that company might perform. Our approach was to identify the longlist of target sectors and then search deep dive on each individual activity to assess the investment potential of each activity. We analyzed the activities’ expansion trends worldwide, while those who might have the potential to expand in Georgia based on the requirements of potential investors in these groups and Georgia’s location characteristics. The assessment focused on the operational requirements of the target groups (e.g., workforce, utilities, and property) as well as the market characteristics of each target group (e.g., key players, geographic concentration of companies, supply chain).&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">For the selected target groups, at the phase 2 we developed a detailed action plan for Enterprise Georgia to identify and engage with individual companies. The action plan included:</p><ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Recommended channels for first contact (e.g., direct outreach, industry events).</li><li style="text-align:justify;">The potential for including existing investors in Georgia (and their parent companies overseas) in the action plan.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Key partners (e.g., industry associations) that can support implementation of the action plan.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Roles and responsibilities of Enterprise Georgia and other relevant organizations in implementing the action plan.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Significant barriers that need to be addressed for the action plan to be implemented.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">The resources (financial and other) required for implementing the action plan.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Timeline for implementing the action plan as well as milestones and KPIs for assessing progress and results</li></ul><p style="text-align:justify;">To approach potential investors effectively, Enterprise Georgia requires specific materials that describe the advantages the country for the selected target groups. These materials are most effective when they are customized to the requirements of potential investors and one of the reasons for selecting individual target groups was to develop a clear understanding of their requirements. Thus, for the final phase, our team developed the value proposition marketing materials for each selected target activity.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The project aimed to create a substantial impact on Georgia's investment landscape by strategically identifying and promoting key sectors poised for growth. By thoroughly analyzing Enterprise Georgia's existing structure and operations in the initial phase, we established a foundational understanding of the agency's strategy towards attracting FDI investment.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The second phase involved intensive research, enabling us to pinpoint specific target groups with genuine potential for investment in Georgia. This data-driven approach not only highlighted sectors showing promising revenue growth and favorable market conditions but also identified the operational and market characteristics crucial for attracting international companies. The comprehensive analysis ensured that our recommendations were grounded in evidence, addressing the requirements of both investors and the unique advantages that Georgia offers.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">With the identification of five target groups that meet established investment prerequisites, we developed a detailed action plan for Enterprise Georgia. This plan outlines strategic outreach channels, identifies key influencers and partners, and addresses potential barriers to implementation. By fostering collaboration with existing investors and industry associations, the action plan positions Georgia as an attractive destination for investment.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Overall, the project is expected to enhance Georgia's competitiveness in the global market, stimulate economic growth, and foster a sustainable environment for international investment. Through targeted strategies and comprehensive engagement with potential investors, Georgia is poised to attract significant foreign direct investment, creating jobs and driving innovation across key sectors.</p>

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Georgia Investment Attraction, Facilitation and Aftercare Strategy and Action Plan

<p style="text-align:justify;">Through&nbsp;the&nbsp;active engagement&nbsp;of SavvY's team, Gazelle Finance Georgia LLC, an investment fund, has committed to invest a substantial investment of $2,500,000 in Camex Airlines LTD.&nbsp;Gazelle Finance operates as a financing company serving small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Eurasia Region, with a particular focus on entities showcasing&nbsp;the&nbsp;remarkable potential for high-growth. Camex Airlines, a cargo airline with nearly two decades of experience in the transportation industry, offers ACMI leasing services and charter/ad-hoc solutions.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">This is Gazelle Finance's first investment in the transportation sector in Georgia, which marks a significant milestone for the company.&nbsp;Camex Airlines can now enter into lease agreements with multiple lessors, allowing them to acquire and operate four aircraft, including both narrow and wide-body freighters like the Boeing 737-800 BCF. This financial support also ensures the availability of the necessary working capital for the ongoing operations and maintenance of these aircraft. The company received its first aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 BCF, in July 2022 and began commercial flights in August after successfully passing all the necessary procedures. Furthermore, in 2023, two more aircraft were successfully integrated into the existing fleet.</p><figure class="table" style="width:100%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:35.38%;"><col style="width:64.62%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><h1>How we helped</h1></td><td><p style="text-align:justify;">The project&nbsp;aimed to use Georgia's strategic location for initiating air transportation.&nbsp;To achieve this, SavvY's team prepared an investment package encompassing key tasks such as developing an optimal financing structure, conducting extensive research on potential investors, evaluating investments of potential routes, and performing thorough financial analyses of leasing companies of cargo suppliers (providers).</p></td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Additionally, our team actively participated in the air cargo value chain process, meticulously assessing the financial viability of partnership terms and requirements. Following&nbsp;careful evaluation of&nbsp;numerous international and local financial institutions and investors, Gazelle Finance, a local private investor, and a bank were ultimately chosen as the preferred sources of financing, each with distinct proportions and conditions.</p><figure class="table" style="width:100%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:27.34%;"><col style="width:72.66%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><h1>Impact and potential</h1></td><td><p style="text-align:justify;">This investment presents an opportunity for Georgia to amplify its multimodal freight and cargo transit capabilities by establishing new air transportation corridors and trade routes.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="text-align:justify;">It enables Camex Airlines to significantly increase the number of orders for additional destinations and become the first air freight company in the country to operate on a transcontinental route.&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-left:0px;"><a href="https://www.interpressnews.ge/en/article/118264-gazelle-fund-lp-invests-in-camex-airlines-an-air-cargo-carrier-in-georgia">See article about our project</a></p><p style="margin-left:0px;">&nbsp;</p>

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Camex

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Fundraising

SavvY supports CAMEX in access to finance

<p style="text-align:justify;">We had been working on a programme initiated by the Swisscontact Georgia which works with the rural small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs in Georgia. They currently implement activities to build a more effective and resilient system of SME access to finance and business support services to increase rural income and employment. Swisscontact’s activities in Georgia are aligned with the Swiss Cooperation Office’s strategy in the South Caucasus which is oriented towards rural business diversification, resilience, income, and job creation.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The Dairy Supplier Investment Support Program aimed to facilitate rural market access opportunities of rural farmers from various regions of Georgia through provision of business advisory and technical services and access to finance. The goals of the project, which our team was responsible for, were facilitation of dairy buyers, e.g. large dairy product manufacturers such as brand Sante, Sophlis Nobati and Agrohub, in establishing a segmentation methodology and provide technical assistance to their suppliers. Specifically, assessment of potential production and provision of memoranda to support long-term partnership with selected rural farmers. In addition, our team supported farmers in improving and formulating loan/grant applications for accessing additional financing to increase production capacity.&nbsp;</p><figure class="table" style="width:100%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:26.61%;"><col style="width:73.39%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><h2><span style="font-size:27px;">How we helped</span></h2></td><td style="text-align:justify;">The project had gone through different stages to achieve the initial goals. At first, our team provided technical assistance to buyers on segmentation methodology and production projections, which included elaboration of a guideline to segment appropriate, high potential and motivated suppliers. On the second stage our team supported buyers to conduct rapid assessment of suppliers’ financial and business capabilities. This also covered evaluation of key financial and business opportunities and barriers.</td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="text-align:justify;">Furthermore, our team facilitated long-term partnership with rural farmers and major buyers by signing the memoranda about predetermined order terms between specific buyer and supplier. For the next stage, SavvY developed supplier investment plans for each farmer, which included forecasting for 5 years. Finally, SavvY Team supported suppliers to prepare finance applications relevant to the source of the funding.</p><figure class="table" style="width:100%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:27.77%;"><col style="width:72.23%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><h2><span style="font-size:27px;">Impact and potential</span></h2></td><td style="vertical-align:bottom;"><p style="text-align:justify;">During the project, 43 farmers were identified and analyzed, 19 investment plans were prepared, from which 17 loan applications were made.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">As a result, the project outcomes enabled the diary industry to test long-term partnership with key major players and small and micro rural farmers. Also, project facilitated the linkage with central and rural economy and assessed farmers’ access to finance capabilities for further development of the dairy industry. &nbsp;</p></td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</p>

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Swisscontact Georgia

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Dairy Supplier Investment Support Programme

<p style="text-align:justify;">Project PALM –Development of ecotourism resort in Al-Ahsa region in KSA for the Public Investment Fund of KSA aims to promote and activate the kingdom's eco, adventure, and agriculture tourism industry by developing several resorts in tier-two cities, consequently supporting family-owned farms to engage and benefit from the hospitality industry.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">SavvY partner and director Natia Goliadze, together with partner company Sea Going Green, a consultancy that specializes in sustainable tourism, worked on the analysis of tourists visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the market for eco-tourism in the project areas, and the potential for growth from sustainable tourism development.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Initially, the team conducted desk research and collected data on target demographics and market segmentation. Based on desktop research and consultations, the team prepared a report on current market trends, including tourist statistics in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, both inbound and domestic tourists. The report was designed with a special focus on the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The reason for the trip, country of origin, modes of arrival, types of accommodation, and expenditures were thoroughly analyzed in the document. Special attention was given to business tourism – trends, accommodations, events, activities, and attractions driving this type of tourism.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The visitor profile was another key part of the project. Aside from the analysis of visitors by age and gender, the team analyzed their cultural and environmental expectations.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">In addition, the team prepared an overview of various tourism establishments, including existing accommodations, the number of keys, and room prices, both in the country and in a target province.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Throughout the report, detailed attention was given to a target governorate - its place and share in total tourism in the country.</p><p style="text-align:justify;"><a href="https://www.constructionweekonline.com/news/saudi-tourism-eco-lodges-alahsa">Additional information about the project</a>&nbsp;</p>

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Sea Going Green

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Industry Analysis

The Eco-Adventure and Agri-Tourism Business Sector Development in Saudi Arabia

<p style="text-align:justify;">The Growth Hub (GH) project continued to be developed for some years and was supported by the several international organizations or projects.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The initial scope and concept of the GH was supported by the UNDP Georgia, which at that time was implementing the second phase of the project entitled “Fostering Regional and Local Development in Georgia” (FRLD 2). After discussing the scope and concept with Irakli Nadareishvili, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia (MoESD), and Tornike Zirakishvili, Deputy Director of LEPL Enterprise (EG), the project was considered exciting and moved to the next stage. With the initiation and support of the EG stakeholders mapping and action plan for the GH for Adjara region was financed under the USAID Economic Security Programme and the same scope for Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti was financed under the UNDP project "Fostering Regional and Local Development in Georgia, Phase 2" with the support of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia (MRDI), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC).&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">As of now, both GHs in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and Adjara regions of Georgia are announced to be launched in summer 2023 followed by the expansion of the GH network in all regions and eventually the full coverage of Georgia.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">We are honored to have been a part of the journey that brought the&nbsp;GH from concept to implementation.</p><figure class="table" style="width:100%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:24.13%;"><col style="width:75.87%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><h1>How We Helped</h1></td><td>Before preparing the concept of Growth Hubs, international best practices were analyzed. With respect to governance and structure, the most relevant and optimal analogue was found to be in Great Britain. We also analyzed examples India, Latvia, and Australia. In some countries, a practice similar to a growth hub is not implemented at all, and in some countries the functions of growth hubs are attributable to their ministry of economy.&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="text-align:justify;">Under the project “Fostering Regional and Local Development in Georgia” (FRLD 2) funded by UNDP, JSC SavvY developed the concept for the Growth Hubs. The studies conducted in the framework of the project revealed the importance of rural business development for economic growth of the regions of Georgia and factors preventing or contributing to this process. The results show the need of business support organization that will focus on researching the business environment and promoting local business development, that will be the bridge for rural businesses to find and access to intensive local support and advice where they have the opportunity, ambition and greatest potential to grow and scale-up. Although there is a business growth potential in regions of Georgia, the need and importance of support services for their growth and prosperity is crucial. Growth Hub may address all above mentioned issues. The main drive of GH is to be proactive and work closely with rural businesses to acts as a communicator and negotiator at a national level with government, advisers, businesses, academia and other target audience. GHs will be the bridge for rural businesses to access specialists in any field of development they need, including individual consultancy, exporting, accessing finance, trainings. Within the framework of the project, the SavvY team visited one of the Growth Hubs in the United Kingdom and gained firsthand knowledge of its scope of operation and structure.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Working on the Strategy and action plan of the GH in different regions of Georgia, as well as analyze the macroeconomic background and prepare stakeholders mapping was proceeded under the other two projects: stakeholders mapping and action plan for the GH for Adjara region was financed under the USAID Economic Security Programme and the same scope for Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti was financed under the UNDP project "Fostering Regional and Local Development in Georgia, Phase 2" with the support of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia (MRDI), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC).&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The scope of these two projects included preparing the concept of GH and conducting primary and secondary researches about the MSMEs attitudes, existence of local service providers and private sector development in target regions. Primary research included intensive face to face interviews and telephone surveys of MSMEs in the target region of Georgia. Secondary research was done to assess the level of private sector development in the target region of Georgia, specifically in the Samegrelo – Zemo Svaneti and to identify the sectors contributing most of all to the country’s GDP.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The concept and services and the governance structure was developed with the involvement of an international consultant from Great Britain who had more than 20 years of experience in GHs and who greatly contributed to the development of the strategy and action plan of the GH. The document summaries the market research of the Growth Hub stakeholders as well as the concept, strategy and action plan of the Growth Hub.</p><figure class="table" style="width:100%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:27.48%;"><col style="width:72.52%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><h1>Impact and Potential</h1></td><td>Growth Hubs will assist MSMEs in attaining growth through various initiatives and services. Growth Hubs will act as conduits for rural firms to connect with specialists in a variety of sectors (e.g., exporting or access to finance) and formats (e.g., consultancy and training).&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="text-align:justify;">GHs will serve as national communicators and negotiators with the government, advisers, corporations, academia, and others. Their suite of programs and services will be geared to help the main industry sector manage change, adapt to business challenges, increase profitability, and plan for the future. Along with group trainings, services will mostly entail individual consultations, face-to-face meetings, and individual growth and export plans are developed in partnership with government, industry specialists and experts, and other organizations that support regional development to assist the development of competitive, sustainable, and resilient rural businesses.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Physical, regional branches of the "Enterprise Georgia" agency will be established, with the goal of assisting local enterprises. The hub will feature support consulting and other service providers to network with local MSMEs and assist in building the fundamental skills of entrepreneurs in the region.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">This will also in part support the development of consulting businesses in the regions, with the agency becoming a partner for them on the local level and a facilitator for entrepreneurs to provide those services through the GH that MSMEs seek to receive.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">As a result, the Growth Hub will assist the development of rural/local MSMEs, facilitating local economic growth and prosperity across the country.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">See article about our project</p><ol><li style="text-align:justify;"><a href="https://www.enterprisegeorgia.gov.ge/en/News/enterprise-georgia-delegation">Enterprise Georgia delegation got acquainted with the operations of Growth Hubs in Englan</a><span style="color:hsl(0,0%,0%);"><u>d</u></span></li><li style="text-align:justify;"><a href="https://bm.ge/en/news/icc-launches-centre-of-entrepreneurship-in-tbilisi/36886">ICC Launches Centre of Entrepreneurship in Tbilisi</a></li></ol>

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Enterprise Georgia

USAID

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UNDP

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Growth hub

Strategy Development

Growth Hubs in Georgia

<p style="text-align:justify;">Within the framework of the project, our team worked on a financial model, the main goal of which was to assess the feasibility of the investment based on assumptions obtained through market research and active communication with the client. Our team identified and forecasted revenue streams for seven years; SavvY studied industry averages and determined forecast cost structure. A significant part of the financial model identifies free cash flows and evaluates the investment.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">In addition, our team was involved in selecting the international brand necessary for the hotel's operation, considering their conditions and requirements in the financial model and access to finance.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<img class="image_resized" style="width:25%;" src="/uploads/247559396_ea69b29f06.jpg" alt="Bestwesternhotel.jpg"> &nbsp;&nbsp;<img class="image_resized" style="width:25%;" src="/uploads/247559452_a48aaf8b5f.jpg" alt="bestwesternhotel.jpg"> &nbsp;&nbsp;<img class="image_resized" style="width:25%;" src="/uploads/327116315_2b2f9492aa.jpg" alt="Bestwesternhotel.jpg"></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Our team worked with several international brands, and finally, the client selected the Best Western Hotels &amp; Resorts brand. It was the first branded hotel in Gudauri for that period.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Best Western Gudauri is an economy-class hotel ideally suited for lovers of active leisure. The hotel has its ski rental, a transfer to the ski slopes, a spa center, and an outdoor veranda. It is also an ideal environment for business meetings, as developing business tourism is one of the country's priorities. The hotel also has a restaurant for 200 people with its bar and a conference hall for 100 people.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">To finance the project, the program of the state structure, Enterprise Georgia, was used, through which the project received the benefit of subsidizing the loan interest. Our team's involvement in this process was manifested by introducing the details of the program to the client, evaluating the benefits through financial modeling, and selecting the optimal financing structure based on the financial model.</p>

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Best Western Gudauri

Best western hotel resort exterior in gudauri

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International Hotel & Resort In Gudauri

<p style="text-align:justify;">The Be Digital initiative, supported by Enterprise Georgia and the Rural SMEs Development Project, a consortium comprising Swisscontact, Mercy Corps, and the Springfield Centre for business in Development, and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), aimed to provide digital skills training to entrepreneurs in order to improve their business operations. Recognising the need for training, Enterprise Georgia, with the support of the RSMED project,&nbsp;engaged the consulting firm SavvY to give technical assistance (TA) to its beneficiaries on the use of digital products.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The objectives of the project, entrusted to the SavvY Team, were to equip entrepreneurs with digital knowledge and skills to enhance the effectiveness of business communication skills of entrepreneurs. Trainers organized a comprehensive training series that provided instruction on various digital technologies that simplify marketing and financial operations. The training curriculum encompassed multiple skills, including registering and using email, creating electronic signatures, utilizing online communication platforms, developing basic design skills like logo and brochure creation, handling invoicing, registering on business platforms, and performing data modelling using Excel functions. Participants acquired essential knowledge of income and expense tables, tax calculations, and profit margin analysis.</p><figure class="table" style="width:100%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:36.26%;"><col style="width:63.74%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><h2><span style="font-size:27px;"><strong>How We Helped</strong></span></h2></td><td><p style="text-align:justify;">During the training series, trainers engaged participants in interactive sessions, introducing them to various digital technologies and tools. We provided step-by-step instruction and practical exercises to ensure entrepreneurs could confidently navigate these digital resources.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The SavvY team developed a customized 6-hour training course delivered in-person to small groups, specifically designed to address the unique needs of the beneficiaries.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The training was open to the beneficiaries of Enterprise Georgia.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Our team coordinated a series of training sessions across nearly 10 rural locations in Georgia, including Telavi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Ozurgeti, Gori, Zestaponi, Akhaltsikhe, Khulo, Batumi, and Rustavi, engaging approximately 200 participants.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="text-align:justify;">Entrepreneurs from a diverse range of sectors were represented, including:</p><ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Auto service</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Construction</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Food Processing</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Manufacturing Food or even Textile</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Professional services</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Textile</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Tourism</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Winemaking</li></ul><p style="text-align:justify;">Throughout the training sessions, the SavvY team provided hands-on support to beneficiaries who required additional assistance with the training materials. They guided participants in registering on the appropriate platforms, setting up accounts, and resolving any issues that arose. The team also tracked attendance and facilitated the completion of satisfaction assessments from attendees following each session.</p><figure class="table" style="width:100%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:28.07%;"><col style="width:71.93%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><h2><span style="font-size:27px;"><strong>Impact and Potential</strong></span></h2></td><td><p style="text-align:justify;">Through this course almost 200 entrepreneurs gained essential digital literacy skills in 10 major cities, empowering them to effectively navigate and leverage digital technologies. This increased proficiency enables them to adapt to the rapidly changing business landscape and stay competitive. By mastering digital tools, entrepreneurs can streamline their marketing and financial operations. They can leverage email communication, online platforms, and design skills to enhance customer engagement, create marketing materials, and automate tasks, increasing efficiency and productivity.&nbsp;</p></td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="text-align:justify;">Even during the training, entrepreneurs developed several digital tools for their operations. For example, they created the company logo, registered their location on Google Maps. Several entrepreneurs created the company brochure, etc.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The impact of the Be Digital project extends beyond individual entrepreneurs as trained beneficiaries applies their digital skills. It can inspire others to embrace digital transformation, fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the region.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The Be Digital project, executed by SavvY Team, successfully empowered entrepreneurs with crucial digital skills to streamline their marketing and financial operations. By bridging the digital divide, the project empowered the beneficiary businesses by providing them with valuable knowledge and experience navigating the digital landscape.</p>

Swisscontact

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Digital Skills Training For Entrepreneurs

<p style="margin-left:0in;text-align:justify;">SavvY worked on a project initiated by Enterprise Georgia (under the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia) and funded and supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Our team had been working on an investment aftercare service development program together with FDI Center. FDI Center is a specialized advisory firm in the field of foreign direct investment Based in Berlin, Germany. FDI Center is entirely focused on helping governments and investment promotion agencies (IPAs) to attract investment and retain more efficiently and successfully.</p><p style="margin-left:0in;text-align:justify;">The program aimed to design relevant investment aftercare services that address the key challenges of international investors in Georgia. Specifically, these activities were designed to facilitate the operation and expansion of investor activities in Georgia and enhance coordination and cooperation among governments, investors, and related stakeholders, with a view toward enhancing the positive impact of FDI.</p><p style="margin-left:0in;text-align:justify;">The project's goals, which our team was responsible for, were the development of the database of existing foreign investors in Georgia; up to 50 Interviews with FDI investors to identify the challenges they face during the expansion of their activities as well as relations with government entities and their perceptions about the need of aftercare services; the development and organization of capacity-building workshops for government entities whose activities are related to FDI investment; and delivering recommendations on providing quality aftercare services.</p><figure class="table" style="width:99.86%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:35%;"><col style="width:65%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><h1>How we helped</h1></td><td>The project went through different stages to achieve the initial goals. At first, our team created a database of FDI investors by combining data from several sources. In addition, we developed a sustainable methodology for updating the database. In the second stage, our team formulated a set of clear recommendations to improve investor aftercare services. These recommendations were based on in-depth interviews conducted among C-level executives of international companies or FDI investors in Georgia.</td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="margin-left:0in;text-align:justify;">Investors’ feedback can be vital for policymaking and overall investment retention. The foreign investor perception survey was designed to help identify and consolidate information about the specific aftercare challenges and issues active investors face in Georgia. This comprehensive feedback enabled our team to provide policy and institutional-level recommendations.</p><p style="margin-left:0in;text-align:justify;">In the next stage of the program, SavvY’s partner FDI Center developed a detailed program and training materials for the capacity-building workshops. Capacity-building workshops were conducted among high-level stakeholders and Enterprise Georgia to enable the delivery of quality aftercare services and share the international practices. We presented the recommendations to the EG's team at the workshop, observed&nbsp;their inputs, tailored recommendations according to present EG resources, and then delivered our findings to the EG and MoESD management teams.</p><p style="margin-left:0in;text-align:justify;">Furthermore, the SavvY team and FDI Center designed the follow-up survey to be used by EG after the conclusion of the project to collect feedback from investors. In addition, our team developed a sustainable methodology for updating the database of FDI investors and prepared recommendations for data sources (such as Geostat or NAPR) to improve the data collection process if needed.</p><p style="margin-left:0in;text-align:justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<img class="image_resized" style="width:25%;" src="/uploads/IMG_4407_min_1_1143892b34.jpg" alt="IMG-4407-min (1).jpg"> &nbsp;&nbsp;<img class="image_resized" style="width:25%;" src="/uploads/IMG_4408_min_1_d8a55c7f87.jpg" alt="IMG-4408-min (1).jpg"> &nbsp;&nbsp;<img class="image_resized" style="width:25%;" src="/uploads/IMG_4406_min_1_7ff3a939dd.jpg" alt="IMG-4406-min (1).jpg"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><figure class="table" style="width:99.92%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:30.16%;"><col style="width:69.84%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><h1>Impact and potential</h1></td><td><p style="text-align:justify;">During the project, 50 foreign investor company representatives were surveyed, and a database of around 7,500 companies receiving FDI was created. In addition, the methodology for updating the database was provided, and key personnel was trained through workshops.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">As a result, the project outcomes enabled Enterprise Georgia to gather investors’ feedback for more effective policymaking.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">At the same time, the recommendations provided by our team and FDI Center will strengthen the capacity of Enterprise Georgia to enhance the provision of the aftercare services.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></figure><p style="margin-left:0in;text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</p>

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European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

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Foreign Investor Perception Survey and Improvement of Aftercare Capacity of EO (Georgia)