Cistran Finance Exploring the Spirit of Capitalism's New Frontier

Friday, March 15, 2024

EBRD loan opens door to Georgia dairy farm

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said Friday that its loan to a Georgian farm is allowing dairy production to thrive in a region that has been dominated by vineyards.

Kakheti is a high traffic area for wine production in Georgia. There was a need for locally produced milk and other dairy products. The EBRD said that only 10 percent of milk sold in Georgia is produced domestically. 

Lasha Papashvili took out the equivalent of a $1.3 million in order to begin a dairy farm, Kvareli Baga. Papashvili said that he saw a opening in this sector and decided that agribusiness and especially dairy farming was in demand. The dairy farm is continuing to grow and increase output, surpassing initial estimates of 9,000 liters a day.

“It was very important that the EBRD took a risk with us to build this kind of business in Georgia – and I hope they will be there as we expand,” Papashvili said.