Former Economy Minister Giorgi Kobulia is skeptical about the government’s plan to create a new “Investment and Export Agency” by merging parts of “Enterprise Georgia” with the PPP Agency. He says that simply changing the agency’s name or reshuffling structures is unlikely to deliver real results in attracting foreign investment.
According to Kobulia, Georgia has long struggled to bring in new foreign investors, and strengthening this area is essential. However, he argues that turning the PPP Agency into a new unit with a new name will not change much, as the work will still be based on “Enterprise Georgia,” which has never been tasked with or experienced in attracting medium and large foreign investors.
Kobulia emphasizes that “Enterprise Georgia” is primarily designed to support small and medium-sized Georgian businesses, and not large-scale foreign investment projects. Therefore, he believes the structural change will simply reproduce the same institution under a different label, without addressing the core challenge.
He notes that a more effective approach could come from the planned Economic Development Corporation, which aims for the state to co-finance major investment projects alongside private investors. According to Kobulia, this model is far more likely to strengthen Georgia’s ability to attract medium and large-scale investments than renaming existing agencies.
