To develop further on the EU export market Elselema, a Gerogian producer of clothing needed to come into line with high European and international social and labour standards – a task that required not only substantial changes to its set-up, but accompanying documentation to meet the demands of an international audit.
Now the company is confident it can take advantage of these opportunities, with the help of the ‘SME Development and DCFTA in Georgia’ project, funded by the European Union as part of its EU4Business initiative and implemented by GIZ, which is building up a business cluster for the apparel industry in Georgia, and is supporting SMEs to upgrade their standards in the directions needed, and become competitive on the EU market.
‘We took the opportunity to participate in the EU-funded project as it provides a chance for further development and making our business more competitive. We have already seen positive outcomes,’ said Elguja Mamasakhlisi, the founder of Elselema.
The project is helping Georgian industries to meet the standards of the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), focused on areas such as social responsibility, workplace safely and workforce protection – a key requirements of European buyers.
‘This project is essential for us to upgrade to international standards and connect with potential partners in Europe,” Mamasakhlisi said, adding that without support they would struggle to meet the challenges that go with the opportunities in the framework of Georgia’s Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Agreement with the EU. With the help of the EU4Business initiative and GIZ we have already been in Germany and met with our potential partners, we are now negotiating with some of them about price and other technical details. A retail branch of one of the leading German players in the apparel industry has shown interest in Georgia thanks to the project,” Mamasakhlisi said.
