ADB Approves $150 Million Loan to Bank of Georgia for Regional Lending

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $150 million loan to JSC Bank of Georgia to expand lending to households and businesses outside Tbilisi, with at least 30 per cent of the money reserved for women borrowers and women-owned small and medium-sized firms. The nonsovereign loan, ADB project 60146-001, was approved on 28 October 2026, according to the bank's project data sheet.

The ADB project data sheet says Bank of Georgia will use the full amount for on-lending through its branches: to retail and household borrowers, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and corporate clients. The target is underserved regions where, in ADB's words, households and businesses can "capitalize on economic opportunities arising from proposed regional development and infrastructure investments under DRIVE in the selected DRIVE-supported locations."

Long tenors and a women's lending floor

ADB says the project adds long-tenor finance for households and firms in regions the government has identified as having strong development potential but limited access to credit, and introduces training for MSMEs, including women-owned firms. At least 30 per cent of the total facility will go to women borrowers and women-owned MSMEs in the DRIVE-supported locations. A separate ADB technical assistance project will fund training in financial literacy, basic business skills and access to formal financial services for borrowers in those areas.

The data sheet calls Bank of Georgia "one of the two largest banks in Georgia", a systemically important lender and a subsidiary of London Stock Exchange-listed Lion Finance Group PLC. Its MSME portfolio, ADB notes, is spread across services, trade, agribusiness and tourism, the sectors that drive regional economies. The project carries ADB's FI-2 environmental and social risk classification, and the data sheet lists ADB standards on risk assessment, labour, resource use, health and safety and stakeholder engagement as applicable.

A repeat borrower from ADB

The approval extends an established relationship. In December 2021, Bank of Georgia signed a $200 million five-year facility with ADB and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, according to the group's stock exchange announcement at the time. That loan was aimed at MSMEs, including female-led businesses, and half of it was available for disbursement in local currency. ADB technical assistance on women-owned MSMEs was attached to that facility too.

According to the ADB country overview for Georgia, outstanding balances and undisbursed commitments of its private sector transactions in the country stood at $596.74 million at the end of 2025, or 3.96 per cent of ADB's total private sector portfolio, against a current public sector portfolio of 14 loans worth $1.81 billion. Cumulatively, ADB had committed 100 public sector loans, grants and technical assistance projects worth $4.7 billion to Georgia by the same date. ADB has also committed a GEL270 million loan, about $100 million, to TBC Bank for MSME lending, the overview says.

The overview puts Georgia's economic growth at an estimated 7.5 per cent in 2025, down from 9.7 per cent in 2024, reflecting slower services and industry and a contraction in agriculture.

What it means for business

For regional companies, the loan adds long-tenor funding at a time when Georgian banks are highly profitable; the sector's net profit rose 20 per cent in the first nine months of 2026. The 30 per cent floor for women borrowers gives the facility a measurable allocation target.

The DRIVE link also ties the credit line to public investment on the ground. ADB is already financing infrastructure in Georgia, including the $250 million Tbilisi bypass road now in tender, while the new facility directs credit to the specific locations where DRIVE investments are proposed. The data sheet lists no project documents yet; ADB says it adds information to project data sheets as it becomes available.