नेक्स्ट ग्रोथ कनक्लेभ सकियो

कान्तिपुर संवाददाता

काठमाडौ ‘ स्टार्टअप’ मा आबद्ध उद्यमी, व्यवसायी, लगानीकर्ताको विकासमा काम गर्दै आएको ‘नेक्स्ट भेन्चर कर्प’ ले शुक्रबार राजधानीमा आयोजना गरेको दोस्रो ‘ नेक्स्ट ग्रोथ कनक्लेभ’ सम्मेलन सकिएको छ ।

‘ ग्रो फास्टर थिम’ मा आधारित सम्मेलनमा एक हजार हाराहारी उद्यमी, व्यवसायी, लगानीकर्ता र सरोकारवाला सहभागी थिए । कर्पका प्रोग्राम डेभलपमेन्ट अफिसर आयुष मानन्धरका अनुसार सम्मेलनमा नेपालसहित पाँच मुलुकका विज्ञहरूले ‘व्यवसायलाई अर्को चरणको उचाइमा कसरी लैजान सकिन्छ ?’ भन्ने सवालमा केन्द्रित सफलताका कथा र सूत्रहरू सुनाएका थिए । ‘ स्टार्टअप’ समुदायबाटै उदाएका मलेसियाबाट वारेन ल्यावोले ‘ सानो अर्थतन्त्र भएको मुलुकका उद्यमीहरूले विश्व बजारमा पहुँच कसरी पुर्याउने ?’ भन्ने विषयमा बोलेको थिए । उनीजस्तै सानो आकारको उद्यमबाट रेमिट्यान्सलाई अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय तहसम्म फैलाउन सफल आईएमई समूहका प्रबन्ध निर्देशक हेमराज ढकालले ‘ नेपालबाट सुरु भएका उद्यमहरूले कसरी ठूलो आकार लिन सक्छन् ?’ भन्ने विषयमा धारणा राखेका थिए ।

महतो गुप्र अफ इन्डस्ट्रिजका संस्थापक उपेन्द्र महतोले ‘ नेपालमा लगानी गर्न किन उपयुक्त छ ?’ भन्ने विषयमा आफ्ना भनाइ राखेका थिए । भारतमा चर्चित रहेको ‘ कुइकरडटकम’ का उपाध्यक्ष नितिन सेठीले ‘ नेपाली उद्यमीहरूलाई ग्राहकको चाहना बुझेर कसरी आफ्नो व्यवसायलाई विस्तार गर्न किन जरुरी छ ?’ भने बारे प्रस्ट्याएका थिए । त्यस्तै फिनल्यान्डका चन्द्र चलोङगाले ‘ प्रविधिमा आधारित उद्यम’ बारे , अमेरिकीवक्ता अर्नुद बनजोमले ‘ उदाउंदो व्यवसाय’ र इन्डोनेसियाका साजित र हमानले ‘ ठूलो कम्पनी कसरी बनाउने ?’ भन्ने विषयमा बोलेका थिए ।

सम्मेलनमा बैंकर तथा बिजनेस अक्सिजनका अध्यक्ष सिद्धान्तराज पाण्डेले ‘ साना तथा मझौला उद्यममा नेपाल सरकारले लगानी गरेर कसरी अर्थतन्त्रको विकास गर्न सक्छ ?’ भन्ने धारणा राखेका थिए ।

मलेसियाकी ललिथा वेमेल, भारतका अर्जित भट्टाचार्य, फिनल्यान्डका मोहम्मद सब्बिर लगायतले पनि उद्यम विकासका सूत्र र कथा सुनाएका थिए । सम्मलेनमा ‘ स्टार्टअप भ्याली’ पनि राखिएको थियो । जहाँ ३० हाराहारी उद्यमी व्यवसायीहरूले आफ्ना उत्पादन र सेवा प्रदर्शन गरेका थिए । ‘ नेक्स्ट भेन्चर कर्प’ नेपालमा पछिल्लो समय नया“ उद्यमी अथवा मझौला व्यवसायलाई विकास गर्ने तरिका सिकाउने , मद्दत गर्ने, ‘ को वोर्ककिङ स्पेस’ दिने , लगानीकर्ता जुटाइदिने , परामर्श, निगरानीलगायतमा ‘ मेन्टर सिप’ को काम गर्दैआएको छ ।

 

Igniting spark

Working in tandem is key to an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem

Niladri Parial
Kathmandu

A multitude of platforms that have sprung up to aid ideation, prototype development, and launch of a business in recent years have fuelled the desire among many to hop onto the rapidly-running bandwagon of entrepreneurship. It can, however be, be very confusing to a newcomer — with boot  camps, start-up platforms, incubators and accelerators vying for attention. The time was ripe for a key actor to play aggregator. That is what Nepal  Entrepreneurs Hub (NEHUB) did with a 5-day Spark Week from November 22-26. The idea was to bring together key sectors and actors of the  ecosystem together onto a common platform and discuss burning issues amidst established and emerging entrepreneurs. The event was planned to
coincide with the 10th anniversary celebrations of Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Divided into five days of discussion and supported by Nepal Innovation Lab, Islington College, and Local Intervention Group (LIG), the event focused on five tracks discussing on various elements of starting and growing a sustainable business. Kuber Chalise, Editor, Karobar National Economic Daily, and a panel for the discussion on Media and Entrepreneurship, praised the initiative for bringing all the actors together under one roof. Chalise who
has been actively involved in promoting the ecosystem since the initial days through write-ups and columns feels that Nepal and its people should move away from the slogans  of underdevelopment and aid toward a more ambitious mindset that is focused on growth and investment. He feels that a change in the social fabric of the country is required, that does not send its brightest and hard working to foreign countries for study and  employment, instead building appropriate institutions and infrastructure to groom the youth of the country to contribute to social and economic
growth. “The media that has been  working in a scattered way to support the ecosystem, should come together and look at itself as an integral mechanism to engineer that growth, and bring awareness to the community at large,” Chalise shared.

Siddhant Raj Pandey, CEO of Business Oxygen Pvt Ltd, lauded NEHUB’s effort as an incredible composite of ideas and issues, discussed with important players and contributors of the Nepali entrepreneurial ecosystem. “There are a lot of issues concerning the investment scenario in Nepal and it was fantastic to share our experience among stakeholders and entrepreneurs. Spark Week was the right foot forward in bringing private equity
firms such as BO2 in talking about the pre-and-post investment climate in the country. At BO2 we have focused on post-investment where we build capacity, bring processes and systems to the table, and ensure that our companies follow international best practices. The platforms that exist to  support entrepreneurship are doing an excellent job in making communities aware that opportunities exist in Nepal. In my experience, FDIs that are backed by bilateral or multilaterals look for accountability, transparency, and sustainability as three major pillars leading to a successful investment. I see a tremendous opportunity in educating the current and future crop of entrepreneurs about the value of transparency and compliance with  government regulations. BO2 is more than willing to work together with organisations such as NEHUB in fostering such an environment,” opined Pandey.

Merina Ranjit, COO at Chaudhary Foundation, said that a networking platform like Spark Week is important to know all ecosystem players better. “Often organisations or people that invest are carried away by the beliefs and values that they hold dear. At events, while interacting with aspiring or current entrepreneurs, perspectives become much more broader and inclusive, acting as catalysts to future incubation and investment,” Ranjit shared.  For Suman Shakya, co-founder at NEHUB, this was a  igniting another spark among the community, one that brings everyone together to further the ecosystem’s agendas — collaborative work practices, convergence of ideas, growth and investment platforms, and triggering growth.

The writer is Founder-Owner at WriteWeavers, a specialised content development and planning company. He can be contacted at write weavers@gmail.com