Growth Hub Manager in Rustavi

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Georgia Project Name: The Relief and Recovery for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Project No: P173975 Loan No. 9239-GE Assignment Title: Growth Hub Manager in Rustavi Reference No. GE-GEDC-CS-IC-47 Introduction JSC Georgian Economic Development Corporation (GEDC), within the Relief and Recovery for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Project supported by the World Bank (WB) intends to apply part of the loan proceeds for consulting services of the Growth Hub Manager in the City of Rustavi. The Project Development Objective for the Relief and Recovery for MSME operation is to provide relief to MSMEs and support their recovery, including by strengthening the enabling environment for access to finance. The Project facilitates development of micro, small and medium enterprises in Tbilisi and regions through delivery of consulting services, improving business skills, and provision of information availability, which shall enable creation of new jobs and economic increase. Project Description The Project is implemented nationwide and consist of four components: Component 1 – Financial relief and recovery for MSMEs Component 2 – Digital payments & financial infrastructure upgrading Component 3 – Project management and Monitoring Component 4 – Contingent Emergency Response Component A substantial portion of the Project activities fall under Component 1. Component 1 is implemented by GEDC. It comprises of the following sub-components: Sub-component 1.1 provide micro-grants to finance working capital and fixed assets for micro and small firms. Sub-component 1.2 co-finance interest payments on loans underwritten by participating financial institutions (PFIs). Sub-component 1.3 provide partial credit guarantees for loans issued by PFIs. Sub-component 1.4 provide technical assistance for COVID-proofing and digitalization of MSMEs. Objectives of the assignment This subcomponent 1.4 finances: (i) Consulting services provided by selected consultants to firms to increase their resilience by providing consulting services and digital solutions to transform their managerial practices and digital capacity; (ii) Improving business skills of MSMEs through trainings by selected consultants to improve MSMEs’ business skills and facilitate the uptake of improved practices and digital solutions; and (iii) Providing information by GEDC to the MSMEs to access all business support-related information in one space. These services are