As of October 2025, 99.7% of active enterprises in Georgia were SMEs. In 2024, SMEs accounted for 60.6% of business sector employment, 32.3% of business sector turnover and 53.2% of output in the business sector, and the share of the value added created by SMEs in the business sector amounted to 52.3%.
In recent years, credit to SMEs rose significantly. In 2024, SME loans increased by 12.6%1. In nominal terms, outstanding SME loans amounted to 23.9 billion GEL. Total business loans grew by more than 16.8%, and the proportion of SME loans as a percentage of total business loans amounted to 66%.
The average interest rate charged to SMEs in Georgia is high by OECD standards, but it has significantly declined over the last decade, from 17.5% in 2010 to 10.8% in 2024. In 2024, the interest rate spread between SMEs and large firms amounted to 0.3 percentage points.
Total non-performing loans in 2024 amounted to 2.5%, while the share of non-performing loans in SMEs equalled 5.2%.
The Georgian government supports SMEs through loan guarantees. The state program – Credit Guarantee Scheme was developed to improve access to finance for SMEs that are unable to meet existing collateral requirements for loans. Under the program, a credit guarantee is issued for each loan provided by a commercial bank, covering up to 80% of the loan principal. Additionally, for each commercial bank, the guarantee can cover no more than 35% of the program's total loan portfolio. In 2024, guaranteed loan volumes increased from GEL 210 million to GEL 259 million, and total guarantees from GEL 151 million to GEL 185 million. This reflects strengthened state efforts to improve SME access to finance.
The government of Georgia has prioritised SME development as the main driver of private-sector growth, job creation and innovation. For instance, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Policy is one of the successful reforms the Georgian Government has conducted. Through budgetary support, in 2014, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia established two sister agencies, Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA) and Enterprise Georgia, with the main objective of promoting SME development and strengthening SME competitiveness. Both agencies provide financial support to SMEs, as well as a broader range of services, including access to specialised infrastructure, mentoring, training, and various advisory services. In addition to establishing these two agencies, the Government of Georgia has introduced several private-sector development programmes that include financial and technical assistance components to support SMEs at different stages of development.