The budget of Rs. 1647.57 billion recently unveiled by the government for this fiscal year has significant provisions for startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Government’s commitment towards small businesses hints that it realizes the importance of contribution of small business to the economy. Point 68 and point 483 of the budget talk about startups. Point 68 mentions that a challenge fund of Rs. 1 billion will be created to provide seed capital of Rs. 2.5 million to startups under project financing to attract youth entrepreneurs towards startup business. However, this is not the first […]

The very importance of SMEs for a country like Nepal lies in their significant contribution to the country’s GDP and employment generation. So, helping SMEs survive the current crisis also means safeguarding the country’s economic future. BY TAMISH GIRI Over the past nine months, exports of handicrafts have dipped dramatically as the international demand for merchandise goods has been decimated due to the Covid-19 crisis. The Federation of Handicraft Associations of Nepal (FHAN) reports a 70-80 percent fall in exports and an over 80 percent decline in domestic sales of such goods as a result of the absence of tourists […]

The forest floor is full of dried leaves, mills throw away sawdust, and farms burn away agriculture residue. Now, a Nepali company has decided not to let waste go waste and turn this biomass into fuel pellets. Biomass pellets can be a clean and cheap energy source, and an alternative to firewood, petroleum products, LPG and coal — all of which are unsustainable and harmful to health. Bakas Renewable Energy is planning to produce nearly 20,000 metric tonnes of biomass pellets every year for the Nepali market from its plant in Province 2, and help reduce Nepal’s petroleum import bill and […]

२०७७ कार्तिक ३ सोमबार, काठमाडौं । एनएमबी बैंकले वन तथा वातावरणका क्षेत्रका व्यवसायिक व्यक्तिहरूद्धारा प्रवद्र्धन गरिएको बकस रिन्युएबल ईनर्जी प्रा. लि.सँग वायोमास पेलेट उत्पादन गर्नका लागि १६ करोड वरावरको कर्जा सम्झौतामा हस्ताक्षर गरेको छ । बकस रिन्युएबल ईनर्जी प्रा. लि.लाई इन्टरनेसनल फाइनान्स कर्पोरेशनद्वारा प्रवद्र्घित नेपालको पहिलो अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय निजी इक्विटी फण्ड बिजनेस अक्सीजन प्राइभेट लिमिटेडले परियोजना विकास गर्नका लागि इक्विटीका रुपमा ५ करोड र बकस रिन्युएबल इनर्जी कम्पनिका प्रमोटरहरुद्धारा ५ करोड वरावरको लगानी रहेको छ । एनएमबी बैंकले प्रदान गर्ने १६ करोड वरावरको कर्जा रकमलाई कम्पनीले वायोमास पेलेट मेशिन खरीद गर्ने कार्यमा र चालु पुँजीमा उपयोग गर्ने छ । यस परियोजनाले […]

NMB Bank has signed a loan agreement with Bakas Renewable Energy Pvt. Ltd., a company promoted by forestry and environmental professionals in which Business Oxygen Pvt Ltd (BO2), Nepal’s first international Private Equity Fund with a climate focus promoted by International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group is making equity investment for developing a biomass pellet project at Ishworpur, Sarlahi District of Province No. 2. The project has equity investment of NPR 5 crores from BO2 and remaining NPR 5 crores from Promoting Shareholders whilst NMB Bank will be providing debt financing of NPR 16 crores under term and working […]

The country manager of International Finance Corporation on the institution’s strategy for Nepal, how it is assessing Nepal in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and how it wants to support the country in its recovery.   Wendy Werner, Country Manager of International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Photo Courtesy: IFC Wendy Werner is the country manager of International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, based in Dhaka. She implements IFC’s strategy to expand financial inclusion, sustainable infrastructure, and support competitiveness through investment and advisory services. Werner manages IFC’s committed investment portfolio of over $1.3 billion […]

In early 2020, Gandaki Urja Pvt. Ltd., Nepal’s largest commercial scale biogas plant, began distributing bio Compressed Natural Gas (bio-CNG)–a form of clean fuel generated from livestock and farm waste–to customers in Pokhara, in western Nepal. In addition to the new clients, Gandaki Urja’s team had good reasons to be upbeat: in late 2019 it received a Nepali Rupee 50 million ($413,000) investment from IFC-backed Business Oxygen (BO2), Nepal’s first private equity fund and the country’s only climate-focused fund. Company leaders were confident of reaching full production capacity quickly and expanding further. But that was before COVID-19. As the pandemic […]

दीपक शर्मा, काठमाडौँ — वैशाख १९, २०७७ विश्व अर्थतन्त्र नै महामारीको चपेटामा परेको छ । नेपाली अर्थतन्त्र पनि यसबाट अछूत छैन । व्यापार–व्यवसाय ठप्प भएको पनि एक महिनाभन्दा बढी भइसक्यो र अझै कति समय यस्तै चल्ने हो भन्ने अन्योल छ । भूकम्प र नाकाबन्दीको चपेटाबाट माथि उठ्न सफल भएको हाम्रो अर्थतन्त्रलाई अहिलेको विपद्बाट माथि उठ्न पहिलेजस्तो सजिलो छैन । हामी विपद्लाई रोक्न सक्दैनौं तर जोखिम कम गर्ने उपायहरू अपनाउन सक्छौं । विभिन्न क्षतिमध्ये वित्तीय क्षति न्यूनीकरणका धेरै उपाय हुन सक्छन् । वित्तीय क्षति र यसको न्यूनीकरणका उपाय जान्न वित्तीय व्यवस्थापनबारे बुझ्न जरुरी हुन्छ । व्यवसाय सञ्चालनका लागि आवश्यक लगानी कसरी […]

Post pandemic the government must expedite the foreign investment process to show that Nepal is back in business As we face an unprecedented and precarious pandemic that has caused uncertainty to the entire global economy, Nepal’s own response to it will determine at what velocity our economy will hit the ground. We need to brace ourselves for a very hard landing. All businesses have been severely disrupted by the COVID-19 lockdown. As private equity investors, our first task has been to assess the nature of the problem that they face and provide solutions. The effect of this contagion has not […]

The coronavirus pandemic has also brought out the best in institutions and individuals helping those in need during the lockdown At Health at Home  the phone lines open at 7am ever day. Within minutes the calls start coming in. Five volunteer doctors are online to take the average 500 calls a day from people all over the country concerned about coronavirus symptoms. Dalle Momo, the dumpling company, prepares 250 meals a day at its central kitchen at Ratopul and distributes them to security personnel enforcing the lockdown at intersections across Kathmandu, to frontline health workers at the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital […]