Georgian Cluster initiatives

GEORGIAN CLUSTER INITIATIVES

Cluster representative:		Dr. Nana Adeishvili, Executive Director, CERMA - Centre for Enterprise Restructuring and Enterprise Management
Facilitator:		Alec Hansen, President, ECG - the Economic Competetiveness Group ahansen @ ecgroup.com
Conclusions:		Marit Werner, Learning Regional Innovation Systems, VINNOVA, Sweden
Key issues: A clustering initiative was launched in November 2002 in Georgia. This was the first attempt to use clusters in Georgia, part of a World Bank-funded project that was primarily aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises in the food and beverages sectors. After reviewing some ten potential clusters, three were chosen for cluster launch activities: hazelnuts, tea, and pharmaceuticals. These three cases should provide interesting lessons regarding: - how clusters were launched in a setting where government basically does more harm than good - using SME support service agencies as the agency launching the cluster - creating a cooperative attitude among producers who see themselves only as competitors - dealing with the situation where ownership is divorced from management and decisions are not being made - facilitation in two languages - the experience of business support specialists "converting themselves" into cluster facilitators - using clusters to help producers to orient themselves to new markets (special issue in former Soviet Union) Special focus will be on pharmaceuticals, the only high tech cluster in the project, where stakeholders are attempting to leverage Georgia's lead in bacteriophage research (a substitute for antibiotics) to take the lead in this fast-growing industry segment.

Back to Action workshops