Georgian startup community: "Say no to the "Russian Law"! Georgia has always been, is, and will continue to be part of Europe!

Tech companies and startups are the key drivers of the world's fast and efficient growth. Over the last decade, Georgia has seen remarkable advancements in this sector, significantly aided by support from Western international organizations, both financially and otherwise.

In recent years, Georgian startups raised millions of USD from foreign investors, created thousands of jobs, and established Georgia as one of the fast-growing ecosystems, lucrative for international investors.

With the financial support of the World Bank, Georgia's Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA) has provided 38 million GEL in grants to more than 200 early-stage startups. These startups have, in turn, secured an additional 1.5 billion GEL in investments and have employed more than 3,000 individuals.

Moreover, the Government of Germany provides funding of 15 million GEL to support the tech industry, while the EU and the US government, and organizations like USAID, EBRD, UNDP, and UN have launched numerous projects to enhance technical education, promote entrepreneurship, ensure equal opportunity, and facilitate access to new markets.

The law on "Foreign Influence" is a detour from the Euro-Atlantic course of the country which is the declared will of the Georgian people. Amongst other problems, the passing of this law will stagnate the economic and technological development of Georgia. Further deterioration in the levels of democracy and liberty will be a death sentence to the tech industry.

We, the undersigned representatives of the Georgian startup community - strongly urge the Government to suspend consideration of the draft law, its negative effects are already tangible and will only get worse.

Georgia has always been, is, and will continue to be part of Europe!

Say no to the "Russian Law"!

Sign the statement: https://t.ly/VCXt6