Kathmandu, January 24
As part of the celebration of 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' an initiative of the Indian government to commemorate the country's 75 years of independence, the Embassy of India in Kathmandu organised an event 'India-Nepal Start-up Connect' to promote Start-up India in Nepal as well as create a platform for Indian investors as well as young entrepreneurs here to exchange ideas.
Speaking at the event, Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava shared that the event is the starting point for connecting youngsters of India and Nepal in a journey to enhance start-ups through collaborative efforts.
"This is a special year as India is celebrating its 75 years of independence and a corresponding milestone of diplomatic relations with Nepal. India is also heading into the G-20 forum under which the country has emphasised on improving digital infrastructure to foster greater collaboration with partner countries as well as improve socio-economic conditions going forward. In this regard, Nepal is part of our financial track plan under G-20," he said.
Maha Prasad Adhikari, governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), also reiterated that such events will help businesses and entrepreneurs of both countries to learn and replicate the solutions to develop the socio-economic condition as well as further improve relations between the two countries.
"To promote the fin-tech ecosystem in Nepal, NRB has envisioned the establishment of a regulatory sandbox that can promote innovation and provide suitable platforms to develop new products that can help both Nepal and India. We are also expecting collaboration between private Nepali industries and Indian fin-tech industries, exchange of infrastructure, and mitigation of risks which can be beneficial for both nations. The NRB will always take a positive stance in facilitating and enabling cross-border collaboration with e-commerce and fin-tech sectors," he shared.
Meanwhile, Babu Ram Gautam, joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, pointed out that the government of Nepal has already started taking initiatives towards supporting start-ups.
"The government has already drafted a start-up policy and final validation is in the process alongside formulation of start-up funding guidelines. A feasibility study in establishing a business incubation centre is also underway alongside plans to introduce training and technology transfer programmes in the country," he said, adding that a 'Start-up Nation 2030' white paper has been developed in partnership with the private sector.
The forum also included two sessions of panel discussions which focused on 'Cross-border e-commerce and FinTech' and 'Funding opportunity for Nepal start-ups through India' respectively.
The discussion on 'Cross-border e-commerce and FinTech' focused on opportunities available in India-Nepal e-commerce and fin-tech sectors as well as provided an overview of existing innovations in the related space and the way forward.
The session was moderated by Manish Shrestha, board member of the Confederation of Nepali Industries Young Entrepreneurs Forum (CNIYEF), with Anand Bajaj, MD, and CEO of Paynearby; Amun Thapa, CEO of Sastodeal; Biswas Dhakal, president of F1Soft; Sixit Bhatta, CEO of Tootle; and Akshay Chaturvedi, CEO of LeverageEdu, as the panelists.
The second discussion - 'Funding opportunity for Nepal start-ups through India' - focused on incentives available under the Start-up India programme, the venture capital and incubation ecosystem in India, and ways for Nepali start-ups to tap into this network for funding, either directly or through collaboration with Indian start-ups.
The session was moderated by Chirag Sarawagi of CNIYEF, with Tenzin Gonsar, CEO of Team Ventures; Sandeep Jhingran, start-ups head of projects at Internet and Mobile Association of India; Rathnakar Samavedam, CEO of Hyderabad Angels; and Anubhav Kumar Das of Start-up India, as panelists.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 25, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
