Six Nepalis makes their way to Asia’s ‘Forbes Top 30 Under 30’

Six Nepali youth have made to the list on Forbes’ 30 Under 30’ list, together with some 300 young entrepreneurs from Asia.
Golfer Pratima Sherpa, co-founders of Urban Girl Nikita Acharya and Kiran Timsina, Pad2Go’s founders Shubhangi Rana and Jesselina Rana, and Foodmario co-founder Rohit Tiwari are the young Nepalis, who made it to the list this year beating out thousands of other nominations.
Out of the 3,500 nominations, they were selected for their promise in their respective fields, and were dubbed change-makers and leaders by industry insiders for disrupting industries and inspiring change in various fields, according to the Forbes, the American business journal.
Golfer Pratima Sherpa, who is currently attending Santa Barbara City College in California, dreams to be Nepal’s first female professional golfer and wants to represent the country one day. “But her first club, at age 11, was a wooden stick that her father made from a branch, “the Forbes writes, adding that she is Nepal’s first ranked amateur female golfer today. Having grown up in a maintenance shed at the Royal Nepal Golf Club near Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), she was featured by ESPN and several other outlets for her drive, determination and promise in her sport. Due to the news published by the popular golf magazine ‘Golf Digest’, she shot into popularity. “A top-ranked golfer at the time Tiger Woods called her to the United States after he read the news that she had been playing golf since the age of 7,” the ‘Golf Digest’ wrote.
Likewise, started by Nikita Acharya and Kiran Timsina with an investment of $200, Urban Girl is a successful e-commerce store that sells branded clothing, accessories, cosmetics, and runs Urban Girl Cakes that employs and trains deaf women, as a business associated with the Gandaki Deaf Association. According to Forbes, the business now employs more than 50 people in Kathmandu and Pokhara.
The site that started by selling fashion jewelry and customised products like T-shirts and water bottles has now expanded to a broader range of products like makeup, home decor, and electronics.
And this is not the first time Pad2Go’s founders – a human rights lawyer and an engineer duo – have been awarded. Setting up vending machines for sanitary napkins for women, to remove menstrual taboo and raise awareness of menstrual health, the initiative started in 2018 as a not-for-profit.
Established in 2018, Pad2Go is a for-profit social enterprise to focus on menstrual health and remove the taboos around it. Now with 80 vending machines, and a suite of workshops to raise awareness and remove taboo, Pad2Go has also won first prize at the AGUASAN workshop in Switzerland in 2019. It also conducts workshops to address taboos around menstruation and works with manufacturers of sanitary napkins to get them cheaply.
Likewise, Tiwari co-founded Foodmario – a digital platform that connects home chefs with customers to deliver home-cooked food – two years ago, with an idea of selling home-cooked food for delivery, cooked by anyone from housewives to students. Having served more than 100,000 meals thus far, with approximately 34 employees, the business has been looking at expanding its offerings to cities like Butwal, Narayanghat, Chitwan, Pokhara, Biratnagar and Itahari, according to the Forbes.
Though, this year, Forbes’ 30 Under 30-Asia’ list includes young entrepreneurs from Nepal, the Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, South Korea, and others, who have been the caretakers of social change, this is not the first time Nepali youth made it to the 30 Under 30 Asia list of the Forbes. The list is published every year in 10 categories of enterprise, exploration, sports, art, social change and others.
In 2019 also, some Nepali youth made it to the list, whereas in 2018, Forbes listed 4 Nepali young entrepreneurs including Ayushi KC from Khalisisi, Anjal Niraula from Gham Power, Eco-Cell Industries and an activist Kanchan Amatya made it to the 30 Under 30 Asia list.
Ayushi KC – a 28-year-old entrepreneur – was enlisted in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2018. Founder of Khalisisi – a platform where peoples and organisation can connect the garbage collectors (Khalisisi Friends) – KC was then working in a motive towards zero-waste in Nepal. She founded Khalsisi Management Pvt Ltd, before she worked for USAID.
Likewise, listed under industry, manufacturing and energy category, Anjal Niraula (28) was then managing director of Gham Power, a company that develops solar micro-grid and commercial off-grid system. Having started in Nepal in 2010, the company has already installed 2.5MW of solar micro-grids across more than 2000 projects.
Likewise, listed under the Social Entrepreneurs Category, Eco-Cell Industries was founded by Nishan Shrestha, Sachet Pandit, and Subash Shrestha in the wake of the 2015 devastating earthquake to create a fast ad cheap way to reconstructing buildings.
Similarly, the 23 year-old Kanchan Amatya was then activist and entrepreneur, who founded of Sustainable Fish Farming Initiative (SFFI), and was listed under Social Entrepreneurs category by Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2018.

UN launches a request for applications to unlock investment capital for women enterprises

The United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has launched a request for applications, which will provide up to $1.3 million in funding for the development of a Women Enterprise Impact Investment Fund in Asia-Pacific countries.
ESCAP’s grant capital can be used for operational development and expansion costs, legal fees, building investor networks, market research, identifying investable women enterprises, portfolio management, capacity building and monitoring of impact. Impact Investment Fund (IIF) partners are expected to leverage the funds to mobilise the private sector investment capital necessary to operate and launch a Women Enterprise Impact Investment Fund within one year.
“Leveraging private capital through impact investment can play a critical role in supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” ESCAP deputy executive secretary Hongjoo Hahm, said, adding that ESCAP is excited to announce the request for applications and looks forward to working with Impact Investment Funds to unlock the capital urgently required to meet the funding gap faced by women entrepreneurs in the Asia-Pacific region. “Applicants are asked to take a gender lens investing approach, with the specific intent to create a positive impact on women enterprises.”
It can be in the form of investing in enterprises which are majority owned by women (51 per cent), managed by a woman, a majority of the board members are women, and/or investing in enterprises which support, empower and develop the capacities of women.
Applicants can be based anywhere globally, however the Women Enterprise Impact Fund must invest in women enterprises in one or several of the following countries including Cambodia, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, Nepal, Fiji and-or Samoa, the ESCAP press note reads, adding that applications are open to all organisations which hold a not-for-profit status, government and multilateral entities, who have the skills and expertise in developing similar initiatives. “It is expected that the applicant would be able to mobilise the investment capital necessary to provide investment to women enterprises.”
The successful applications will receive up to $1.3 million in grant funding, technical assistance and support in obtaining regulatory approvals where necessary, it adds.
This initiative is part of ESCAP’s ‘Catalysing Women’s Entrepreneurship: Creating a Gender-Responsive Entrepreneurial Ecosystem’ project. The project aims to create an enabling policy and business environment that enhances women entrepreneurs’ access to capital through innovative financing mechanisms as well as increase their use of ICT and digital solutions. The project is undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada.

King’s College to host province-level International Conference in Dhangadhi

King’s College announced the hosting of its third annual international conference on entrepreneurship, 'Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth in Federal Nepal' in Dhangadi of Sudur Paschim province.
While the conference to be held on November 22-24 is a continuation of its annual trend that began from 2016, it also marks the beginning of a new trend which is to organise a province-level international conference to foster the dialogue and stir actions in entrepreneurship ecosystem of all provinces.
"With the country adopting the federal model, we believe the spirit of entrepreneurship should not limit to Kathmandu but the equal share of cake should be tasted by the people across the nation,” informs principal of King’s College Narottam Aryal.
According to him, the major objectives of the conference is to assess, question and to understand the entrepreneurship agenda put forward by the country in the federal states, globally and nationally, look for its sustainability and seek its contribution to economic development.
“As an academic institute, we, therefore, want to provide an informed global platform to debate, build on good practice and seek novel solutions to flourish entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country and thus contribute to economic growth,” he adds.
As Nepal prepares to decentralise country’s policies and programmes from formerly centralised government to the state and local levels, King’s College feels need to host an evidence-based conference in Nepal in order to support all stakeholders involved in the process of current transition, according to the conference coordinator Chittaranjan Pandey.
He further informed that the conference aims at touching upon some of the key issues that are crucial for driving entrepreneurial initiatives under Nepal’s decentralised economy. The sub-themes of the conference includes Federal, Provincial and Local Policies; Social Entrepreneurship; Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Private Sector and Entrepreneurship, and Vision 2030, SDGs and Entrepreneurship.
Issuing a press release, the College also informed that the conference will include plenary and parallel sessions, presentations and discussions of academic research, policy driven and reflective practitioner-oriented papers, networking opportunities for the future, showcase of entrepreneurial ventures, social interactions and awards for two best papers, including others.
The College has collaborated with Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city to host the conference which is being held in support of Sudur Paschim Provincal Government. The three-day long event will also feature five noted international speakers – Prof Satyajit Majumdar and Dr Samapti Guha from TATA Institute of Social Science and Ulla-Maija Seppanen, Janne Karjalainen and Kimmo Paajanen from OAMK Labs Finaland (Oulu University of Applied Sciences)
King’s College had in 2016 hosted its first international conference – entitled, 'International Conference on Social Entrepreneurship', which was followed by the similar conference, '16th International Entrepreneurship Forum' in 2017 – in a bid to encourage dialogue on entrepreneurship and hold government responsible for policy change.

Lack of access to finance hindering growth of social entrepreneurship

Lack of access to finance and acceptance are hindering the growth of social entrepreneurship in Nepal, according to the experts.
Addressing a session on 'Rebuilding Nepal through Social Entrepreneurship,' at a two-day international conference on social entrepreneurship in Kathmandu today, former finance secretary Rameshwor Khanal said that social entrepreneurs have been facing two challenges, one access to finance and the other lack of acceptance in general by the society and by the government in particular.
"The government needs to accept and expand the access to finance for social entrepreneurship," he said, giving examples of the various types of social entrepreneurship that have flourished in Nepal since long. "Likewise, social entrepreneurs should also increase their access to policy makers."
The session moderated by social entrepreneur Anil Chitrakar also discussed various aspects of social entrepreneurship like preparing sustainable business model, passion on what one does, and most importantly taking risks and celebrating the failures and mistakes that makes one a successful social entrepreneur.
The conference organised by King's College, in partnership with more than 30 organisations including Dwaitto Foundation, Samriddhi Foundation, Behruva Ventures, Sherpa Adventure Gear, Siddhartha Inc, and many more – many of which are social enterprises themselves – saw participation of more than 400 delegates and social entrepreneurs.
Presenting the keynote address at the inaugural session, Prof Jay Mitra of the University of Essex Business School, UK, differentiated between regular business entrepreneurship with that of social and citizen entrepreneurship. He opined that social entrepreneurship is distinct due to its social value, inclusiveness, sustainability, localisation and broad-based stake-holding.
Likewise, noted tourism entrepreneur, writer and social worker Karna Shakya said that his mission at this advanced age is to help imbibe the spirit of entrepreneurship on youths. Taking examples of low-cost eco-friendly tourism and alternative energy sector (especially solar), he said advanced thinking and customer-sensitivity are must for even social enterprises to grow.
On the occasion, executive director of King's College Narottam Aryal raised the discourse on 'compassionate capitalism' as a route to empower social entrepreneurs.
The conference also saw a social enterprise bazaar of 30 actual practitioners from the sector, showcasing their wares and services.
Similarly, a report 'The State and Profile of Social Enterprises and Social Entrepreneurship in Nepal' was also launched at the conference. The report concluded that there is dominance of male and Newar community in entrepreneurship in the Kathmandu Valley which started from 1965. “Younger population below 40 years of age are largely involved in enterprise creation,” the report said, adding:
“The major difference that has separated the socially responsible enterprises from commercial enterprises is the creation of social impact, either at the backward linkage during the operational phase or at the forward linkage," it reads.
The study also showed that government support is very minimal in spite of the fact that there is a strong potential for social enterprises to help solve problems associated with agriculture, education, health, unemployment and poverty. "Most organisations lack a coherent business plan and need training for that," the report further reads, adding that the social enterprises need focused training for nurturing of intention, innovation impact and income."
The study also recommended that the government should identify social enterprise as a separate entity like public or private enterprises with the support of banks and financial institutions coming in to increase financial access. "Special training packages need to be developed for the impact based Lean Canvas Business Model and business plan preparation," it adds.