Kathmandu, February 22

With an aim to promote entrepreneurship in the country and especially those entrepreneurs who plan to develop high-quality inventions or systems by utilising new technologies through limited resources, the government has introduced a new plan to provide up to Rs five million in grant to such budding innovators.

Releasing the ‘Innovative Start-up Capital Grant Guidelines, 2020’, the Ministry of Finance has said it will provide grants to new innovators, including entrepreneurs, businesspersons or institutions, who want to establish new ventures.

Earlier, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada had announced about launching such a programme in the budget for the ongoing fiscal year. However, it is only after eight months of the budget announcement that the government has finalised the guidelines.

As per the Finance Ministry, the government will allocate funds every year in the budget to promote innovative works. According to the guidelines, the government will provide an entrepreneur up to 50 per cent of the total investment required. However, the grant amount shall not exceed Rs five million.

To implement the guidelines, the government will form a grant recipient directive committee to look into the matter. The directive committee will be led by a member of the National Planning Commission. The committee will compromise a joint secretary each from the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the National Planning Commission.

As per the guidelines, inventors with innovative knowledge, skills and abilities in sectors such as information technology, agriculture, energy, healthcare, tourism, information communication and technology and job creation through new innovations will receive the grant.

As per the guidelines, the directive committee will be assigned the responsibility to collect proposals from aspiring candidates for the grant.

The grant will be provided in three instalments — the first after the enterprise has been initiated; the second based on the progress and the third after the completion of the project.