To date, GRDF has invested $21 million into 10 companies and in 2010, GRDF has approved four projects. Profiles of the investments are presented below. GRDF will continue to make investments until October 2011 or until all fund capital is expanded.
Madai Business: Black Sea Anchovy Fishing
Use of Funds: Purchase of ship and equipment and processing plant upgrades
Opportunity: First Georgian company to utilize fishing license rather than leasing out to Turkish ships
Website: www.madai.ge
Prime Concrete Business: Vertically integrated concrete production, with quarry operations, transport and pumping services Use of Funds: acquisitions and capital expenditures to facilitate development of vertically integrated concrete production Opportunity: First large scale vertically integrated construction material facility in Western Georgia, to implement modern equipment/international best practices of the industry and meet upcoming demand for Poti port and other developments Website:www.primeconcrete.ge
Piunik Business: Integrated poultry business
Use of Funds: Equipment, hatching hens, working capital
Opportunity: Expansion from poultry imports to own production of eggs, incubation and feed, addressing limited supply from Armenia and growing demand
Website: Under development
Tetnuldi Business: Mountain Hotel
Use of Funds: Construction & working capital (start-up)
Opportunity: First major private tourism investment in Svaneti, one of Georgia’s strongest tourism assets, offering quality accommodations and complete “tourism experience”
Website: www.tetnuldi.ge
BAZI Business: Food canning/jarring and concentrate production Use of Funds: Capital expenditure and working capital to support expansion and diversification of its business line Opportunity: Cannery with strong distribution in Georgia to support greater competition and consumer choice by increasing its production and adding new business lines. With an investment in a working capital, a company will also benefit from enhanced backward linkages to local farmers as a result of increased raw material purchases.
Website:www.bazi.ge
Rcheuli Business: Georgian hotel chain
Use of Funds: Construction of hotels
Opportunity: First company to develop hotel chain outside of Tbilisi, addressing lack of any comfortable accommodations other than guest houses in key tourism locations
Website: www.rcheuli.ge
Dogan Business: Animal Feed & Pet Food Producer
Use of Funds: Equipment, facility improvements, working capital
Opportunity: Compound and extruded feed producer with opportunity to expand sales in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan through import-substitution. Currently the only producer of extruded feed (feed for fish, early stage poultry and pet food) in the Caucasus.
Website: Under development
Delta Comm Business: Fibre Optic Internet Cable Infrastructure Development
Use of Funds: Equipment to expedite construction
Opportunity: To be the first nationwide fiber-optic network in Georgia, providing important back-up systems to Internet Service Providers and existing Georgian telecoms.
Website: www.delta-comm.ge
Ecopex Business: Hazelnut processing/export
Use of Funds: Purchase of land, processing equipment, and working capital
Opportunity: Opportunity to enable capacity increase for a smaller but technically capable player. Contracts, LOIs and other leads in place. Steady growing global demand.
Website: Under development
Doki Business: Residential and commercial furnishings and construction materials retailer/wholesaler Use of Funds: working capital Opportunity: Expansion of existing business to be first to provide full range of products, to develop advantages oflarge-scale, organized retail store for construction materials and complete warehouse with real time inventory information. Website:www.doki.ge
Ioli Gastronomy Business: Chain of supermarkets
Use of Funds: Capital investment and working capital to expand its chain of supermarkets
Opportunity: Strong retail chain operator in Tbilisi, with opportunity to bring in international retail experience of new management group, tackle highly underserved organized retail market segment and evolve as leading supermarket chain throughout Georgia.
Website: under development
TEREMOK Group Business: Quick service restaurant operations
Use of Funds: Capital investment, working capital and marketing
Opportunity: The Company is well positioned to capitalize on the demand for good quality, quick–service restaurants throughout Georgia. Website:www.teremok.ge
Ritseula Hesi Business: Small scale hydro power plant operations
Use of Funds: Capital investment to increase plant’s existing capacity
Opportunity: The project is expected to decrease Georgia’s dependency on thermal power generation and increase local electricity system’s export potential, through establishing sales leads in Caucasus and Turkey.
Website: not applicable
BIG
Business: Micro credit loan provider
Use of Funds: Working Capital to expand its consumer finance operations
Opportunity: An investment is expected to contribute to the recovery process of constrained consumer finance market, by supporting one of the few high quality micro finance companies to maintain essential flow of consumer financing into regions of Georgia and increase funding to relatively low-income, regional population. Additionally, the project might have positive demonstrative effect for other microfinance organizations to enter regional market and therefore, boost competition/improve product offering.
A-NET
Business: An internet service provider
Use of Funds: acquisitions and capital expenditures to facilitate construction of fiber optic network throughout Batumi.
Opportunity: The project will facilitate the use of innovative FTTH technology to provide rapid connections to customers who have had limited or no access to internet and further fuel deployment of cutting edge broadband technology, not yet utilized in Adjara region. Additionally, an investment will increase competition in the region, which is currently dominated by monopolistic local players.