Caucasus Business Week #307

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December 9, 2019 - www.cbw.ge

#307

WEEK

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Raging Inflation and Countermeasures

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Culinary Tourism Perspectives in Georgia

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Georgia to regain Hazelnut Export Positions after Defeating Marmorated Stinkbug

Rumsfeld Foundation Program and its Opportunities

Artificial Intelligence and Georgia

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Meet the Winner of Seedstars Georgia and Seedstars Kazakstan

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Exports of Wine and Spirits keep increasing

State Budget to spend 1.766 billion GEL to serve External Debts in 2020

According to the data of January-November 2019, 86 million bottles (0.75 liters) of wine have been exported to 53 countries around the world, which is 10% higher than the same period in 2018.

The state budget will spend 1.350 million GEL on serving external debts in 2020. The figure has increased by 30 million GEL compared to the previous budget bill following the GEL exchange.

EBRD to finance New Buses for Six Cities in Georgia Prices on Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages keep increasing in Georgia According to TBC Research, Price hikes are expected to slow down in the future. Prices on food and non-alcoholic beverages were up by 5.7% in 2018 compared to 2017, and grew further by 4.4% in 10 months of 2019.

The EBRD is extending a â‚Ź17 million sovereign loan to Georgia that will be on-lent to the Municipal Development Fund of Georgia (MDF) to purchase 175 new buses for six cities.

Flights between Georgia and Russia to resume Next Year Flights between Georgia and Russia will resume for the first half of 2020, Izvestia reports based on its own government source.

First Energy Exchange established in Georgia The Energy Exchange has been established in Georgia, according to Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development.

Arranging Ski Resort is planned in Racha A new ski resort may be arranged in Racha, Ambrolauri municipality.

Irina Milorava to head Georgian Energy Exchange

Direct Charter Flights in the Directions of Bangkok-Tbilisi-Bangkok

Irina Milorava, the former head of Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC) will lead the Georgian Energy Exchange.

Thailand air company, Thai AirAsia X starts to launch direct charter flights from Bangkok to Tbilisi.

Nepalese Government Delegation to study Georgia’s Energy Reform The first information meeting was held at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia today.

The Editorial Board Follows Press Freedom Principles Publisher: LLC Caucasian Business Week - CBW Director: Levan Beglarishvili WWW.CBW.GE Address: Aleksidze Street 1 Sales: Mob: +995 591 01 39 36 Email: caucasianbusiness@gmail.com Editor: Nutsa Galumashvili. Mobile phone: 595 380382 Copy Editor: Ellie Rambo Reporters: Nina Gomarteli; Mariam Kopaliani; Merab Janiashvili, Economic columnist: Andria Gvidiani; Technical Assistant: Giorgi Kheladze;

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Raging Inflation and Countermeasures “FDI inflow contraction, limited crediting in USD, and inefficient management of public expectations are key factors provoking the depreciation national currency”, Merab Kakulia, vice president of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) told BusinessPartner.

The Georgian economy has been growing at a higher-than-expected pace over the past few years. Crediting and external trade indicators have also improved in November; however, the inflationary burden was not alleviated.

The figure is expected to hit 7.2% by the end of 2019, according to forecasts by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The extreme depreciation of the GEL has deepened inflationary trends. It is a very primitive approach that would lead you to assert that the GEL has devaluated more than the fundamental factors have preconditioned, Kakulia noted.

“Extreme depreciation of the GEL exchange rate has provoked an extreme rise in prices.

I have released many statements that our authorities show a very primitive and unwise attitude

regarding the GEL exchange rate.

For example, we assert that the fundamental factors are healthy, while the current account deficit is the key fundamental component for the exchange rate formation. At the same time, we have confirmed that the current account deficit has shrunk.

A narrowing current account deficit has decreased capital inflows, foreign currency inflows. I mean, foreign direct investments, first of all. We should not forget that over the past few years, major infrastructural transit projects such as the construction of gas pipelines used to determine the FDI dynamics. These projects have been completed. We expect no similar major projects to start in the near future. Therefore, we will not receive the same volume of foreign direct investments if we do not take these decisions, and these decisions do not give an immediate effect. This is a very fundamental factor that may become one of the primary reasons for exchange rate devaluation”, Kakulia explained.

Limited crediting in USD has become one of the key factors

resulting in GEL depreciation. The limited crediting in USD was driven by the Larization program, Kakulia added.

“Nobody objects to Larization.

I have always backed this program, but experience across the world shows that prohibitions cannot bring desirable effects. The Larization program has decreased crediting in foreign currencies.

Foreign currency denominated crediting generates serious demand for the national currency. Consequently, in due time this program has brought about positive effect for the GEL exchange rate; that is, a fundamental factor for FDI inflows was shut off, and USD supply was also put on hiatus.

This second factor may not be behind the GEL depreciation process, but it has an important effect in combination with declining FDI inflows, and the exchange rate devaluation expectations.

The more the exchange rate falls, the higher expectations for its decline, and it is not a secret that we have had problems with management, not only now, but we had this problem in the past as well. Inefficient management of these expectations may be one of the reasons behind the current deprecation”, Kakulia explained, and added that if the exchange rate keeps declining, naturally, inflation will stop.

While maintaining the current exchange rate, the downward trend’s effect on price dynamics will shrink, he noted.

The GEL may strengthen, but not in the forecast scales. The National Bank holds certain instruments, including the monetary policy rate that the regulator raised three times over the past months, Kakulia noted.

“I believe the NBG will continue this policy. Anyway, this policy will be continued until the emergence of an inflation rate slowdown. Naturally, this will have a negative effect on economic growth; however, there are factors balancing this out, including growth in credit, including on infrastructure projects. These two factors may somehow negate the negative effects from raising the interest rate”, Kakulia said.

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Georgia to regain Hazelnut Export Positions after Defeating Marmorated Stinkbug

Georgia aspires to regain and improve hazelnut export positions that it had before appearance of marmorated stinkbug. The country makes focus on European market.

In his interview for the Caucasus Business Week (CBW) Aleksandre Motserelia, the Samegrelo Zemo Svaneti Governor, explains that in 2018 Georgia exported about 6000 tons of shelled hazelnut. Moreover, in 2018 Georgia picked 18 000 tons of harvest, while in 2019 the harvest exceeded 40 000 tons and this is a huge progress, the State Governor noted. „Georgia harvested about 70 000 tons a year before appearance of marmorated stinkbug and other diseases that damaged the plantations.

These problems arose over the past 3 years.

We received the worst harvest in 2018 in terms of quality and quantity. The hazelnut harvest was so bad that the price of unshelled hazelnut ranged form 0.80 GEL to 1.20 GEL. Today the situation has changed and the price of one kilogram of hazelnut makes up 7-8 GEL. The quality characteristics have essentially improved thanks to proper and valuable treatment. I mean the Agriculture Ministry measures against marmorated stinkbug. It should be also noted that the Government cannot enter personal gardens and carry out those agriculture procedures that farmers should do themselves.

Therefore, the Government fights against marmorated

stinkbug on peripheries and it has tried to involve local residents in countermeasure activities”, Motserelia noted.

The Governor’s decree on minimizing the 2019 hazelnut harvest losses calls for informing local residents on doorto-door basis and engaging them in all countermeasure activities. In this case, the program was launched on basis of the Association of Hazelnut Growers, he explained.

This Association had a small model of how farmers could receive guaranteed high-quality hazelnut after completion of all countermeasures and how to receive real incomes.

Consequently, all instances were involved in this process, Motserelia noted.

“In the aftermath of these efforts, the number of the Association members rose to 15 000 farmers from 1200 (Samegrelo, Guria Regions). The association membership is free of charge. Soil analysis, agro consultation services are also free of charge. It should be noted that member farmers are able to buy pesticides under installment loan schemes and implement due countermeasures in early phase”, Motserelia noted.

The Government has trained 60 agribusiness consultants and they were assigned to groups of farmers. Moreover, the Government has bought 2000 spray devices and transmitted them to groups of farmers free of charge, Motserelia pointed out.

The Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti State Governor expects that in the 2019 season the Association of Hazelnut Growers exports will bring incomes of 60-70 million USD.

Hazelnut harvest has been already stored. This year we have managed to neutralize marmorated stinkbug. The quality has improved 3-4 times and the product prices have also essentially increased, Motserelia noted.

Giorgi Todua, head of Georgian Association of Hazelnut Growers explains that Georgia has the potential to double hazelnut production.

Today, 1 ton of hazelnut is harvested on 1-hectare land, while the harvest may increase to 2 tons thanks to better planning and treatment, he said.

“If we manage to grow the number of the association members to 30 000 farmers, we will attain all goals”, Todua noted. Joint efforts by the Authorities, the association and farmers will advance the hazelnut sector. In this respect we should provide valuable information coverage for our population and hold practical works on local level.

The Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Governor has personally taken part in these works and door-to-door visits, Todua said.

We remind you that starting 2017 hazelnut harvest and exports extremely declined after marmorated stinkbug and other fungus disease were spread in western regions of Georgia.

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Tamar Kalandarishvili: "As Technological changes Advance, Challenges increase" Interview with Head of Public Relations and Marketing at Insurance Company Euroins Georgia, Tamar Kalandarishvili.

Tell us about how you got into the field of marketing, and what factors played an important role in choosing this profession?

I’ve disliked monotony since childhood, and was always in search of something new. I think for people working in marketing, this is a very important feature of the business. I studied finance at university. I was 19 years old when I applied for the position of Assistant Head of Marketing at the company. I decided to try my luck. You can say that I was in the right place at the right time. My then-boss played a big role in choosing my profession, and in general making me a professional. At the time, it seemed to me to be very tough, but I soon realized that he just wanted me to learn a lot. To this day, I am very grateful to this person, and often say so.

An important factor in my choice of marketing was that one has to constantly be in tune, if you lose your grip, at least for a second, you will definitely be far behind others. Diversity, creativity, news - these are all things that I can't imagine myself in any other field. Every morning I wake up with new ideas, and I believe I can do anything.

What challenges do you face as a leader in marketing, during a time of technological change?

I have been in marketing for the past ten years, and as technology advances, the challenges are increasing. You have to create something new, otherwise the customer will not be surprised.

You need to know exactly what he needs today and deliver it today, in a very "beautiful package". We are now in the world of digital technology, which simplifies everything for the consumer, and vice versa for the supplier.

Competition between companies is increasing day by day, and it can be safely asserted that Euroins Insurance Company will never fall behind.

What has changed in the field in the last 5 years, and what changes are expected?

Much has changed in the field of marketing over the last 5 years, and we should expect even more changes. 5 years ago, TV advertisement was relevant, but nowadays, we are all switching to digital. Social media has become one of the most active means of promoting a product.

Talking about insurance, specifically, our field was fresh meat for the population about 10 years ago, but today everything is the opposite.

The consumer is already well-versed in the insurance industry, so it is important to create a sense of long-term co-operation, reliability and security. Euroins Insurance Company is staffed by highly qualified personnel, with over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry. We put customers first, and this is why the company has grown by 120% over the last year.

We have big plans ahead of us, and we are confident that we will succeed together.

What do you think are the most important qualities a marketing manager should have, and what is his or her role in the organization in general?

I think the role of the marketing manager in the organization is very big. It is a kind of link be-

tween all employees. Our department primarily cares about employees.

The marketing manager must, first of all, be creative. They must be able to see a small idea, flap their wings, and make it genius. You have to be patient, no one is faultless, you may fail several times, but you should definitely try again, be able to quickly detect and correct weak spots, and most importantly not be afraid to break boundaries.

What do you do to keep the organization from falling behind on new trends, and keep applying innovative approaches to marketing?

Our marketing team continually strives to deliver ideas and conceptions, constantly learning, researching the market, tracking technological changes, trends, understanding what the customer wants. Most importantly, we are never afraid to take risks; it is impossible to succeed without this,, we are not afraid of failure, difficulties,on the contrary, it aggravates our desire to move forward. A postponed case is not a case anymore, we need to start action today, if we want to make it work.

What’s your organization’s business model, in terms of marketing?

Euroins Insurance Georgia is a member of Euroins Insurance Group, which has over 15 years of market experience. This holding is present in 16 countries, worldwide, and employs over 2,000 people. Euroins Georgia is focused on customers of all ages and incomes, and offers up to 15 types of insurance products, and up to 50 combinations of them. Reliable partnerships, unique experience working with corporate

and retail clients, technological readiness for innovation, expedited procedures - these are the factors that have made our marketplace worthwhile.

One word that describes your job.

It is very difficult to describe in one word, I would probably say the word "innovation" because to be successful and irreplaceable you have to be different from others.

The most useful advice you’ve ever received in your life?

If I have achieved anything today, my parents have a great contribution to it, who have devoted their efforts to my education and my personal growth. From childhood, I was told that I should never give up, and that everything would work out. I still follow this advice, and it helps me with every step of my life.

Think of a person who inspires you professionally.

It is difficult to separate any one particular person. I’m inspired by people who didn't give in to failure and ultimately succeeded, for example, Steven Spielberg, who succeeded despite many attempts at the University of the Arts, Bill Gates, one of the richest people in the world today, but had a few failed business ventures in the past. My favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh, who only sold one painting before his death.

If he’d given up because of this, we would not be able to enjoy his hundreds of works of art today.

Culinary Tourism Perspectives in Georgia

Gastronomy tourism is a good opportunity for Georgia to attract high-paying tourists to the country. Keti Kvichidze, head of the Culinary Expedition and brand chef Goga Maisuradze have talked about these issues on the TV Program Business Partner.

The Georgian culinary tourism sector has huge opportunities for development, to find its special niche among the world’s exotic cuisines. Georgian culinary experts have already revitalized and rebranded 25 forgotten dishes in Georgia. They have looked for recipes for these dishes in the various regions and municipalities of Georgia.

Georgian chefs have brought back 25 dishes from the mountainous regions of Georgia. Visual details were corrected, while the essential flavors were maintained.

Georgian culinary tourism should follow this strategy to gain a place among the world’s leading exotic cuisines.

To this end, we have found traditional dishes in highland regions and reshaped them with modern visual details, Goga Maisuradze said.

“Keti has found a menu of old traditional dishes from the mountainous regions. We decided to reshape these traditional tastes with new visuals. Finally, we have a beautiful aesthetic. Traditionally, mountainous dishes are rich, with melted butter or pork fat; they are very delicious, but if we introduce these dishes with their old, traditional appearances to a Tbilisi-based restaurants, fewer clients will be interested in them. Therefore, new, techniques and concepts are required. We should balance them, give a new visual to old dishes. We have succeeded in this work. This is how we develop Georgian cuisine; through rebranding them. We have restored and rebranded 25 dishes”, Goga Maisuradze noted.

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We have visited every corner of Georgia, seeking traditional dishes, from Hereti to Lazeti, and the new menu will be introduced to visitors of a Gudauri-based hotel on December 15, Keti Kvichidze noted.

Over the past 2-3 years, Georgian cuisine actively competes with the world’s leading cuisines, and we should unite our efforts to successfully finish this process, and popularize Georgian cuisine beyond the Post-Communist space, as well, she noted.

To this end, we should establish many culinary schools and academies, upgrade our level of education, and popularize our cuisine, Keti Kvichidze said.

“It is important to hold as many culinary festivals as possible, to invite foreign chefs, and arrange their master classes. They know techniques that remain unknown to us at this stage. I believe that Georgian should take a place among the world’s leading cuisines. Our traditional ingredients are very flavorful,l and we have been developing this sector rapidly. I have been working in the business of restaurants for 15 years, and this segment has become huge over the past 3 years. Education and popularization remain key problems. We should implement many marketing campaigns and increase our market visibility. The whole industry should be united to develop a joint product. It would be wonderful if the business sector joins in these efforts to revitalize forgotten dishes. We will make rapid progress if we show more creativity, and develop these concepts well”, Keti Kvichidze explained.

In response to the question of whether Georgian cuisine is capable of competing with the world’s leading cuisines, Goga Maisuradze explained that over the past 2-3 years Georgian gastronomy has reached new heights.

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Rumsfeld Fellowship Program – Leadership Lessons for Young Leaders committed to making a Difference The Rumsfeld Fellowship program is an innovative exchange program for young leaders from Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Mongolia and Afghanistan. Founded in 2007, the foundation has gathered 231 fellows with various professional backgrounds. According to the director of Rumsfeld Fellowship Program, David Soumbadze the final aim of the program, is to develop regional relationships and foster a better understanding and build stronger relations between the United States and the countries of the CAMCA region.

An example of how the program is having a rapid and vital impact is that, at the last session, the fellows came up with an initiative to further explore the possibility of a more extensive cooperation among CAMCA countries, and prepare a special business platform which will focus on trade and development

David Soumbadze with Former U.S President George W. Bush David Soumbadze Director of the Rumsfeld Fellowship Program, former senior Georgian diplomat in Washington, D.C. David, Could you please tell us about the Rumsfeld Fellowship Program? what is the main goal of the fellowship and the story behind it?

The RUMSFELD FELLOWSHIP is an innovative program for young, rising leaders from Central Asia, the Caucasus, Afghanistan and Mongolia, initiated by former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, now President of the Rumsfeld Foundation, which he established with his wife, Joyce Rumsfeld, after leaving the Pentagon in 2007, along with Dr. Frederick Starr, world renowned expert of Central Asia, now Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at the American Foreign Policy Council. I am privileged to have been involved in the shaping and developing of this successful program since its inception in 2008.

The Rumsfeld Fellowship Program brings a small group of talented fellows from the region to Washington, D.C. twice a year for a period of six weeks. As of today, after 23 successful fellowship sessions, 231 Fellows have graduated from the Program.

Unlike other exchange programs, where professionals from area focused sector travel to the United States to meet mainly with their colleagues and counterparts, the Rumsfeld Fellowship brings together participants from diverse educational and professional backgrounds (civil servants, diplomats, businessmen, experts, academics, military personnel, journalists, representatives of international organizations, etc.) who have an interest in learning about leadership, policy making and free enterprise in the United States, as well as have an interest in promoting increased regional cooperation throughout Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The Program consists of a series of highlevel meetings during which Fellows have an opportunity to engage and interact with top policy-makers, business leaders, journalists, academics, military leaders, advocacy groups, non-governmental organizations and regional experts, exposing them to inside perspectives on how opinion making, decision making, policy making and policy implementation processes work in Washington, D.C. The Program also

incorporates opportunities for professional development and networking. As part of the Fellowship, Fellows also spend one week of the Program traveling to two additional U.S. cities for meetings with local businesses and government representatives, providing them with insights into the United States beyond Washington, D.C. Over the years different groups have met with notable world leaders including former President of the United States George W. Bush; former Vice President of the United States Richard Cheney; former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich; former Prime Minister of Spain Jose Maria Aznar; representatives of the U.S. Administration, including the Trump Administration’s Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, former National Security Adviser John Bolton; numerous U.S. Senators and Congressmen, Supreme Court Justices, top U.S. military leadership; former Secretaries of Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Labor and Transportation; former National Security Advisers, Directors of CIA and Presidents of the World Bank; American business executives; renowned political scientists and economists; world-class experts and scholars from thinks tanks and universities; representatives of the media; seasoned diplomats and many more.

At the end of the Program the Fellows have a group presentation on a topic of their choice at a Central Asia-Caucasus Institute public forum, which serves as a platform for the Fellows to present their thoughts and engage with representatives from local embassies, businesses, universities, media and others interested in the region.

Besides providing the Fellows an opportunity to better understand how the U.S. public and private sectors work, another goal of the program is to foster better understanding and build stronger relations between the United States and countries of the region, as well as among the people of the countries of the region. That final aim - developing regional relationships - is what has become the biggest asset of the program today. The Program’s alumni network has created a cohort of accomplished professionals driven to contribute to development, prosperity and cooperation in the region and committed to sharing ideas, knowledge, expertise and inspiration across Central Asia, the Caucasus, Afghanistan and Mongolia.

discussions and those who are interested to attend can contact me or the Rumsfeld Georgian alumni for more details.

How would you evaluate the program? Which was the most interesting part of the fellowship program? Please describe the fellowship program in one sentence.

Indeed. After five years of successful Fellowship sessions and a growing number of alumni, the Rumsfeld Foundation and Central AsiaCaucasus Institute began hosting regional alumni gatherings. The first alumni reunion was held in Batumi, Georgia in 2012 and was so successful that it was decided to hold them on annual basis. In 2014, building upon the annual alumni gatherings, the Fellowship alumni, in collaboration with the Foundation and the Institute, established the CAMCA (Central Asia-Mongolia-Caucasus-Afghanistan) Regional Forum to engage with a broader international audience invested in the future of the region.

To date, six CAMCA Regional Forums have been organized in different host countries across the region, including Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Georgia, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

Over the years the CAMCA Forum has featured more than 200 speakers and welcomed hundreds of participants representing over 25 countries across the globe from America to Europe to Asia.

The mission of the CAMCA Regional Forum is to serve as a platform to connect top professionals for region-wide discussions on means of advancing economic growth and social development as well as business and investment opportunities in Greater Central Asia. The Forum is a premier convening of rising leaders from all sectors of the 10 countries of the region, providing the opportunity for attendees to interact with international leaders, stakeholders, policymakers, researchers, private sector executives and civil society representatives.

Among previous keynote speakers were Ambassador James Woolsey, former Director of the CIA; Ambassador Paul Wolfowitz, former President of the World Bank; Dr. Arthur Laffer, world renowned economist and the author of “the Laffer curve;” and many others. Some even call this Forum an emerging “Regional Davos.”

At the most recent 2019 CAMCA Regional Forum in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, more than 300 Rumsfeld Fellowship alumni and guests from 20 countries discussed ongoing economic, political and social developments in the region and beyond. Discussion topics included regional connectivity; transport, transit and trade; regional finance; entrepreneurship and business opportunities; digital transformation; education; tourism and more.

The next CAMCA Regional Forum will be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on June 18-19, 2020. The theme of Forum discussions will be “The Arc of Modernization: National, Regional and Global Trends.” Up to 400 participants, including numerous Rumsfeld Fellowship alumni, are expected to participate in these two days of

Rusudan Mamatsashvili at United States Senate Rusudan Mamatsashvili, Deputy Director of National Tourism Administration How would you describe the current tourism trends in the CAMCA region? What should be done to promote and develop intercultural relations among CAMCA countries?

Tourism could become one of the major contributors to economic growth, job creation, and preservation of culture for CAMCA countries. The region has unparalleled tourist potential that is yet to be discovered by travellers searching for new and authentic experiences. The industry is starting to develop fast in most of CAMCA countries. Currently, Georgia is leading the game with 8.7 million international travellers and USD 3.2 billion in receipts. The CAMCA region is well-positioned to benefit from such tourism trends as growing interest towards cultural tourism, rising demand on culinary trips, increasing number of young travellers and last but not least, Asia becoming one of the fastest-growing outbound regions.

To make the most of these possibilities, the CAMCA countries could join forces to leverage from each other via cooperating in different directions such as tourism product marketing, travel facilitation, destination management and workforce development.

The CAMCA platform has an unprecedented potential to be used as a means for the development of tourism sector, economic growth and promotion of intercultural dialogue. With the active involvement of the relevant public, private and non-governmental representatives of CAMCA network, relations between the countries could be taken to a whole new level.

Nona Mamulashvili, founder of Caucasus Economic Institute and President of Swiss Chamber of Commerce Ms. Mamulashvili, could you please share with us some figures about intra-regional trade within the CAMCA Region? How would you assess the economic potential of the CAMCA region and could you please briefly tell us about your further plans?

It is worth to be mentioned, that the total trade9 December 9, 2019 #3076 of CAMCA countries in 2018 comprised $10.1bn, up by 7.4 times since 2000. The top export products are: mineral fuel, gold, cotton, coal/ copper, iron/steel, chemicals, fruits and nuts.

Despite the gradual growth since 2000, the intraregional partnership needs more comprehensive analysis and approach, as the CAMCA region is more than 100 million population market with significant potential of emerging opportunities for regional cooperation. Together with the fellows from CAMCA region we have decided, that in the upcoming period, we will be working actively with relevant public and private institutions, as well as leading international organizations to identify the existing opportunities and challenges in the CAMCA region and establish a business platform, that will aim to advance regional sustainable economic growth and development.

At the final stage of the program, our group of fellows came up with the initiative to further explore the possibilities of closer and more extensive cooperation among CAMCA countries. We have agreed, that there is a need to establish the business platform that will be focused on strengthening the economic and trade relations among CAMCA countries. The Business Platform will connect business leaders, companies, and services within the CAMCA region in a broad network that can provide mutual support for business development, encourage cross-regional initiatives, articulate issues that are common to CAMCA’s growing business elite, and provide a focusing lens for these issues on local governments while simultaneously stimulating the emergence of a common CAMCA “voice” for business that magnifies the benefits of regional cooperation and coordination. further details regarding the business platform will be announced in early 2020.

Nona Mamulashvili with Wyoming’s lone member of Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives Liz Cherney

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Artificial Intelligence and Georgia Simultaneously with attracting investments to the education sector, the region’s first AI at the University of Georgia will launch operation in the near future on the campus of Business and Technology University.

The Business and Technology University plans to carry out this large-scale project in partnership with the companies HP and Microsoft.

Mikheil Batiashvili, head of the supervisory board of the Business and Technology University, talks about the project’s details on the TV ProgramBusiness Partner.

This sector is one of the most rapidly growing segments in Georgia, in terms of the technology sector. Today, innovative technologies penetrate every field, including education, healthcare, agriculture, the power sector. All of these fields are rapidly growing. In the healthcare sector, AI is able to participate as an assistant to a doctor and as a consultant able

to make a much better diagnosis, Mikheil Batiashvili noted.

‘This is one of the most rapidly growing fields, anywhere in the world. It is of vital importance for Georgia to develop this field.

Everything starts with education, because we need a professional staff, first of all, because it is impossible to develop this sector without modern knowledge.

The engagement of international partners and the employment of their experience is genuinely very important. We are happy that, on December 4th, the world renowned company unveiled the region’s most powerful computer laboratory at the Business and Technology University. The working capacity of this laboratory is equal to about 10,000 computers”, Mikheil Batiashvili said.

In response to the question of whether the University is capable of meeting the international market’s needs, Batiashvili stressed that the engagement of

international partners is of vital importance in this respect.

We will implement new programs at a laboratory that opened on December 4, Batiashvili explained.

“We will begin a doctoral program in 2021. Besides this program, we will ensure information coverage to make this field visible to as many people as possible. The main thing is that we should implement real and efficient projects”, Batiashvili pointed out.

The first research project was carried out together with Stanford University, and this project has practically been.

Moreover, one of the key projects will be dedicated on how to employ technologies in the field of education. We should strive towards Georgia appearing on the map as a country with the most high-technology projects, and projects engaged in related research activities, Mikheil Batiashvili noted.

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Meet the Winner of Seedstars Georgia and Seedstars Kazakstan Interview with Vato Veliashvili, CEO of Lingwing Lingwing is the first Georgian online platform offering an efficient method to learn a foreign language. The company has recently become the winner of Seedstars Georgia and Seedstars Kazakhstan.

Lingwing is a place to be if one needs an efficient way to learn a language. How did you come up with the idea, which factor helped you develop your company?

The idea came from our problem of learning a language. I was studying language in school, in university, which had hundreds of online resources, but none of them helped me to speak the language, and the problem was not having enough practice. Only theories, grammar, and passive learning. We’ve changed that, and made Lingwing far more natural and far more effective by giving users the ability to practice, practice by speaking, chatting and listening.

That was the key factor that helped us develop our company’s insider problem of the user. By solving our problems, we solved the problems of thousands of people. We constantly improve our product by talking to and getting feedback from our users.

How did the public react to the appearance of your brand, and who is your target group?

We have a couple of target groups, because everyone needs language. There are some fields that we don’t touch. Very advanced courses, like C1 and C2, we aren’t going to add these levels. Also, we don’t cover ILTS and TOEFL preparation courses, but we are planning to.

And our target group isn’t children up to 8 years old. Our target groups are children who are preparing for national exams, students, people who need a language for their career, ex-pats

and tourists. We have different approaches when we communicate to them, and we have a very high number of success stories in each case. We also really want to start ESP (English for specific purposes) courses like business, tourism, law, medical, etc. Overall, I think the feedback that we have from our users and their satisfaction even exceeded our expectations, they just love learning on Lingwing.

Who’s your team, and what’s your work process like?

Our team is very international, we are about 20 people around Georgia, but not all of them are Georgians; we have British, American, Armenian, and Russian team members, and we are ready to accept new nationalities as well, hence we know where to learn a new language.

The work process is really exciting and along with quite difficult as well. We have product developers, websites, mobile apps, chatbots, content creators, and a marketing team. Most of the people are involved in content creation, we have local language experts, then it’s checked by native language speakers, and then it’s dubbed by native speakers. It’s really good that such a small team can create such big things, that will be used by millions of people.

That’s great news! You’re the winner of Seedstars Georgia and Kazakhstan. What’s the innovation you bring that determined your success?

It was fascinating for me to win competitions. I love Seedstars, and the people who work at that company, I think they’re doing a great job. They aim to have an impact, and our project fits their goals quite well. Besides, our innovation and a different approach to teaching languages fits with them. We all know that innovation alone is not enough and passion, determination, the team, they are the most important things that

investors and juries are looking at, so there is no one solution that’s bringing success.

What are the advantages of doing business in Georgia? Do you think Tbilisi is becoming a hub for startups?

Recently, we had about 3 big summits and business forums held in Georgia. It was not happening years ago. Also, some projects raised a considerable amount of money. I think it might become a hub very soon, but still, we need to do more for that. As an advantage, I would say the ease of doing business, the bank system, the fact that it’s a cheap country, has a good, young workforce. Also, networking is very easy at the supra table, or just with Georgian wine. These traditional things are also playing a good role in the development of the startup ecosystem in Georgia, because a lot of people are visiting our country because of our unique culture and nature.

What excites you the most right now, and what do you see as your next step?

I’m excited, and can’t wait to enter new countries. We already started to move things forward, and we have content for many countries. For the next year, we start spreading our product in new markets. The demand is huge, and our platform is unique for that underserved market. Also, next year we are raising new investments for product development, and entering new countries.

We are making a full redesign of a platform that will be the first in the world. You will see how Lingwing will go from being a Georgian company to a global enterprise. Even though we are a leading company in Georgia, we still need to change many things to compete on a global scale.

By Nina Gomarteli

12 December 9, 2019 #307