Kathmandu, March 9:

The government scheme of Small Entrepreneurs’ Self Employment (SESEP) — a project financing scheme — will encourage more employment in tourism and agriculture sectors, said Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, the architect of the scheme.

“People who get support under SESEP will get a refund of 60 per cent interest if they pay their instalments on time,” said the architect-turned politician addressing a programme organised by Nepal Chambers of Commerce (NCC) here today.

The government has launched SESEP targeting unemployed youth by providing them

with collateral-free seed money of upto Rs 2,00,000 to get self-employed.

“SESEP will help build ‘New Nepal’ by transferring economy from agriculture to industrialisation,” said the Maoist ideologue, stressing on modernisation of agriculture and development of tourism entrepreneurship. “It will further help stop the trend of youths going aboard as migrant workers,” he assured.

The finance minister also tried to assure the business community that the government was working on building a congenial environment for business and industries.

“The government is preparing to provide relief packages to support sick industries,” he said urging them to join hands with the government.

On the occasion, NCC president Surendar Bir Malakar urged the government to clear any misconceptions about SESEP. He also suggested increasing the loan repayment time period to at least five years from the present two years.

“Entrepreneur-friendly environment is a key to reducing energy scarcity and increasing safety in the industrial sector,” Malakar added.

Federation of Nepal Chamber and Commerce (FNCCI) president Kush Kumar Joshi urged the government to target SESEP as a campaign against unemployment. “SESP can be helpful in developing entrepreneurship in rural areas,” the president of the umbrella organisation of the Nepali private sector said.

Bankers’ Association Nepal (BAN) president Radhes Pant assured that the financial institutions would take the proposal itself as collateral. “However, the government must monitor and regulate SESEP so as to achieve the desired goals,” he suggested.