KATHMANDU, JUNE 25

People from all walks of life thronged to the 'CNIYEF Nepal StartUp Fest 2022', which was held here today to promote startup businesses and highlight their potential in contributing to the nation's economy and social wellbeing.

'This festival will give birth to a generation that will rewrite history,' said Binod Chaudhary, chairperson of Chaudhary Group. Citing the examples of Jack Ma and Bill Gates, he said anyone can be an entrepreneur if they have the dedication to fulfil their dreams. 'Innovative ideas and entrepreneurship are more important for a startup than the capital.'

He emphasised that the government should play the role of a facilitator for the growth of startups to resolve the country's unemployment problems.

The fest was an initiative of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries Young Entrepreneurs Forum (CNIYEF) and supported by the National Planning Commission, Youth and Small Entrepreneur Self-Employment Fund and the Indian Embassy in Nepal.

Speaking at the event, Finance Minister Janardhan Sharma said the upcoming budget has prioritised startups, with due importance accorded to establishment of incubation centres and trainings to scale up the skills of entrepreneurs, and pooling of investment for new business ventures.

Similarly, Minister of Industry and Commerce Dilendra Prasad Badu said that this kind of event will facilitate the participants in learning new ideas and techniques to grow as entrepreneurs.

Moreover, for the scaling and enhancing the entrepreneur culture in Nepal, he emphasised on the need of contribution of private sector bodies such as the CNI and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

'Events like these are extremely important and all sectors can play a vital role in building the ecosystem of startup in Nepal,' said Badu.

'We are working to facilitate young entrepreneurs to create jobs in the local market and stop the brain drain.'

President of CNI Bishnu Kumar Agrawal said that the biggest challenge for startups is investment. He said that the fest had been organised with the objective of raising investment for innovative startups.

He stressed that young entrepreneurs should not let their innovative thinking die just because of capital.

'We have organised this programme to encourage the innovative youth.'

Similarly, Poonam Khandewal of Venture Catalyst and India's angel investor, as a foreign speaker encouraged the youth participating in the fest to become entrepreneurs.

StartUp stars

The Confederation of Nepalese Industries Young Entrepreneurs Forum had received more than 300 project proposals from across the country. Among them, the shortlisted projects were given the opportunity to present their pitch at the fest.

After the presentation, in the presence of Secretary of the Ministry of Communications, Information and Technology Baikuntha Aryal, the investors reached a preliminary agreement to invest equity in the projects.

Out of the total investment pool of Rs 500 million, Team Ventures, Global Equity Fund, Aadhyanta Fund Management, Himalayan Capital and Televenture Partner Pvt Ltd pledged the capital investment of Rs 250 million to seven out the 10 finalists.

• inGrails Pvt Ltd: Rs 85 million

• Skill Sewa Pvt Ltd: Rs 85 million

• Doctors on Call Pvt Ltd: Rs 25 million

• Kheti-DV Excellus Pvt Ltd: Rs 20 million

• Dark Matter Game Production: Rs 15 million

• Digital Age Nepal: Rs 10 million

• Voxcro: Rs 10 million

• Foreveryng

• Mcqhall DalloTech Pvt Ltd

• Moho

A version of this article appears in the print on June 26, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.