Tbilisi, Batumi, Georgia, March 17, 2010
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has launched a regional interactive training program for small business owners to help them reduce costs, manage risks, and accelerate post-crisis recovery.
The training was developed by IFC’s Corporate Sector Crisis Response Project, with the support of consulting firm Ernst & Young and law firm CMS Cameron McKenna. It has been offered to businesspeople in Batumi and Tbilisi, Georgia. The first two seminars were delivered to about 80 representatives of companies from various sectors, business associations, and government agencies.
“The seminar was very useful and practical,” said Cezmi Aksahin, Deputy Chairman of International Investor Association, Board member of ICON GROUP, after a one-day workshop in Batumi. “I’ve learnt a lot about reducing costs and increasing efficiency during crisis. I am now equipped with tips on how businesses such as mine have survived the crisis, and I will use this theory in my daily work to make my company stronger,”
IFC plans to offer more than 40 seminars to small business owners in Europe and Central Asia to improve risk-management practices and help them cope in the challenging crisis environment.
"I was delighted to see so many SMEs participate in the seminar held in Batumi,” said Thomas Lubeck, IFC Regional Head for the Caucasus. “SMEs present one of the best opportunities for employment, economic growth, and diversification in Georgia, and IFC will continue to support them, particularly those outside of Tbilisi, through advisory services and investments."
IFC is the only international financial institution focused exclusively on the private sector, the engine of sustainable development in emerging markets. Along with IBRD, it is currently seeking a capital increase to strengthen its ability to create opportunity for the poor in developing countries—including by helping companies,
including small and medium-sized
businesses, in post-crises recovery.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
