"Successful cooperation with up to 20 companies" - 4-year partnership of SavvY and Gazelle Finance
The management consulting company SavvY offers financial support to companies that are part of the investment portfolio of the investment fund Gazelle Finance Georgia in the areas of financial accounting and reporting. Mariam Koyava, the founder and managing partner of SavvY, mentioned to Bm.ge that the partnership with Gazelle Finance Georgia has been ongoing for 4 years. During this time, they have collaborated with up to 20 companies.
SavvY's role in this process includes organizing, correcting, and reporting the financial accounting of the companies in the portfolio. This ultimately empowers the companies by providing them with access to information about their financial results, use of financial products, and analytical tools.
According to Mariam Koyava, the availability of quality financial information for management to make decisions in Georgia remains a challenge. The value created by SavvY is already noticeable within a maximum of 2 months of cooperation with companies as simple tools for accessing financial information and analytics are introduced.
"This way, companies can have a more transparent financial picture. Financial information is presented in an acceptable and readable form, benefiting management in making various decisions and interested parties such as financial institutions, the state, private investors, and others. This is one of the significant outcomes of the partnership with Gazelle Finance Georgia," said Mariam Koyava.
The founder of SavvY stated that it is gratifying to see the results achieved through years of cooperation. However, the company's goals do not end here, as they plan to further develop the export of consulting services.
"As a consulting company, we are proud of this partnership with Gazelle Finance Georgia, one of the first investment funds supporting the development of small and medium-sized businesses, including in Georgia. One of SavvY's goals is to export consulting services. We are taking significant steps and proudly note that we can provide financial management and reporting services to investment companies outside of Georgia," explained Mariam Koyava.
Natia Janelidze, the executive director of Gazelle Finance Georgia, has stated that the cooperation with SavvY has produced tangible results for the investment fund. Specifically, the companies in which the fund has invested have significantly saved resources, improved financial accounting, and established standards-compliant financial reporting practices.
"Gazelle Finance Georgia also provides additional services to the companies in which it has invested. These services include financial accounting arrangement, compliance, and assurance. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often encounter problems due to the absence of a financial manager and non-compliance with financial data standards. This means that third parties cannot analyze financial data. The third-party can be state bodies for tax purposes or banks and other financial institutions. To address this, we have established a partnership and enlisted the help of SavvY to organize, correct, and report financial accounting for the companies we have financed. This has resulted in significant savings of resources for these companies and has improved and standardized their financial accounting processes. SavvY has met our requirements, and the cooperation is progressing effectively," Natia Janelidze said.
It should be noted that Gazelle Finance Georgia and SavvY cooperated within the framework of other projects too, including relocating Ukrainian companies to Georgia. SavvY has created a comprehensive business guide for companies interested in relocating their operations to Georgia. The guide covers a range of important topics including the country's economic indicators, legal and tax considerations, as well as practical steps for establishing a business in Georgia. This includes guidance on opening a bank account, obtaining residency, securing workspaces, addressing business media, and more.
Additionally, the project involved supporting selected companies in conducting feasibility studies in Georgia.
"In this phase of the project, we assisted around 7 companies in preparing business plans and feasibility studies. These documents enable the companies to effectively develop their business and oversee their international operations from Georgia. We are pleased to have contributed to the significant initiative of Gazelle Finance Georgia in supporting Ukrainian businesses. Collaborating with them provided us with valuable insights into what we can offer to international companies to make Georgia an attractive destination for them, which has been a valuable learning experience for us," stated Mariam Koyava.
Companies in which Gazelle Finance Georgia has invested cover a wide range of sectors. Therefore SavvY clearly gained experience working with various sectors through this partnership. According to Mariam Koyava, the company gained a lot of experience in terms of relations with funds as well.
"Gazelle Finance Georgia is among the first funds active in business financing in Georgia. We gained a lot of experience by working with them. The SavvY team observed how the fund manages its investment strategy and operations in markets such as Georgia," said Mariam Koyava.
"Each sector has its own specific characteristics that need to be considered in reporting, enabling us and other financial institutions to make informed analysis and decisions. Therefore, SavvY has successfully managed the financial reporting for companies requiring special attention due to sector-specific factors. As a result, we have continuously renewed our contract with SavvY for several years and are satisfied with our collaboration," explained Natia Janelidze.
As for the future partnership between SavvY and Gazelle Finance Georgia, Mariam Koyava mentioned that SavvY is prepared to maintain its partnership with Gazelle Finance Georgia, offering its services from Georgia in the countries that are of interest to the fund in the future.
Please be reminded about the completion of Gazelle Finance Georgia's investment mandate. However, efforts toward establishing the second fund are already underway, with $10 million secured for investment. While the fund's formation is still in progress, Natia Janelidze has indicated that SavvY is being considered as one of the potential partners post the establishment of the second fund.