Georgia’s economic growth to date has not created high-value employment opportunities for the majority of its citizens, hampering the country’s development toward self-reliance. Under its 2020-2025 CDCS, USAID will transition from entry-level economic capacity building efforts that have helped lay the foundations of Georgia’s market-based, Western-oriented economy to enterprise-level engagement efforts. This transition will maximize the benefits of Georgia’s Western orientation through two complementary approaches: (a) empowering the country to take the most difficult steps toward the complete implementation of Euro-Atlantic-oriented economic reforms; and (b) building the competitiveness of key sectors to create high-value employment opportunities and ensuring that Georgian firms have secure access to high-value markets, diverse sources of investment, sustainably-managed natural resources, and an appropriately-skilled workforce.

Current programs:

The USAID Agriculture Program
September 2018 - September 2023
Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA)
The USAID Agriculture Program co-invests with key Government ministries, farmers, and food processors to increase production capacity, efficiency, and compliance with international standards of quality. The program targets support toward agricultural value chains that show the most potential to generate revenues and create high-value jobs in rural Georgia, including the production and processing of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other horticulture products. USAID assistance enables producers and processors to add value through modern production, processing, storage, and distribution techniques. 

The USAID Economic Security Program
April 2019 - April 2024
DAI Global
The USAID Economic Security Program provides technical assistance and cost‐share grants to enhance growth and productivity in the four target sectors. This assistance helps develop value chains, enhances the viability of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), supports a more skilled workforce, and facilitates public-private partnerships. The program leverages local resources and facilitates collaboration between Government and the private sector to help Georgia build the capacity to plan, finance, and implement its own solutions to development challenges.  Over five years, it aims to help create roughly 4,000 new jobs, increase total sales of assisted enterprises by $50 million, and leverage $15 million in investment through new partnerships.

The USAID Economic Governance Program
December 2019 - December 2024
Deloitte
www.deloitte.com
The USAID Economic Governance Program is designed to help Georgia translate its favorable business climate into productivity-enhancing investment that creates well-paying jobs and lays the foundation for inclusive economic growth. USAID assistance aims to close gaps in the passage, implementation, and enforcement of regulations, thereby enabling the private sector to fully realize Georgia’s economic potential. The program involves providing technical assistance to the Government of Georgia to ensure evidence-based policymaking that accounts for the needs of all stakeholders. USAID facilitates public-private dialogue to ensure that regulations are well-suited to the conditions of Georgia’s private sector. The Economic Governance program reflects USAID’s emphasis on building the capacity of business associations and civil society to drive Georgia’s reform processes, supporting them to perform research and advocacy functions.

Georgia Hazelnut Improvement Project (G-HIP)
December 2015 – December 2020
Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA)
USAID’s Georgia Hazelnut Improvement Project supports capacity building among Georgia’s hazelnut producers by leveraging financial support from the American people and technical expertise from the global confectionery company Ferrero. A public-private partnership, the program aims to increase the quality and quantity of Georgian hazelnut production, improve processing capabilities, and establish market linkages to allow local growers to reach lucrative end markets. The project involves partnering with hazelnut sector associations to benefit more than 14,000 hazelnut growers and 40 processing enterprises.

Supporting Youth and Women Entrepreneurship in Georgia (YES-Georgia) 
September 2015 - February 2024
Crystal Fund 
http://www.crystalfund.ge
USAID assistance recognizes that long-term development requires more opportunities for young people and women. Through the Supporting Youth and Women Entrepreneurship in Georgia (YES-Georgia) program, USAID supports dynamic and inclusive economic growth by unleashing the power of young entrepreneurs and professionals. The initiative broadens economic opportunities by supporting innovation, entrepreneurship, and employability in key sectors. Specific activities involve skills training, confidence building, mentoring, and awareness raising, with high-performing participants having opportunities to receive co-financing. In 2019, USAID announced the program would receive additional support from the U.S. Government’s W-GDP initiative. Through the beginning of 2024, YES-Georgia will provide more than 2,500 women with startup financing, business management training, access to legal and accounting services, and mentoring and networking opportunities.

Development Credit Authority – Loan Portfolio Guarantee
September 2015 – September 2020
TBC Bank 
www.tbcbank.ge
USAID extended a Development Credit Authority (DCA) loan portfolio guarantee to TBC Bank to make commercial credit of up to $15 million available to private agribusinesses in Georgia, thereby stimulating economic growth.

USAID National Parks and Ecotourism (NPE) Program
September 2019 ‐ September 2024
The Department of Interior (DOI)
https://www.doi.gov
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s International Technical Assistance Program (DOI‐ITAP) supports Georgia's efforts to preserve and protect parks for current and future generations while generating economic opportunities for stakeholders. (DOI‐ITAP) provides technical assistance and training to improve organizational capacity, tourism, and economic development in Georgia.

The USAID Potato Program
Dcember 2019- December 2022
International Potato Center
The USAID Potato Program partners with the International Potato Center to build capacity, helping local farmers produce high-yielding, disease resistant potatoes that are commercially attractive.  This assistance helps farmers generate higher revenues and supply to local and international markets, establishing a potato industry that can drive economic development in rural communities. The USAID Potato Program supports industry specialists and farmers through technical assistance, providing state-of-the art training in commercial and seed potato production management.  The program also helps farmers to grow higher-quality varieties and ensure their products comply with domestic and international market standards, while supporting improvements to existing seed potato quality certification systems.  Recognizing the important role of business associations in enabling economic growth, USAID partners with the Georgian Farmers Association (GFA) to maximize the program’s ability to reach local farmers.  Throughout the life of the program, 15,000 smallholder farmers will gain access to high-quality, locally produced seed potatoes.