Kathmandu, June 15

The stakeholders of small and cottage industries have appealed the local units in the federal system to not just prioritise infrastructure but also equally focus on production, promotion and marketing of products with comparative advantages.

Amid a programme organised by the Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries (FNCSI) to welcome the newly elected mayors and deputy mayors from various local units and ward chairs of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, stakeholders said that local units should take infrastructural development and promotion of products with comparative advantages side by side to achieve holistic development and inclusive economic growth of the country.

“It seems that the newly elected heads of local units have been overlooking the development of local industries, even though small and cottage industries are backbone of country’s economy,” FNCSI President Shyam Prasad Giri said, adding that local units should give equal emphasis to development of local industries and businesses for the holistic development of every local unit and economic growth.

He also appealed new chiefs of all local units to coordinate with the private sector to promote entrepreneurship in the country. “In general, the country’s economy is shaped by local industries and businesses. However, contribution of local industries to Nepal’s economy is falling every year due to low priority given by the government,” Giri said.

According to him, the government and FNCSI should work together to generate skilled industrial manpower in each local unit to accelerate the pace of industrial growth and overall development of the country.

Similarly, cottage and small industry entrepreneurs also stressed on the need to promote collective production of local products and collective branding.

They also urged all local bodies of the government to introduce one-window policy to facilitate the local businesses in the country.

Likewise, they emphasised on the need to develop a strong inter-local units and inter-provincial coordination mechanism for industrial growth in Nepal, especially after the country fully adopts federal system.

Speaking on the occasion, the newly-elected Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Bidya Sundar Shakya said that KMC and FNCSI can work together to brand some local products in the domestic as well as foreign market under ‘KMC’ brand name. “However, local industries should ensure that products branded under the name of KMC are of high quality and competitive in the market,” Shakya said, adding that the domestic market is dominated by foreign products due to inability of local producers to give best-quality goods.

Similarly, Shakya said that KMC would soon start generating skilled and competitive manpower in the industrial sector of the country in coordination with FNCSI.

Informing that brain drain is a major problem facing the country at present, Deputy Mayor of KMC Hari Prabha Khadki said that KMC plans to introduce various programmes to control the outflow of Nepali youths to foreign nations. She also stressed on the need to promote women entrepreneurship in every local unit to boost the economy.