An individual living in Kutaisi took a 1500 USD real estate secured loan from one of the microfinance institutions in 2011 and had to pay 75 USD interest rate for the following 6 months. The purpose of taking this loan was to finance treatment of her child. She was unable to cover monthly payments and prolonged the term to 10 month, but failed to cover this payments again and was fined several times.

The tradition – and, in most cases, the only way – for Georgian entrepreneurs to finance their businesses and ideas is bank lending, so-called debt financing. However, this source of financing is very limited for start-ups and early-stage businesses, due to the high level of risk involved, the unavailability of collateral assets, and high loan interest rates, which are almost unaffordable for companies that do not generate sufficient returns yet.

The project “Meet the Meat Demand” is a cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture MOA of Georgia and the French Livestock Institute, financed by the French Ministry of Economy through the FASEP program. The aim of the study is to assess the possibilities for development of beef production in Georgia.

ISET is implementing a new training program, "Economics, Finance, and Banking," with VTB Bank. The aim of the program is to introduce VTB Bank's employees to the major principles of economics, finance, and banking.

The year 2017 turned out to be a very fruitful one for ISET and the ISET Policy Institute. On January 17, Eric Livny, the President of ISET and the ISET Policy Institute, and Dimitri Kumsisvhili, the First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Georgia, signed an official memorandum of understanding between ISET Policy Institute and the Ministry of Finance.