Entrepreneurs stress clearer bond between govt, business community

Kathmandu, November 17

Established entrepreneurs and business persons have urged the government to activate the Ministry of Industry’s Challenge Fund, and stressed on the requirement for a clearer bond between the government and the business community.

These issues were discussed during a panel discussion titled ‘Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Nepal’ held here today.

Ajay Pradhanang, managing director of Fleur Himalayan Ltd, stated the need for initiating the Challenge Fund, the need to improve Nepal’s standing in Doing Business index, and the importance of having to reduce the time taken to enter and exit a market in Nepal.

He also highlighted the need for clearer regulations on venture capital and private equity in the country.

Ashutosh Tiwari, CEO, Sherpa Adventure Gear, deliberated on the intricacies of a business ecosystem. He explained how innovative enterprises could link world resources and influence the whole world and thus the need to help them grow.

Amod Rajbhandari, partner at True North Associates, talked about why he began the business acceleration programme in Nepal, having identified that businesses had vision but little strategic planning. “Access to finance and business management strategies are very important for any new business,” said Rajbhandari.

Aashish Adhikari, founder of RedMud Coffee, shared his experience on how he initiated his business — how he, as a young college dropout, had an idea to create a business by utilising local resources in Nepal.

He engaged audiences on how he had to struggle as a young start-up with no degree and little resources to use as collateral.

Meanwhile, Deependra Chaulagain, director of Samriddhi Foundation, explained the need for a flexible policy environment that spreads hope, not fear among aspiring businesspersons.

He talked about the complications companies face to enter and exit in the country and why the state needed to work on reducing the number of days required to enter or exit a market.

Industry Minister Nabindra Raj Joshi said he did recognise the present bureaucratic and political issues that clouded business policies but he underlined the need to work together in order to create space for political change.

The event was part of an ongoing worldwide programme named ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week’. Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is the world’s largest celebration of innovators and job creators, who launch start-ups that bring ideas to life to drive economic growth and expand human wellbeing.

The initiative kicked off in 2008, launched by former UK prime minister Gordon Brown and Carl Schramm, the president and CEO of Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Since then, it has expanded to 160 countries with nearly 20,000 partner organisations planning more than 35,000 activities that directly engage over 10 million people.

Samriddhi Foundation has been the official host of the GEW since 2010 and has year after year, engaged with a growing group of partners in celebrating this event.

Global Entrepreneurship Week observed

KATHMANDU: The US Embassy in Kathmandu today organised a programme to mark the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW 2016).

According to US Embassy officials, students from nine colleges of Kathmandu were given entrepreneurship ideas by six Nepali entrepreneurs who recently visited the United States.

Observed from November 14-20, the global entrepreneurship week this year had carried the theme of ‘Developing Entrepreneurship and Devising an Investment Strategy’.