Samriddhi, the Prosperity Foundation is the official host organization from Nepal in GEW and has been marking GEW in Nepal since 2010 by bringing together people and organizations to help create an environment that allows entrepreneurial behavior to flourish.
1) Partnership with Lead International in taking #GEW2015 to rural nepal (Nov 22 -24, 2015)
Samriddhi partnered with Lead International to take GEW to rural Nepal for the first time making #GEW2015 a special undertaking. Lead International, which is a professional enterprise solutions company, has been a long-standing partner to Samriddhi since the very first celebration of GEW in 2010. This year, the two organizations thought of taking GEW beyond the Kathmandu valley and worked with 41 entrepreneurs from Achham and Kailali in the Far Western part of Nepal, which is usually known for its remoteness, poverty and high out-migration. In this process, we brought in a local partner from the region – YES Nepal.
We celebrated #GEW2015 with the local entrepreneurs and cooperative members of Achham and Kailali by conducting two training programs in Achham to boost entrepreneurial thinking and skills among the local entrepreneurs who all have some sort of small start-up enterprise or are in the process of building one. We thought helping them learn hands on tool about running and expanding a business would help their entrepreneurial endeavors and thus provided two trainings detailed below.
It was a moving experience to see that even a remote rural setting, entrepreneurial spirit has flourished so beautifully. It reassured us that if we are to change Nepal’s identity from a poor nation to a prosperous one, these entrepreneurs are Nepal’s hope. This small video clip of Rebanti, a goat farmer who started with 2 goats and now runs a farm of 35 and plans to continue with the growth, will be able to better tell what we are trying to say here. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-g1zpt1f-k)
a.Training on Leadership Development and Evaluating Investment Decisions
The Training on Leadership Development and Evaluating Investment Decisions was provided to 21 participants who were at the decision making level at various cooperatives in Kailali district. The training included sessions on leadership and decision making process, understanding about investment, analyzing different aspects of an investment project and tools to evaluate investment project which were explained in the simplest of manner for the target beneficiaries. While we could see the motivation and zeal among our participants, we could equally feel the progress they were making towards an entrepreneurial community.
b.Training on Developing your Product and Distribution Strategy
Similarly, recognizing the timely need of the entrepreneurs, Training on Developing your Product and Distribution Strategy was designed for the local entrepreneurs in Achham. The objective of the training was to help the participants understand and increase their knowledge on product and distribution strategy so that they penetrate the market successfully for self-sustenance. Altogether the training helped 20 participants understand how to analyze and decide whether or not to develop new product. It also focused on helping participants understand how and when to develop new product. It increased the participant's knowledge on the role of distribution channel and how to design it and helped them realize the importance of distribution partners and how to select and manage them.
Ms. Rebanti Bohara from Accham, who is a budding local entrepreneur, shared:
"I started goat farming with 2 goats ten months ago and up until now I have bred 35 goats. I further plan to increase the number of goats and make my business grow. After the training, I realized how we could cut cost by using locally available resources. I used to buy tin sheets to make the goat shed before, and it used to cost me money but after the trainings, I opted to use locally available wooden resources to make the goat sheds, which cut down my cost. I have learned that we can do business with little sum of money if we know how to become resourceful and can in fact make profits. I feel that these trainings are important not only to us, in fact it should reach other local and rural entrepreneurs who are striving to earn their living. The trainings have provided us with a lot of encouragement and a Nobel message of self sustainability."
- Ms. Rebanti Bohara, Goat Farming Entrepreneur, Achham
2. Promotion of Global Entrepreneurship Week through Social Media
Nepali entrepreneurs’ news story and infographics were shared on Samriddhi’s facebook page, twitter and LinkedIn page to highlight how entrepreneurship helps society. The post-reach and tweet impressions increased sharply due to #GEW2015 posts and tweets.
3. Video on Entrepreneurs’ of Nepal
Videos on four entrepreneurs in Nepal leading different sectors in the market were made and shared through our social networking portals. The entrepreneurs were:
a.Prem Lama, Ashapuri Organic farm
Prem Lama runs Ashapuri Organic Farm, established in 2002, which promotes and markets organic food in the country and outside. The link to the video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bND4UmK_tkA&index=3&list=PLMFUFi5EPl-YQX...
b.Nirjala Shrestha and Shanti Shrestha, Friends Handicrafts Nepal
Nirjala Shrestha and Shanti Shrestha are the proud owners of Friends Handicraft, which was established in the year 2002. They offer jobs to economically-deprived women and wish to foster the spirit of entrepreneurship among them. The link to the video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUqHEL9kZJI&index=4&list=PLMFUFi5EPl-YQX...
c.Chattra Hari Karki, Midas Technology
Chattra Hari Karki found that Nepal could be a breeding ground for technological start-ups. It has now been 15 years that he started Midas Technologies, which has exponentially exploded into other business ventures. The link to the video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYyC-pZjZF4&index=1&list=PLMFUFi5EPl-YQX...
d.Laxmi Sharma, Laxmi Wood Craft Udhyog
Laxmi Sharma owns and runs ‘Laxmi Wood Craft Udhyog’, the premier exporter of quality buttons to fashion houses like Ralph Lauren and Zara among others. The link to the video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QUmM90OdQg&index=2&list=PLMFUFi5EPl-YQX...
2) Activities with Microsoft Innovation Center, Nepal
Samriddhi Foundation partnered with Microsoft Innovation Center Nepal for GEW 2015. Microsoft Innovation Center Nepal hosted a series of events to highlight the innovation and development in entrepreneurship.
A Talk Program on “Entrepreneurship- Global Arena”
On 18 November 2015, Microsoft Innovation Center Nepal organized a talk program on the global nature of entrepreneurship. The talk focused on how entrepreneurship leads and builds the economy. The essence of the program was to motivate the youths to focus on creating jobs.
Dr. Laxman Pun, Chief Technical Advisor at Micro-Enterprise Development Program talked about why micro-enterprise is the key to development of Nepal. He shared his experience on how he initiated Micro-Enterprise development program and how it upgraded the lifestyle of people living in absolute poverty through entrepreneurship.
Later, Michael Goldberg, Author of MOOC, Beyond Silicon Valley joined the audience through Skype. He talked about how the entrepreneurship environment is in Cleveland. He talked about how to seek for investments and partnership to start or scale a business. The interactive session with the audience was to brainstorm ways to find investments in an environment where investors are scarce and investor to fund a startup is even scarcer.
Talk Program on “Women Entrepreneurs”
On 19 November 2015, a talk program was hosted on the ‘Story of a Women Entrepreneur’. Laxmi Sharma, international award winning women entrepreneur, started her entrepreneurial journey with the aim to provide for her family. At present, she employs more than 4000 people, 15 % of whom are differently abled. Within three decades of establishing ‘Laxmi Wood Craft Udhyog’, she now deals with international brands like Ralph Lauren. She is now working to promote Nepali products that are unknown in international market.
Talk Program on “The Now Generation Tech Entrepreneurs”
On 20 November 2015, a talk program was hosted with Amrit Man Tuladhar, a tech entrepreneur, CEO of Muncha.com. He is a pioneer of e-commerce business in Nepal. He started his business when computers were not a household object in Nepal and the internet was basically unheard of. But his vision and perseverance paid off and now his site, muncha.com is the leading e-commerce site of Nepal. The talk focused on scenario of starting a tech company in Nepal.