| On April 19-20, 2018 tenth capacity building trainings for regional civil society organizations took place in Gori, Shida Kartli region. The training was led by one of the project implementers, the Association of Business Consulting Organizations (ABCO), whose representative, Konstantin Zhgenti, provided trainees with information about the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), including what DCFTA benefits are available for Georgia, what it offers for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and how the latter can engage into the European single market. |
| The training in Gori was attended by 19 representatives of numerous civil society organizations, small and medium enterprises and public officials, such as Gori Democracy School, NGO Step for the Future and Agency of strategic Development. The purpose of the training was to increase civil society representatives’ knowledge about DCFTA and to involve them into the project by providing capacities to inform Georgian public about DCFTA/SME strategy implementation and to assist local small and medium entrepreneurs that they could use DCFTA provided opportunities and would prepare to export to the European market. |
| The training included information about the possibility of selling products to the EU single market, instructions on how to meet EU standards and other requirements and how current entrepreneurship could be modernized in Georgia. After the session, almost all the participants expressed their satisfaction with the training process and the information received itself, with most indicating that new information had been delivered to the participants. |
| The next phase of involving trained civil society organizations in the project activities will be announcing a call for sub-granting, which will allow regional organizations to apply for funds to implement activities related to implementing DCFTA/SME communication campaign and to consult regional small and medium entrepreneurs on DCFTA. |
| Additionally to the training, an introductory session to the DCFTA Local Advisory Council (LAC) has been introduced as well. Starting from May, 2018, regular meetings of public officials, civil society and SME representatives will be conducted in Shida Kartli region. This session was conducted with representatives of the local governmental bodies and small and medium enterprises. Both the organizers and the participants expressed their positive opinions and future expectations at this session, and believed that this institution would be essential for keeping local communities informed and further develop their knowledge about EU and Georgian markets. |
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