Page 40 - GEORptJul18

9.1.5 TMT sector news
The World Bank, in collaboration with the Georgian economy ministry, will develop a National Innovation Ecosystem in the country in order to foster the digital economy and innovative start-ups. The World Bank will finance the project, which is estimated to cost $40mn. Countries in the South Caucasus, including Georgia, have been seeking to develop their value-added sectors, such as information technology, in recent years. Armenia is a leader in this sector in the region, with IT and technology accounting for 5% of GDP, and a sizable qualified workforce that has attracted the likes of Microsoft to open up innovation centres in the country. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has been working on digitising its public services and installing fibre-optic Internet connections across the country. Following in their footsteps, Georgia is also working on Internet connectivity and promoting tech start-ups. The project will comprise four parts, namely the development of an innovation infrastructure through the creation of a network of innovation hubs in selected cities and town; the provision of innovation services; ensuring financing through technical assistance and matching grants; and project implementation support.
9.1.6 Agriculture sector news
Output increased in Georgia’s agricultural sector in 2017, but the sector continued its gradual decline in importance in the country’s GDP, statistics office Geostat’s annual report on agriculture showed.
Output of agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing reached GEL4.1bn (€150mn) in 2017, continuing the upward trend of the past few years. Agriculture accounted for the lion’s share of this amount, GEL3.9bn. Similarly, value added generated by the sector maintained its steady rise.
However, as a percentage of GDP, agricultural output declined to 8.2%, down from 9.0% in 2016, after the two previous years also showed a fall.
Within agricultural output, animal husbandry accounted for 50% of the total, plant growing for 45% and agricultural services for 6% (the figures are rounded up, which explains why the total adds up to over 100%).
Lower fluctuations have recently been observed in the “Khachapuri Index” that measures the cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri. The ISEP Policy Institute which produces the index speculates that they could be connected to efforts to modernise
40 GEORGIA Country Report July 2018 www.intellinews.com