Mikheil Khidureli Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Georgia
Winner: Best use of information technology
Enterprise Georgia
ONLINE TRAINING ON EXPORT BASICS
‘Online training on export basics has become more useful than expected, especially during COVID-19. According to official data, many beneficiaries entered new export markets or further developed existing channels.’
‘We created a programme that is 100% relevant to the current situation.’
Mikheil Khidureli Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Georgia
WHAT THE JUDGES SAY
‘Meticulously designed service for SMEs – based on customer feedback and needs assessment.’
‘Monitoring is explained well and results are detailed.’
‘Good promotion for the courses, using multiple channels.’
AT A GLANCE
Training on Export Basics
Georgian SMEs seek information to understand their export readiness and to make strategic decisions on diversifying their products and markets. Decision-making requires a range of skills and knowledge that the SMEs tend to lack, including in the areas of branding and marketing expertise.
Enterprise Georgia developed a certification course, run by several universities, to address these needs. Demand for the course grew.
In parallel, Enterprise Georgia experienced an increase in requests for training and information. Several requests came from SMEs that could not attend on-site training due to distance, time or financial constraints.
The solution to meet these needs was to offer free online training in export operations.
LOOKING CLOSER
Enterprise Georgia engaged with new and established exporters across Georgia, as well as consumers, suppliers and other stakeholders, to prioritize SME needs and identify export topics.
The road to the final product
Enterprise Georgia teamed up with the company Mindworks to develop the online course, comprising 10 modules covering ‘trending’ export topics. The content benefits both existing and potential exporters, given its needs-based approach.
Their research had shown that the best delivery mode was video lectures, supported with downloadable documentation. They selected experienced lecturers for each topic, filmed them and added animation to make the lectures memorable.
At the end of each course, users could check their knowledge with a voluntary test.
The online video courses are self-paced, using a mix of multimedia, text and assessment quizzes. Each course requires a minimum of six hours of engagement.
Outreach
To promote the course, Enterprise Georgia organized gatherings across the country in different universities and presented the innovative remote learning opportunity.
The campaign to promote the course was channelled through online newspapers and social media platforms. Enterprise Georgia delivered 15 workshops, targeting young professionals and women.
This promotion attracted sufficient attention to pilot and then refine the 10 modules. They launched the programme on four major platforms:
- Enterprise Georgia website: www.enterprisegeorgia.gov.ge
- Innovative Systems Management, an educational and library service provider: www.oc.ac.ge
- Education Management Information Systems, an agency of the Ministry of Education: www.edx.emis.ge
- Ilia State University: www.online.iliauni.edu.ge
MEASURING SUCCESS
Enterprise Georgia used Google Analytics and the agency’s internal monitoring system to track interest. It looked at viewer numbers, frequency of views, the number of successful tests by users and interest of educational institutions.
Most are from the food and beverage sector. A growing number are from the apparel sector (cloth, shoes, accessories, leather and leather products) as well as the toy, pet food and furniture sectors. Most are export managers, though in some cases, company owners and CEOs attend the training.
Incoterms has been the single most popular course, in terms of new registrations. Export fundamentals, export potential and international trade are the most requested modules.
The Bank of Georgia has integrated the training modules into its online learning platform. This enables millions of customers to have free access to the materials.
Several universities offer these courses to their students.
‘Enterprise Georgia has created a wonderful tool … to prepare for exports, to plan and to keep the market they enter. We faced challenges with exports to China. After completing the Enterprise Georgia course, we understood how to prepare for negotiations. Now we have a good contract with good terms. We had the possibility to have a good deal with the help of this tool.’
George Lomtadze
Export Manager, Campa LLC
ENTERPRISE GEORGIA
CONTACT Mikheil Khidureli Chief Executive Officer
ADDRESS 5/6 Marjanishvli Str. 0102 Tbilisi Georgia
WEBSITE www.enterprisegeorgia.gov.ge
