The second grant contest announced within the frames of the SBDP3 has been completed. Small Business Development Project 3 is initiated and financed by the BP and its partners in Georgia Pipeline Company. The objective of the project is deepening positive relations between BP and communities along the WREP by promoting of establishment and development of microbusinesses. 83 people passed to the next stage after the review of the applications, they were invited to the business planning training the purpose of which was to equip them with the knowledge sufficient for independent developing of business plans, for analyzing their products, target markets, risks, making financial projections etc. 72 business plans were submitted in total after completing of the business planning training 64 out of which were for starting a business and 8 for extension.
The competitive selection process consisted of three stages: initial review, site visit and interview with the applicants and business plan presentation. The objective of such a thorough consideration was not only identifying the best business plans, but also assessment of the applicants’ existing conditions, capacity and motivation. Finally 18 microbusinesses were selected for funding (16 startups and 2 existing businesses) two of which are women and three young people under the age of 35.
At the end of May the grant contracts were signed with the winning contestants for which they had previously submitted necessary documentation. For the moment almost all they received funding, purchased and delivered the requested capital assets to their business spots. Two remaining beneficiaries will be funded in September when they have planned their purchases. As in the course of the previous grant competitions the mandatory obligation was beneficiary’s co-finance equaled to at least 30% of the total investment budget.
I did not think that I could win the grant contest, the competition was too high. I want to say big thanks to BP and CTC since without your help I could hardly establish the mill – says Elza Sutidze, nice young lady from Sveri village of Chiatura municipality. Elza is the only daughter of her parents and her strong desire is to regenerate the family business existed long ago. There is a high demand for grinding maize not only in Sveri but also in three neighboring villages, people will not have to go far to grind their corn, – says she and continues. But equally important for me was business plan training as it showed me what the economic result of my work would be and it even more confirmed my belief in feasibility of my business idea.
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