🗳️ The startup VINICI creates a rhetorical timeline of what politicians have said - fighting for democracy in Georgia

"We are now classified as foreign agents," the man from Memorial told us.

I was visiting Moscow and met this Russian human rights organization, which, among other things, has documented the crimes against humanity committed by Josef Stalin. In 2022, they were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work.

"After they started calling us 'foreign agents,' it's not far from banning us or severely restricting our activities. For who wants 'foreign agents' running rampant in the country?" he continued.

A transparent, yet cunning, way to legitimize the oppression of critics. Because they are obviously not foreign agents. They are the opposite. They work for the human rights of Russians, unlike Vladimir Putin.

The man from Memorial was right. What he foresaw happened in Russia.

Unfortunately, authoritarian regimes are good at learning from each other. The Russian "law" on foreign agents was introduced last year in Georgia. After massive protests with hundreds of thousands of people, mainly young people, on the streets, it was withdrawn. It was claimed it would never come back.

Many young people understood that the election in the fall of 2024 would be very important for Georgia's future. But one problem was that they didn't know much about politics, what the politicians had promised, and the vast amount of information, much of it falsified, made it hard to understand who to trust.

Who do you know

That was the starting point for VINICI. A startup whose name means 'who do you know' in Georgian.

Ana Toklikishvili brought her brother Giorgi Toklikishvili and two computer scientists, Rati Skhirtladze and David Janezashvili, into the startup, with the goal of helping young people and other Georgian voters make an informed choice.

In the fall of 2023, they participated in – and won – the Democracy Tech Hackathon at DataFest Tbilisi. The prize was to become a Democracy Tech Fellow at the Alliance of Democracies.

I had the privilege of being one of their mentors as they developed their company and prepared to pitch at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit.

A rhetorical timeline

The day before Ana Toklikishvili took the stage in Copenhagen, the 'foreign agents' law was passed in Georgia. The law that would never return had come back.

The need for VINICI increased even more. Something the jury realized, and after Ana's pitch, they won the prize for best startup in the Super Election Year category.

What Vinici does is, with the help of AI, gather public information about politicians and candidates and map what they have said and written. This is then compiled into, among other things, a rhetorical timeline. What did Politician X say about this in 2015, how did it change in 2017, and what do they say today?

Which politicians solemnly promised not to introduce a foreign agent law, and what do they say now?

This is important in Georgia, but a very useful tool worldwide.

Interview with Ana Toklikishvili

The president vetoed the foreign agent law, but it was overridden by parliament in recent days. Therefore, it will come into force shortly.

I asked Ana a few questions about this and the future of Vinici.

After your win in Copenhagen, what are the next steps?

Our major next task is to raise funds to launch the platform before the elections in September 2024. Before the summit, the VINICI team volunteered to conduct major development work for the platform. The prize award of $10,000 will help us progress to the development of the MVP, the first version of the tool.

However, to fully launch the platform before the elections in September, there is a need for team expansion and we hope to get funding from private donors and foundations. Subscriptions to additional features will help us grow the business, ensure sustainability and reach out to citizens for free.

After piloting the platform in Georgia, VINICI plans to scale up the business to countries with full and transition democracies.

How can VINICI affect the upcoming elections in Georgia?

There is a high demand on voter’s end to know more about politicians. We believe, that VINICI will help undecided voters to make informed decisions. The platform can also increase the turnout of those voters, who are less engaged in the political process due to limited information and knowledge on political candidates.

How will the new "foreign agents" law affect Vinici?

It's a challenging question to address. What we are certain about is that we will not register as agents/actors pursuing the interests of foreign interest in Georgia. This stance is widely shared among civil society organizations in Georgia. We refuse to be labeled as agents working for foreign interests, as we firmly believe that our platform serves the interests of the Georgian people, as it will serve the interests of people of other countries VINICI  intends to operate in the future.

The new foreign agents law will impact all non-governmental, non-profit organizations whose funding exceeds 20 percent from foreign sources. In Georgia, civil society groups, along with independent media outlets (primarily online), are funded by Western donors. We are currently consulting with legal experts to determine the best approach for securing grant funding while also developing revenue streams that ensure the project's sustainability.

Help VINICI succeed

If you want to support VINICI with funding, technical assistance, or anything else they need on their startup journey, get in touch with me, and I'll connect you.

Mathias Sundin
The Angry Optimist