The development of knowledge-based, innovative economy is of special importance for our country’s progress, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated in his speech at today’s event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Innovation and Technology Agency.

The Head of Government wished the agency a happy anniversary and emphasized the exceptional importance of its work for the shaping of Georgia’s innovative ecosystem.

“The outcomes of the agency’s 10 years of work are impressive. Under the agency’s programs, more than 200 innovative startups with potential of global magnitude have received about 38 million GEL in financing. Consequently, the beneficiaries have generated half a billion GEL in private financial profits and, more importantly, created 3,000 new jobs. With the agency’s support, 500 Global, one of the world’s three top seed accelerators, has entered Georgia. The international-level acceleration program implemented by 500 Global engages international startups alongside their Georgian counterparts. This fact speaks to the role of Georgia as a regional hub for innovation. As a result of the acceleration program, the first private venture fund with 20 million USD in capital was created in Georgia in 2022. Nine techno parks have been established across Georgia to assist, under one roof, citizens with innovative ideas in implementing various projects.

New initiatives are vitally important for the further development of the innovative ecosystem.

Georgia defines the status of an innovative startup, and companies with this status will be exempt from taxes in the course of three years. The relevant bill will be initiated by the Government of Georgia in the nearest future. To maximally tap into the global competitiveness of Georgia’s economy and the potential of science, three key technological directions will be defined for the country. Firstly, it is impossible in today"s world to claim an honorable place in global competition without developing artificial intelligence. In response to this new reality, a special scientific group will be created to work on the introduction of AI into the directions of education, healthcare, agriculture, and others. The next key direction involves phages. As you know, Georgia is the pioneer in these technologies, and the country has almost a century of experience in studying phages. Today, as the global demand for phages is growing considerably, Georgia can offer the world significant technological products in this direction. And lastly, agro-technologies: most of Georgia’s population is involved in the agricultural sector. The agency seeks to create new scientific-technological products designed to assist Georgian farmers in enhancing their productivity and competitiveness”, - said the Prime Minister.

He thanked the agency’s management and each employee for their work, also pointing out that the Government of Georgia will continue supporting their initiatives.