Further reforms can help the market grow and attract more investments and best practices. In just half a decade, since the private equity market first broke ground in Nepal, it has provided welcome support to local entrepreneurs. With better access to capital, small businesses can now dream bigger. Private equity funds bring more than money to the table. They help build or grow dynamic, job-creating companies that can be potential game changers, spurring the development of the business ecosystem. For Nepal, this can help stimulate its economy, especially in the face of a global pandemic. Our research shows that 17 […]

IFC South Asia Gender Compendium profiles case examples of gender impact in agribusiness in South Asia covering India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Business Oxygen’s investments  in Nepal are  improving the lives and livelihood of women smallholders and local entrepreneurs. These are powerful examples of what the private sector-led initiatives can do to promote gender in their business operations and supply-chains.     Download Pdf    

Business Oxygen (BO2), a private equity fund backed by International Finance Corporation (IFC) to support small and medium enterprises in Nepal, said Monday it has invested $500,000 in MedPro International. MedPro, which is led by cardiac surgeon and healthcare entrepreneur Bishal Dhakal, runs a venture under the banner of Health at Home Nepal. Established in 2007, it is an out-of-the-hospital healthcare service provider. The company provides a range of care services for patients, from general nursing care to critical care for severely ill patients and long-term, chronically ill patients. It also offers counselling for patients, physiotherapy services and monthly prescription-drug […]

About 250 years ago when King Prithivi Narayan Shah made Kathmandu the capital of unified Nepal, he realised that the city had great potential as a business centre, complementing its role as a trading hub. He allowed in businessmen from Rajasthan in India to set up shop and allow entrepreneurship to ferment, a move expanded later by Prime Minister Chandra Shamshere Rana. One reason entrepreneurship did not have deep roots in Nepal was the concept of जागिर, a 10-5 salaried position with job security. That is why the start-up culture took so long to start up and morph in Nepal. The proliferation of, […]

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 […]