With vast experience in project management in various non profit organizations and the government, Mr. Sakvarelidze is directly responsible for management of the Community Development Initiative, Phase 4.
With over 20 years of managerial experience in private and non-profit sector, Mr. Babunashvili is a founder and director of several Georgian companies engaged in distribution (LBN Ltd.), agribusiness (GBZ Ltd.) and financial services (Baker Tilly Georgia Auditing Firm). Has acquired Master’s (1988) and Post Graduate (1991) Degrees in Chemistry from I. Javakhishvili State University of Georgia. Additional educational experiences include Certified Accounting and Food Safety courses. Is fluent in Georgian, Russian and has working knowledge of English. Mr. Babunashili manages Tsnisi Dairy and Combined Food Plants. Has been active in Samtskhe-Javakheti region since 2003. Founder of RDA.
Since 1999, Ms. Zambakhidze has been involved in management of private companies with activities in agribusiness (GBZ Ltd., Deputy Director), distribution (LBN Ltd., Deputy Director) and Financial Services (Baker Tilly Georgia Ltd. Auditing Company, Marketing Manager). She has earned her Bachelors degree in English Language and Literature at Tbilisi State Technical University and is certified Food Safety Manager (Approved by SAI Global – ISO Certification Body). Ms. Zambakhidze is fluent in Georgian, Russian and English languages. She has been managing Tsnisi Dairy and Combined Food plants and has been active in Samtskhe-Javakheti since 2007. Founder of RDA
RDA is a nonprofit organization with the mission to impact lives by encouraging people to engage in changes for the better. It was founded in 2010 by a team of successful professionals of private and development sectors with the aim to support establishment of business favourable environment and reinforce social corporate responsibility in rural Georgia. RDA operates primarily in Samtskhe Javakheti region with head office in Tbilisi.
Creation of RDA by its founders in the beginning of 2010 was preconditioned by years of business operations in the region under the name of Georgian Buziness Zone Ltd. The founders run ISO certified Dairy and Combined Feed plants in Tsnisi village and milk collections centers in Tsira, Tskaltbila and Pamaji villages of Akhaltsikhe district which were established and equipped as a result of attracting grant funds from BP, the Millennium Challenge Program, CARE and Mercy Corps. This assistance was matched by 50% financial contribution by GBZ. Product sorting and branding methods in the dairy plant were elaborated by highly qualified dairy technologists and marketing specialists provided within the scope of USAID funded Farmer to Farmer program.
Despite successful operations, GBZ was dealing with number of social, policy, economic and mentality issues on its way of development, which actually grew into decision to also create socially oriented non-profit entity.
Throughout these years RDA enriched its experience with community mobilization skills, established relations with farmers, local government, all S-J based donor organizations. The team has also been delivering technical assistance and funding it from own economic activities. Namely, providing free consultations in veterinary and feeding issues, trying to help beneficiaries (milk suppliers) maintain healthy animals with higher yielding capacity to ensure supply of quality milk for processing. For the same reasons, GBZ purchases necessary vaccines and medications and gives to ther beneficiaries for gratis.
In 2010, RDA signed cooperation agreements with Akhaltskhe and Gori universities and delivered practical training in plants to 68 students.
Of course these actions have been carrying primary interest for the company and are expected to give favourable outcome for the business, but on another side, these social activities have been mutually beneficial and made significant difference in the mentality and awareness of people in the nearby villages.
Apart from Georgian Business Zone Ltd., RDA founders have been running LBN Ltd., together with a foreign partner since 2005. The company is official authorized dealer of multiple international companies such as: Italian companies - Cassa del Café Vergnano (coffee), Gaggia (coffee machines), GBG Carpagani (coffee machines); Animo (coffee machines), Denmark; Ronnerfield (tea), Germany; Intermak (dairy equipment), Turkey. GBZ and LBN have established strong distribution network and supply products to most large supermarket chains, hotels, and companies throughout whole country. LBN Ltd. also operates Café Vergnano in Tbilisi. Most foodstuffs supplied to these two restaurants are supplied by the company beneficiaries from Akhaltsikhe.
After its success to impact socio-economic condition around itself, RDA team has come to understand that it could use its managerial experience to undertake larger projects and deliver much more serious results. By acknowledging this, the team gained confidence in achieving success in social sector and understood that activities in legal form of non-commercial, non-profit organization would give it the opportunity to attract donor funds and engage in more serious projects aimed at development of the region’s civic society and business enabling environment.
RDA was selected to co-manage the BP funded Community Development Initiative project, Phase 3 in 2011 with CARE International in the Caucasus, within the scope of BP’s nationalization strategy. In 2012, RDA took over the three-year Phase 4 of the same activity. The project has budget of $1.6 million and has social and economic objectives spread out in several grant and technical assistance components, like assistance for startup business, infrastructure projects, social enterprises, farmer demonstrations, trainings, capacity building, financial and legal services, etc. RDA is responsible for the west part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline community, 27 villages of Samtskhe Javakheti region. CDI4 will run until 2014.
RDA & The Team
With over ten years of experience in international development organizations and the private sector, Mr. Jashi is responsible for financial management of all activities carried out by RDA since its inception.
