On November 25, the World Bank hosted a high-level event, “Georgia: Growing to High Income,” bringing together development partners, private sector leaders, and academia to discuss the country’s long-term growth trajectory. The event was opened by Rolande Pryce, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, and featured a keynote presentation by Somik Lall, Senior Advisor at the World Bank and Director of the World Development Report (WDR). Lall shared key insights from the WDR 2025: The Middle-Income Trap, one of the World Bank’s flagship publications providing in-depth analysis of global development pathways since 1978.
According to the WDR, countries aiming for high-income transition should follow the “3i Strategy,” which focuses on investment, technology transfer, and innovation. The Report highlights that countries must move beyond adopting foreign technologies and increasingly generate their own technological advancements to sustain long-term growth.
The presentation was followed by a panel discussion on how Georgia can avoid the middle-income trap and advance toward high-income status. Tamar Sulukhia joined George Welton (AMCHAM), Nino Nanitashvili (Startup & Technology Evangelist), and Iro Tsagareishvili (Axel Business Angel Network). Tamar emphasized that Georgia’s progress relies on strengthening talent development, talent retention, expanding university–industry cooperation, and aligning national education systems with the EU education space. She underscored that innovation ecosystems thrive when thousands of skilled individuals—not only a few exceptional talents—drive economic transformation. Tamar highlighted the critical role of education and skills development as a foundation for Georgia’s sustainable economic growth and long-term prosperity.
