Nepal Invests launched to accelerate investment in Nepal

 CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution, FMO, the Dutch development bank and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC jointly launched a platform, Nepal Invests that will drive increased investment into the country.

The group comprising of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and a development partner, will complement existing efforts to attract more investments and advance the development of the country, by channelling efforts to unlock the possibilities of investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation – helping to solve the biggest development challenges in Nepal, accortding to a press note issued by the SDC.

The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged the world, it reads, adding that for Nepal, it is clear that there will be significant economic pressure as a result of potentially volatile remittance inflows, and a surge in demand for finance at a time when the crisis has significantly reduced access and option of capital for SMEs. "Nepal Invests will support the economic recovery from Covid-19 in multiple ways; partnering to address business environment challenges, exploring innovative ways to finance SMEs and increasing the skills and capacity of local investment professionals."

These measures are designed to better prepare Nepal’s market for increased investment from development finance institutions, frontier players, and intermediate vehicles in order to support the medium-term economic recovery, it adds.

Nepal Invests represents a ground-breaking collaboration between DFIs and development partners in the country, reflecting shared objectives to support business growth, strengthen investment and accelerate Nepal’s economic recovery from COVID-19. The platform intends to mobilise additional supporting projects and contributions from other DFIs and development partners, whilst engaging closely with the needs of the Nepali private sector.

"CDC is an active investor in Nepal, we want to encourage more foreign direct investment (FDI) into the prospering nation," managing director and head of Asia at the CDC Group Srini Nagarajan said, adding that they are delighted to partner with FMO and the Swiss government in the unique collaboration between DFIs and development partners in Nepal that aims to attract foreign capital into the country. "The role of DFIs has been important in Nepal and will remain important after Covid-19, to support green growth and economic transformation."

"We hope to play an even stronger role in the future, he added. "I am hopeful this initiative will help us deepen our contextual understanding, forge partnerships and enable us to do more."

"FMO has played a pioneering role for development finance in Nepal," manager capacity development officer at FMO Andrew Shaw said, adding, "With our support to Nepal Invests, we hope to accelerate investment in the country and to support foreign investors to increasingly focus on Nepal."

"As part of Nepal Invests, FMO is committed to support the Nepali private sector to raise its environmental and social standards together with local stakeholders, and to facilitate the adoption of international ESG practices to create a level playing field between companies and improve access to DFI funding in the country," Shaw added.

Likewise,  ambassador of Switzerland to Nepal Elisabeth von Capeller, on the occasion, said that Switzerland is a long-standing development partner of Nepal and is committed to supporting Nepali small and medium enterprises to grow and contribute to Nepal’s economic development. "Attracting and mobilising private investments will be key in achieving the economic transformation agenda that Nepal has set for itself and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC is delighted to partner with CDC Group and FMO to support the Nepal Invests platform which will contribute to preparing the Nepali market for greater investments," she said, adding that the initiative also sets a precedent for future collaborations of this nature between development partners and development finance institutions to contribute towards Nepal’s economic advancement.

The platform is managed by Nathan Associates, in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The partnership was formed following a joint-DFI stocktaking mission to Nepal in January 2020. This mission was coordinated by SDC and SIFEM, and is a part of a collective effort by IFC and CDC (the DFI Fragility Forum) aimed at promoting private investments and jobs creation in fragile or politically complex contexts. Participation included DFIs such as CDC, FMO, Proparco, SIFEM, and IFC; as well as Development Partners such as the ADB, EU, FCDO, SDC, and the World Bank.