USAID Resilient Communities Program
Georgia
Overview
The five-year, $23.8 million USAID Resilient Communities Program (2022-2027) is designed to support households and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) along Georgia’s Administrative Boundary Line (ABL). Driven by private sector engagement, host-country collaboration, and catalytic grant investments, the Program builds resilience against shocks, enhances inclusion of marginalized and at-risk communities, including women and youth, and stimulates sustainable socio-economic development.
Expected Impact
- $9 million in grants distributed
- 1,700 new jobs created
- $25 million increase in sales
- $10.6 million leveraged from the private sector
- 20,000 households assisted
Through previous USAID-funded projects in Georgia implemented by CNFA, the Program has access to a strong network of private sector, donor, NGO, and Government of Georgia partners, which it uses to strengthen resilient and inclusive market systems and facilitate the development of diverse value chains. This increases revenues, creates jobs, and builds community capacity to address market constraints and make key decisions. The Program targets communities along the ABL and the occupied regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, with the goal of integrating them into the broader Georgian economy.
Approach
Collaboration, flexibility, scalability, and sustainability are central components of the Program. The following approaches are incorporated to successfully build resilience to risks and shocks, enhance inclusion and stimulate sustainable socio-economic development:
- Engage the Private Sector: The USAID Resilient Communities Program enhances productivity, accelerates knowledge transfer, and improves access to markets for rural communities along the ABL. It uses its connection to a variety of businesses throughout Georgia to provide links to enterprises, including USAID program graduates who are ready to invest back in the industry.
- Host Country Cooperation: To co-invest in development solutions, the Program facilitates productive, functional, trust-based working relationships with key Georgian partners. These partnerships continue to be expanded and strengthened to benefit communities along the ABL.
- Investment in Catalytic Grants: The Program integrates matching grants designed to have longer and deeper impacts and strengthen market systems. It targets communities and market systems where investments will catalyze systemic improvements, build resilience and strengthen engagement, competitiveness and market access.
Partners
To implement the USAID Resilient Communities Program, Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) collaborates with a diverse group of both international and local partner organizations, including Solimar International, a U.S. small business with rich tourism development experience in Georgia. This includes developing a national tourism strategy and a COVID-19 recovery plan at the request of the Georgian government. This also included designing new tour packages, tourism infrastructure, and support services, and assessing and developing Destination Management Organizations.
The Program also works with the Association Rural Development for Future Georgia (RDFG), a Georgian NGO with more than ten years of experience in community development, disaster risk reduction (DRR), economic development, and empowering women, youth, and other marginalized groups in the Administrative Boundary Line and throughout Georgia, and The Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG), a Georgian consulting firm with a wealth of economic analysis experience, including conducting value chain and niche market analysis. RDFG assists vulnerable communities in gaining equal access to services and opportunities. PMCG provides consulting services to government and nongovernmental organizations in community development and planning, private sector development, value chain analyses, MSME development, and organizational capacity development.
