RSMED Georgia: Rural Small and Medium Enterprises Development

Project description / objective

Increase employment and income opportunities for rural men and women by strengthening business support for SMEs, enhancing access to finance, technology and markets, thereby reducing poverty and gender inequality. 

Market systems focus

Financial knowledge and skills

Rural SMEs have limited understanding and experience of how better financial analysis and management can improve general business operations. Improved bookkeeping and projection ability increases SMEs’ ability to make more effective decisions in what to invest, and can also increase their creditworthiness, reduce their risk profile, and increase their likelihood to receive an affordable and suitable financial product.

Investments in productive assets and technology

There is a shortage of professional machinery distributors, with products often mismatched to the needs of small rural enterprises and limited capacity to promote relevant innovations. The uptake of productive assets, including software, inventory, and non-asset-based technologies like agricultural inputs, storage solutions, packaging, and digital products can provide more immediate and impactful productivity gains.

Market access

Access to diversified and stable markets is vital for the growth and resilience of rural SMEs. This includes elements of customer and competition analysis and market research, information, and positioning, as well as compliance with standards and regulations. Also relevant are access to trade fairs, skills and competencies (training), certification and accreditation, legal requirements (especially export regulations) and the availability of targeted subsidies.  

Programme interventions

The following are proposed opening interventions for 2025.

Financial knowledge and skills

• Improve and embed the services offered by regional-based Accounting Service Providers to rural SMEs
• Develop digital solutions for services providers which can enhance their ability to serve rural SMEs

Investments in productive assets and technology

• Develop non-financial services (NFS) to increase access of rural SMEs to targeted commercial credit
• Establish new, or increase viability of, export-finance products and related services for rural SMEs
• Improved inclusivity of state subsidised products – grants, agro-insurance, micro-loans, guarantees, other options

Market access

• Diversify the services of the Enterprise Georgia Growth Hub network – including services, partnership development, and technical/ operational management
• Improve the utilisation of data generated through the Enterprise Georgia Growth Hubs to support rural SMEs
• Strengthen producer-buyer relationships through the application of Incentive-based Contract Farming (IBCF)

Notable results (systemic change, poverty impact)

NOTE: these are results from Phase 1, 2021-2024

Rural SMEs sustainably grow through better access to finance

• 3,598 rural SMEs took up business support services
• 2,133 services contributed to improved financial literacy of rural SMEs leading to seven improved financial management practices being introduced
• 1,228 rural SMEs took up appropriate finance (grants and loans) (508 women-owned enterprises, or 41 per cent) worth USD $13.1

Market players have improved capacity to respond to the needs of rural SMEs for access to finance

• 10 business support services providers offering sustainable, including fee-based services to rural SMEs
• 21 new or improved business support services introduced to the market
• 1,664 rural SMEs participating in coordination events for networking and sharing information facilitated by eco-system actors

Impact on poverty

• 1,428 SMEs benefited from additional income, reduced costs and/or improved resilience (484 female-owned, or 34 per cent; 64 ethnic minority owned, or 4.5 per cent)
• 4,020 people to have new or better employment (1,427 women, or 35 per cent)
• 14,392 rural women and men to have seen a tangible benefit that contributes to the reduction of poverty and inequalities (5,147 women, or 36 per cent; 1,596 women with a positive perception of their influence on business and economic-related decision-making)

[updated April 2026 (Resources added)]