Kathmandu, September 19

Three organisations are joining hands to launch a programme to enable 100 high potential women in the mid and far western development regions of the country to set up small businesses.

Over 50 per cent of population in mid and far west of Nepal are women and over 70 per cent of households are headed by women. Yet, women are poorly represented on the entrepreneurial landscape.

RAP3 CONNECT, a component of UK aid funded Rural Access Programme 3, hopes to redress this balance by working with private sector partners such as Unilever Nepal Ltd and Prabhu Bank, according to a media release.

Unilever Nepal is investing to create women entrepreneurs through its rural direct-to-consumer ‘Hamri Didi’ initiative aimed to empower underprivileged women as change agents in communities by providing knowledge on health and sanitation and sustainable income generating opportunities.

RAP3 CONNECT selected 100 women from RAP3 core districts namely Doti, Achham, Bajura, Dailekh and Jumla, who attended the necessary training organised by Unilever in the Capital.

They received certificates upon completing the training from Chiranjibi Nepal, governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), here today. The Hamri Didis are eligible to trade and deal in consumer products.

“This partnership is very important as it focuses on making women independent,” the release has quoted NRB Governor Nepal as saying.

Prabhu Bank will provide loans of Rs 15,000 to all 100 Hamri Didis for start-up capital and can offer efficiencies in the delivery and management of these loans due to their network of agents across the country, the release adds.