“Me and my partner serve pretty much useful and beneficial sphere and never think about migrating abroad anymore,” said Zaza Intskirveli. 

Zaza Intskirveli and his family returned to Georgia after 30 years of living abroad. The family used to live in Russian Federation, in the city of Samara in 1989-2019 running their own business – producing dumplings with meet, potato and cheese filling. Zaza and his wife gained professional experience regarding precooked manufacturing and their produce was much popular in Russia, though considering certain circumstances, the family had to return back. The most problematic thing was that they had to start everything over again, as couldn’t manage to bring all the necessary equipment with them due to the high customs tax. In this right moment IOM “Sustainable Reintegration and Community Revitalization Pilot Initiative in Communities of Return” project’s new grants program opened a window of opportunity for them.

Zaza prepared a business-idea together with the local non-migrant resident Kakhaber Lomtadze, offering the dumplings manufacturing under “Gemrielia” brand name in Kveda Bakhvi village, Ozurgeti municipality, Guria region. The project’s grant’s committee approved the proposed idea and after that the potential beneficiaries were delivered professional proposal-writing and business trainings, which enabled the partners to finalize the winning application and receive funding. 

“It’s worth mentioning that my professional experience gained abroad helped me immensely after returning back, though due to lack of funds, I couldn’t mobilize appropriate equipment for starting business over in Georgia. Through IOM support I managed to revive my much beloved business, to gain financial well-being, as well as to give a helping hand to the local community and employ several residents. Currently me and my partner serve pretty much useful and beneficial sphere and never think about migrating abroad anymore,” said Zaza Intskirveli. 

Currently the small enterprise, which was awarded with 11 various kinds of electric equipment and other necessary tools, employs 2 locals, though in parallel with extending the manufacturing, the number of hired people will increase, which will be beneficial for the community revitalization process in Ozurgeti municipality, Guria region.    

International Organization for Migration (IOM) implemented “Sustainable Reintegration and Community Revitalization Pilot Initiative in Communities of Return” project, through the financial support of International Development Fund (IDF) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in 2020-2023.

 

Photo by IOM Georgia

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