On May 22, ISET hosted Mamuka Khazaradze, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of TBC Bank, who talked about the story of his success in business, particularly the establishment of TBC (Tbilisi Business Center) Bank in Georgia.

He started his presentation by talking about his early years when, despite being young without enough experience in business or skills in diplomatic negotiations, he had a huge desire to develop his own business and to help his family financially. Mr. Khazaradze made his first real money selling cans of beer. At the time, this was a new product for post-Soviet countries and the demand was enormous. He managed to find some suppliers and made his first big deal by reselling cans of beer in St. Petersburg.

As he recalled, at that time having the relevant information was half of the success of any deal.

Later, in 1992, Mr. Khazaradze, along with other Georgian partners, founded TBC Bank with an initial capital of only $500. At that period of time the bank was needed for two reasons: first, simply as a place to save money in a safe place with official security; and, second, to offer such services as a currency exchange for changing rubles and dollars.

TBC Bank struggled through various hard periods in its development, and the recent war of 2008 was one of these. However, the bank was able to survive on the market with the help of donors such as the EBRD. TBC Bank is now one of the largest banks in the country, with the highest share of deposits in the Georgian market.

Mr. Khazaradze also discussed other businesses that he is involved in: IDS Borjomi International; the Gurueli Tea Company, which occupies 27-28% of the Georgian market; the Georgian Reconstruction and Development Company, which is the leading private Georgian property investor, developer, and operator; the Lisi Lake Development project, and many others.

While answering a question at the end of his presentation, Mr. Khazaradze pointed out that Georgia is just at the beginning of the path for business development. There are many opportunities. All that is needed is a clear idea and a strong belief in that idea.