How Georgia's Growth Hubs are rebuilding rural economies

By 2020, some 861,000 Georgians had emigrated, and a majority of young people say they would rather do the same. In this context, the question is not whether rural entrepreneurs work hard enough. It is whether the systems around them make staying and growing possible.

Davit Shamatava's story shows what changes when they do. He had left for Israel in search of work his hometown could not offer, while his father cooked in Russia. Unlike most who leave, Davit returned. Through Enterprise Georgia's Growth Hub in Zugdidi, he received tailored business advice and a small loan, and turned a simple eatery into a thriving sports bar with a full commercial kitchen. Within a year, revenues had doubled. The business now sustains Davit, his wife, and his father, and employs three others, with plans to expand.

Davit's trajectory is not an isolated success but the product of a system designed for scale. Enterprise Georgia's Growth Hubs bring diagnostics, professional advisory services, and access to subsidised finance under one institutional roof, reaching entrepreneurs in regions long underserved by commercial providers. Rather than one-off grants, the model builds the capabilities that let rural firms compete: stronger business practices, credible connections to lenders, and services delivered through a maturing market of local providers.

Supported by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation through the Rural SMEs Development Project, the network has grown from a single pilot to six operational hubs, with national coverage in sight. More than 1,100 loans have been disbursed and 570 businesses have accessed consulting services, evidence of a public institution delivering personalised support at a scale rarely achieved.

The significance reaches beyond any single enterprise. When rural economies offer a genuine path to growth, the calculation shifts, and building a future at home becomes possible.