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Many EBRD projects in Georgia would not have been possible without support from international donors who provide grant and concessional funding to projects and to multi-donor funds.
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European Union
The EU is the largest single donor for EBRD projects in Georgia. Through its Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF), it has provided grants directly for some of the projects described in this series of articles, including the Black Sea Transmission Line (€8 million), Enguri HPP modernisation (€18 million), the Caucasus Energy Efficiency Programme (€5.1 million), the Georgian Agricultural Finance Facility (€4.8 million) and the EBRD’s SBS programme (€4.17 million). It is the largest donor to the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P).
The EU-Georgia Association Agreement, signed in June 2014, with its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), brings Georgia closer to Europe. Recently, the EU and EBRD have created two new multimillion programmes to assist Georgia in the DCFTA, focussed on SMEs.
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
Sweden, through its international development agency Sida, is one of the EBRD’s largest bilateral donors. Solid waste improvements in Rustavi, financed by the EBRD, were made possible by a Sida grant. It also is an important supporter of multi-donor funds such as the E5P Fund – launched during the Swedish Presidency of the EU in 2009 – and the ETC Fund. Sida has also supported the EBRD’s Women in Business programme for the Eastern Partnership countries, together with the EU.
Early Transition Countries (ETC) Fund
The EBRD and donors established the Early Transition Countries Fund in 2004 aimed at the EBRD’s low and middle income countries which still face the most significant transition challenges (initially Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and subsequently Belarus, Mongolia and Turkmenistan).
Since the creation of the ETC Fund, the EBRD’s activity in those countries has surged. Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taipei China and the United Kingdom have contributed more than €90 million of donor grants to the ETC Fund.
Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P)
The E5P is a multi-donor €170 million fund aimed at energy efficiency and environmental projects in the EU Eastern Partnership countries. The EU is the largest donor (€70 million), while other contributors are Armenia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine and the United States.
Donors to EBRD Small Business Support programme
More than 800 Georgian SMEs have benefited from advisory assistance through the EBRD’s Small Business Support (SBS) programme. The EU has been the primary donor to the programme. Support has also been provided by the EBRD’s ETC Fund and bilateral donors including Japan, Canada, Switzerland, and the Taiwan Business-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund.