EBRD invested a total of €210 million in Georgia in 2023

• EBRD invested a total of €210 million in Georgia in 2023
• Bank’s focus remains on providing support to the private sector
• EBRD helped to promote a more inclusive, greener and more digitalised economy

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) supported Georgia’s economy with investments totalling €210 million in 2023, helping to improve healthcare, modernise municipal infrastructure and finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through credit lines to local banks and trade financing. The Bank continued to focus on the private sector, which accounted for 84 per cent of its investments in the country in 2023.

Alkis Vryenios Drakinos, EBRD Regional Director for the Caucasus, said: “We have continued supporting our clients in building an inclusive, green and more digitalised economy. Our support included enhancing Georgia’s capital market by investing in bonds issued by local enterprises, funding local companies through partner banks with additional incentive grants from the European Union (EU) and facilitating trade. We also invested in municipal infrastructure in Tbilisi and the Adjara region, supported the healthcare sector, scaled up gender and inclusion activities, and worked with our clients to create access to jobs and services. The Bank also enhanced its policy dialogue activities through the Investors Council platform, supporting key reforms.”

A highlight of 2023 was the rehabilitation of the solid-waste-treatment and disposal facilities in the Adjara region. This project helped stop waste from being disposed of at existing dumpsites in Kobuleti and Batumi, with the latter being the largest and most dangerous polluter in Georgia and having an impact on the whole region’s ecosystem. The project was co-funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and supported by the Sustainable Infrastructure Fund.

The Bank continued to promote capital market development by investing in a sustainability-linked bond issued by Georgia Capital, the first of its kind to be issued in the Caucasus. The EBRD also expanded its cooperation with its long-standing partner TBC Bank to support the bank’s alignment with the Paris Agreement by implementing greater climate governance and climate risk management. TBC is the first EBRD partner bank in the Caucasus region to commit to a multi-year cooperation with the Bank to ensure that its financial flows become aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The Bank continued to support Georgia’s active trade activities with €70.5 million worth of trade finance transactions under its Trade Facilitation Programme, in partnership with two local partner banks.

For a sustainable and inclusive economy, small businesses need to thrive, so the EBRD increased SME support by providing €139 million in loans to commercial banks for on-lending to local businesses.

The Bank also provided business advice to local micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through 65 advisory and consultancy projects to help companies expand and improve their performance in times of crisis. It placed emphasis on women-led or women-owned companies, training women entrepreneurs and managers.

The Bank continued to offer consultancy services designed to help local SMEs with digital transformation, along with regular advisory assistance and its Women in Business programme funded by the EU, South Korea and Sweden. 

Alongside its investments, the EBRD continued to engage in policy dialogue. It played a key role in leading private- and public-sector dialogue through the Investors Council platform. It also provided technical assistance, enabling the government to realise its digital, inclusive, and green agenda.

In line with the Bank’s gender and inclusion strategies, the EBRD kept up efforts to promote gender inclusion in its projects, creating equal opportunities for men, women and young people, especially in rural areas.

Overall, the EBRD’s green financing in Georgia accounted for 37 per cent of its total investment volume in the country for 2023. The cumulative number of Bank projects in Georgia reached 290, with overall investments to date totalling nearly €5 billion, 83 per cent of which were in the private sector.