Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]
Code Context
//    $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';



    if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){
$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp'
$dataForView = array(
	'articles' => array(
		(int) 0 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 1 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		)
	),
	'current_user' => null,
	'logged_in' => false
)
$articles = array(
	(int) 0 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2639',
			'article_category_id' => '211',
			'title' => 'Shreenagar Agro Farm',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Pinaki Roy</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" width="25">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Satish Shrestha, MD, SAF" src="/userfiles/images/ss1%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 200px; height: 183px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
				<div align="center">
					<strong>Satish Shrestha</strong>, MD, SAF</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	An initial investment of Rs 1 million made in 2001 was the first step towards making Shreenagar Agro Farm (SAF) Pvt Ltd the big name it is &ndash; a company with an estimated current net worth between Rs 500&ndash;600 million. &nbsp;Satish Shrestha, the Managing Director of SAF, entered the livestock business in 2001 while still working with the Citibank. A BCom graduate from the prestigious Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in then Bombay, he worked as Relationship Manager at the Kathmandu office of Citibank from 1997 to 2002.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Gems Poultry, an integrated farm spread over 15 ropanis of land in Gongabu, Kathmandu was looking for a partner. Shrestha took the opportunity to become a partner in the farm that comprised of a fish pond, a small feed making facility and a commercial broiler unit.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Decision Time</strong></span></div>
<div>
	In 2002, Citibank decided to close down its office in Kathmandu and offered Shrestha a job at its office in Bangalore, India. While he was still pondering over the chance to relocate, his partner at Gems Poultry offered him to take over the company entirely. It got him thinking but eventually he decided to stay back and buy out the company. He paid the agreed amount over a period of three years and also renamed the enterprise as Gems Agro Livestock Industries Pvt Ltd. Having dabbled the banking job and the livestock business simultaneously for a year and taking over the company in full later helped Shrestha launch his flagship company &ndash; Shreenagar Agro Farm &ndash; in due course of time.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>The Company</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Shreenagar Group comprises of three companies &ndash; Shreenagar Agro Farm Pvt Ltd, Sunaulo Agro Farm Pvt Ltd, and Gems Agro Livestock Industries Pvt Ltd. These companies have emerged as an agri-business conglomerate with activities ranging in Poultry Breeder Farming for broiler and layer, Hatchery for production of broiler and layer day-old-chicks, Feed Mill for production of mash and pellet feed for poultry &amp; other livestock and Commercial Farming of broiler and layer as well as distribution of table eggs (regular and branded).&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	SAF moved business to Butwal in 2006-07 due to space constraint in the capital, a result of massive urbanization, which was hindering the expansion of his industry. The company stands out due to its technological advancement, research, continuous investment, professionalism and adequate exposure when compared to its contemporaries in the domestic market. It employs 150 people at all its facilities put together.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="center" width="100">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Feed Mill of Shreenagar Agro Farm" src="/userfiles/images/ss2%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 550px; height: 368px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#DDDDDD">
				<div align="center">
					Feed Mill of Shreenagar Agro Farm</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Learning Curve</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Shrestha makes regular visits to India for observing development in similar business areas. &ldquo;I also visit Thailand often which is the heart of agri-business sector in this region,&rdquo; he says. He also travels to Holland at regular intervals to update himself with technological advancements in the sector. He adds, &ldquo;What has become obsolete in regions such as Europe is coming to our part of the world now.&rdquo;While certain learnings are implemented immediately, some others are considered over a longer period of time, he says.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Exposure to successful agri-business outlets abroad has taught the company to focus on bio security. It has ensured distance between its poultry units, cleaner environment, maintenance of hygiene protocols etc. Another important aspect is the placement of its various farms. For example, the growing flock is based in Butwal while the production flock is at Palpa.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong><img alt="golden Egg" src="/userfiles/images/ss3%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; width: 160px; height: 197px;" />Golden Egg</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Shrestha always knew there was a market for branded eggs in the country. &ldquo;A cooking experience at my home kitchen sparked the idea of dating eggs to ensure fresh product for the consumers,&rdquo; he informs. Around mid-2012, SAF launched &lsquo;Golden Egg&rsquo; in containers that also mentioned the timeframe within which the eggs were required to be consumed.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Golden Egg started with sales of 1,000 eggs per day which increased to 40,000 eggs per day in about a year-and-a-half&rsquo;s time period. The company has now set a target to reach sales of 100,000 eggs per day by the end of 2014. Currently, Golden Egg is available in packs of 6, 12 and 30 eggs. The Golden Egg containers have the &lsquo;best before&rsquo; dates on their covers and are sold via hundreds of retail outlets.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Sales Strategy</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Having priced Golden Egg at a premium, SAF targeted consumers who were more likely to be quality conscious. Hence, the brand was introduced in department stores and various marts to begin with. The company is currently awaiting the results of a research on consumption trend of Golden Egg following which it will be selling branded eggs individually. The egg shells will be individually marked with Golden Egg stamp and available at the convenience stores and &ldquo;kiraana pasals&rdquo; as well.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Sourcing eggs from local farmers in various locations besides our own farm has multiple advantages,&rdquo; says Shrestha. He adds that while the idea provides business opportunities to the farmers, it also saves him the expenses of opening and maintaining farms. SAF continues to get its supply of products from alternate locations even at times when a certain part of the country witnesses a problem. The company imparts trainings to enable farmers run their respective farms efficiently and adhere to quality standards set by the company.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Looking Ahead</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Among its future plans, the company is continuously looking at integration efforts, reveals Shrestha. He hopes to reach fresh stores and ensure greater presence in retail over the next couple of years while also mulling over adding slaughtering and processing aspects of the livestock business.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;We are also exploring the idea of launching retail outlets tentatively named Golden Fresh Mart which will have four components: poultry &amp; meat products (includes eggs), dairy production, bakery products, and vegetables &amp; fruits,&rdquo; Shrestha says. He elaborates that the idea is to provide end consumers with an array of products under the same roof. He quickly adds though that it all depends on having like-minded partners who already hold an edge in their respective business segments.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Shrestha always dreamt of running a volume based industry in a conventional manner and being able to make a difference. Success has come along the journey, he says and advises aspiring entrepreneurs to keep on striving and continue in believing one&rsquo;s instincts.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-20',
			'modified' => '2014-02-23',
			'keywords' => 'new business age success story news & articles, success story news & articles from new business age nepal, success story headlines from nepal,  current and latest success story news from nepal, economic news from nepal, nepali success story economic news and events,  ongoing  success story news of n',
			'description' => 'Caught between a plum banking job and entrepreneurship, Satish Shrestha chose the latter. A little over a dozen years later, he has not looked back and is a successful businessman in the making. Notwithstanding all the hardships that he courted along the way, he is glad to have pursued his instincts and believed in his dreams.',
			'sortorder' => '2492',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 1 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2498',
			'article_category_id' => '211',
			'title' => 'Bajeko Sekuwa',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Pinaki Roy</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Started with an initial investment of Rs 600 over a quarter-of-a-century ago, &lsquo;Bajeko Sekuwa&rsquo; chain of restaurants has come a long way. &ldquo;Presently, our annual turnover well exceeds Rs 100 million,&rdquo; says its Chairman Chetan Bhandari.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The enterprise came into being as an endeavour of his father Dinanath Bhandari who was passionate about cooking. During festivals and celebrations, family members and friends in his village would ask him to make Sekuwa (skewered barbecued meat). He would willingly do so and cherish their compliments on being a good cook.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	After migrating to the capital, Senior Bhandari started a small eatery close to the Tribhuvan International Airport. It so happened that while on a visit to the airport, he noticed people selling different kind of food around the area. He observed that the airport served as a workplace for many people, including the services personnel, employees of Nepal Airlines Corporation, customs officials etc. It struck him that if he could put up a food joint there, decent footfall was almost a certainty.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>The Brand Name</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Many wonder where the eatery got its name from. When Bhandari ventured into selling sekuwa, he did not have a proper shop let alone having a name for identification. &ldquo;The credit for the brand name goes to the customers who used to frequent our roadside eatery those days,&rdquo; informs Chetan. Being a Brahmin and clad always in traditional daura-suruwal, the regular customers would refer to Dinanath Bhandari as &lsquo;Bahun Baje&rsquo; among themselves. And not too long in the future, people started calling the eatery as &lsquo;Bajeko Sekuwa&rsquo;.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Chetan&rsquo;s foray into the business too has an interesting twist to it. Even though he was involved in the business as part of the Bhandari family, the turning point came when his dad expressed his desire to have a break for a pilgrimage to India. An MBA graduate, Chetan was considering a career in the corporate world but this sudden development left him with managing the business on his own while his father was away. He says, &ldquo;Even before my father returned from his pilgrimage to India, I had made up my mind to manage the business and develop it into something bigger.&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="bajeko Sekuwa" src="/userfiles/images/ss1%20(Copy).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 294px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>The Chain Effect</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Bajeko Sekuwa opened its first outlet at Sinamangal area in the capital. The eatery chain has since opened outlets in Nayabazar, Sorhakhutte, Battisputali, Anamnagar and Gairidhara over the last 11 years or so. With the expansion of the enterprise came the branding part &ndash; the name, logo, color and the likes.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	While Chetan acknowledges that the business came into being because of his father, he is largely credited for transforming the brand into a hugely popular name among the food lovers of Kathmandu. He approached the business in his inimitable style and made it count amongst the most successful restaurant chains in Nepal.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Bajeko Sekuwa chain of restaurants offers over a hundred selection of food including, most notably, different varieties of sekuwa. It also has unique offerings of fish and vegetable sekuwa that are loved by its patrons as much. Over 150 people have found employment with the company who serve more than 500 customers a day in addition to more than a dozen banquets each month at its sprawling Battisputali premises.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>How Times Change</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Chetan recalls that in the early days of Bajeko Sekuwa, he would find it difficult to open fresh outlets for lack of new location as well as business loans from banks. &ldquo;The scenario has completely reversed today. While home-owners approach me personally to lease out their properties, the banks are way more forthcoming with granting loans to my business,&rdquo; smiles Chetan.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	He says that it doesn&rsquo;t matter what one chooses to do as long as s/he is focused about it. He adds, &ldquo;Anybody wanting to enter business must conduct research related to product and market, set targets and stay positive.&rdquo; The affable yet charismatic restaurateur in his 30s adds that risk-taking capacity is what brought him success and if one wants to make it big, there is no looking back, &ldquo;After all, we do business for money.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="Bajeko Sekuwa" src="/userfiles/images/ss2%20(Copy).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 335px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>Cashing the Brand&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Having tasted unprecedented success, Bajeko Sekuwa is now looking to open new outlets in the Kathmandu Valley as well as outside of it. &ldquo;I am working at a franchise model for the business wherein aspiring entrepreneurs from across Nepal will have the opportunity to get associated with us,&rdquo; Chetan says. He adds that internationally too, there have been interests pouring in from entrepreneurs based in countries such as Qatar, Malaysia and Macau among others.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The company has also hired experts to help expand the business in every possible manner. &nbsp;Besides increasing its count on number of outlets, it plans to start selling ready-to-eat, frozen as well as ready-to-cook marinated sekuwa from its outlets and various department stores. The business is also mulling over launching &lsquo;Bajeko Masala&rsquo; (spices). &ldquo;The idea is to cash the brand name as much as possible and reach success levels that I had envisaged and was confident about even as a young student long time ago,&rdquo; Chetan concludes.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-01-26',
			'modified' => '2014-01-27',
			'keywords' => 'new business age success story news & articles, success story news & articles from new business age nepal, success story headlines from nepal,  current and latest success story news from nepal, economic news from nepal, nepali success story economic news and events,  ongoing  success story news of n',
			'description' => 'A father’s passion for cooking and his son’s entrepreneurial character have combined to shape ‘Bajeko Sekuwa’ as a well-liked brand to reckon over the years. The ever so popular eatery has been operating from half-a-dozen outlets in Kathmandu and has plans to launch many more.',
			'sortorder' => '2347',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	)
)
$current_user = null
$logged_in = false
include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224
View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418
include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473
Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968
Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200
Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167
[main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117

Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity &quot;&quot; [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]
Code Context
//    $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';



    if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){
$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp'
$dataForView = array(
	'articles' => array(
		(int) 0 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 1 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		)
	),
	'current_user' => null,
	'logged_in' => false
)
$articles = array(
	(int) 0 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2639',
			'article_category_id' => '211',
			'title' => 'Shreenagar Agro Farm',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Pinaki Roy</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" width="25">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Satish Shrestha, MD, SAF" src="/userfiles/images/ss1%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 200px; height: 183px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
				<div align="center">
					<strong>Satish Shrestha</strong>, MD, SAF</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	An initial investment of Rs 1 million made in 2001 was the first step towards making Shreenagar Agro Farm (SAF) Pvt Ltd the big name it is &ndash; a company with an estimated current net worth between Rs 500&ndash;600 million. &nbsp;Satish Shrestha, the Managing Director of SAF, entered the livestock business in 2001 while still working with the Citibank. A BCom graduate from the prestigious Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in then Bombay, he worked as Relationship Manager at the Kathmandu office of Citibank from 1997 to 2002.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Gems Poultry, an integrated farm spread over 15 ropanis of land in Gongabu, Kathmandu was looking for a partner. Shrestha took the opportunity to become a partner in the farm that comprised of a fish pond, a small feed making facility and a commercial broiler unit.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Decision Time</strong></span></div>
<div>
	In 2002, Citibank decided to close down its office in Kathmandu and offered Shrestha a job at its office in Bangalore, India. While he was still pondering over the chance to relocate, his partner at Gems Poultry offered him to take over the company entirely. It got him thinking but eventually he decided to stay back and buy out the company. He paid the agreed amount over a period of three years and also renamed the enterprise as Gems Agro Livestock Industries Pvt Ltd. Having dabbled the banking job and the livestock business simultaneously for a year and taking over the company in full later helped Shrestha launch his flagship company &ndash; Shreenagar Agro Farm &ndash; in due course of time.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>The Company</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Shreenagar Group comprises of three companies &ndash; Shreenagar Agro Farm Pvt Ltd, Sunaulo Agro Farm Pvt Ltd, and Gems Agro Livestock Industries Pvt Ltd. These companies have emerged as an agri-business conglomerate with activities ranging in Poultry Breeder Farming for broiler and layer, Hatchery for production of broiler and layer day-old-chicks, Feed Mill for production of mash and pellet feed for poultry &amp; other livestock and Commercial Farming of broiler and layer as well as distribution of table eggs (regular and branded).&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	SAF moved business to Butwal in 2006-07 due to space constraint in the capital, a result of massive urbanization, which was hindering the expansion of his industry. The company stands out due to its technological advancement, research, continuous investment, professionalism and adequate exposure when compared to its contemporaries in the domestic market. It employs 150 people at all its facilities put together.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="center" width="100">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Feed Mill of Shreenagar Agro Farm" src="/userfiles/images/ss2%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 550px; height: 368px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#DDDDDD">
				<div align="center">
					Feed Mill of Shreenagar Agro Farm</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Learning Curve</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Shrestha makes regular visits to India for observing development in similar business areas. &ldquo;I also visit Thailand often which is the heart of agri-business sector in this region,&rdquo; he says. He also travels to Holland at regular intervals to update himself with technological advancements in the sector. He adds, &ldquo;What has become obsolete in regions such as Europe is coming to our part of the world now.&rdquo;While certain learnings are implemented immediately, some others are considered over a longer period of time, he says.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Exposure to successful agri-business outlets abroad has taught the company to focus on bio security. It has ensured distance between its poultry units, cleaner environment, maintenance of hygiene protocols etc. Another important aspect is the placement of its various farms. For example, the growing flock is based in Butwal while the production flock is at Palpa.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong><img alt="golden Egg" src="/userfiles/images/ss3%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; width: 160px; height: 197px;" />Golden Egg</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Shrestha always knew there was a market for branded eggs in the country. &ldquo;A cooking experience at my home kitchen sparked the idea of dating eggs to ensure fresh product for the consumers,&rdquo; he informs. Around mid-2012, SAF launched &lsquo;Golden Egg&rsquo; in containers that also mentioned the timeframe within which the eggs were required to be consumed.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Golden Egg started with sales of 1,000 eggs per day which increased to 40,000 eggs per day in about a year-and-a-half&rsquo;s time period. The company has now set a target to reach sales of 100,000 eggs per day by the end of 2014. Currently, Golden Egg is available in packs of 6, 12 and 30 eggs. The Golden Egg containers have the &lsquo;best before&rsquo; dates on their covers and are sold via hundreds of retail outlets.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Sales Strategy</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Having priced Golden Egg at a premium, SAF targeted consumers who were more likely to be quality conscious. Hence, the brand was introduced in department stores and various marts to begin with. The company is currently awaiting the results of a research on consumption trend of Golden Egg following which it will be selling branded eggs individually. The egg shells will be individually marked with Golden Egg stamp and available at the convenience stores and &ldquo;kiraana pasals&rdquo; as well.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Sourcing eggs from local farmers in various locations besides our own farm has multiple advantages,&rdquo; says Shrestha. He adds that while the idea provides business opportunities to the farmers, it also saves him the expenses of opening and maintaining farms. SAF continues to get its supply of products from alternate locations even at times when a certain part of the country witnesses a problem. The company imparts trainings to enable farmers run their respective farms efficiently and adhere to quality standards set by the company.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Looking Ahead</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Among its future plans, the company is continuously looking at integration efforts, reveals Shrestha. He hopes to reach fresh stores and ensure greater presence in retail over the next couple of years while also mulling over adding slaughtering and processing aspects of the livestock business.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;We are also exploring the idea of launching retail outlets tentatively named Golden Fresh Mart which will have four components: poultry &amp; meat products (includes eggs), dairy production, bakery products, and vegetables &amp; fruits,&rdquo; Shrestha says. He elaborates that the idea is to provide end consumers with an array of products under the same roof. He quickly adds though that it all depends on having like-minded partners who already hold an edge in their respective business segments.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Shrestha always dreamt of running a volume based industry in a conventional manner and being able to make a difference. Success has come along the journey, he says and advises aspiring entrepreneurs to keep on striving and continue in believing one&rsquo;s instincts.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-20',
			'modified' => '2014-02-23',
			'keywords' => 'new business age success story news & articles, success story news & articles from new business age nepal, success story headlines from nepal,  current and latest success story news from nepal, economic news from nepal, nepali success story economic news and events,  ongoing  success story news of n',
			'description' => 'Caught between a plum banking job and entrepreneurship, Satish Shrestha chose the latter. A little over a dozen years later, he has not looked back and is a successful businessman in the making. Notwithstanding all the hardships that he courted along the way, he is glad to have pursued his instincts and believed in his dreams.',
			'sortorder' => '2492',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 1 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2498',
			'article_category_id' => '211',
			'title' => 'Bajeko Sekuwa',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Pinaki Roy</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Started with an initial investment of Rs 600 over a quarter-of-a-century ago, &lsquo;Bajeko Sekuwa&rsquo; chain of restaurants has come a long way. &ldquo;Presently, our annual turnover well exceeds Rs 100 million,&rdquo; says its Chairman Chetan Bhandari.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The enterprise came into being as an endeavour of his father Dinanath Bhandari who was passionate about cooking. During festivals and celebrations, family members and friends in his village would ask him to make Sekuwa (skewered barbecued meat). He would willingly do so and cherish their compliments on being a good cook.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	After migrating to the capital, Senior Bhandari started a small eatery close to the Tribhuvan International Airport. It so happened that while on a visit to the airport, he noticed people selling different kind of food around the area. He observed that the airport served as a workplace for many people, including the services personnel, employees of Nepal Airlines Corporation, customs officials etc. It struck him that if he could put up a food joint there, decent footfall was almost a certainty.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>The Brand Name</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Many wonder where the eatery got its name from. When Bhandari ventured into selling sekuwa, he did not have a proper shop let alone having a name for identification. &ldquo;The credit for the brand name goes to the customers who used to frequent our roadside eatery those days,&rdquo; informs Chetan. Being a Brahmin and clad always in traditional daura-suruwal, the regular customers would refer to Dinanath Bhandari as &lsquo;Bahun Baje&rsquo; among themselves. And not too long in the future, people started calling the eatery as &lsquo;Bajeko Sekuwa&rsquo;.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Chetan&rsquo;s foray into the business too has an interesting twist to it. Even though he was involved in the business as part of the Bhandari family, the turning point came when his dad expressed his desire to have a break for a pilgrimage to India. An MBA graduate, Chetan was considering a career in the corporate world but this sudden development left him with managing the business on his own while his father was away. He says, &ldquo;Even before my father returned from his pilgrimage to India, I had made up my mind to manage the business and develop it into something bigger.&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="bajeko Sekuwa" src="/userfiles/images/ss1%20(Copy).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 294px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>The Chain Effect</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Bajeko Sekuwa opened its first outlet at Sinamangal area in the capital. The eatery chain has since opened outlets in Nayabazar, Sorhakhutte, Battisputali, Anamnagar and Gairidhara over the last 11 years or so. With the expansion of the enterprise came the branding part &ndash; the name, logo, color and the likes.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	While Chetan acknowledges that the business came into being because of his father, he is largely credited for transforming the brand into a hugely popular name among the food lovers of Kathmandu. He approached the business in his inimitable style and made it count amongst the most successful restaurant chains in Nepal.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Bajeko Sekuwa chain of restaurants offers over a hundred selection of food including, most notably, different varieties of sekuwa. It also has unique offerings of fish and vegetable sekuwa that are loved by its patrons as much. Over 150 people have found employment with the company who serve more than 500 customers a day in addition to more than a dozen banquets each month at its sprawling Battisputali premises.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>How Times Change</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Chetan recalls that in the early days of Bajeko Sekuwa, he would find it difficult to open fresh outlets for lack of new location as well as business loans from banks. &ldquo;The scenario has completely reversed today. While home-owners approach me personally to lease out their properties, the banks are way more forthcoming with granting loans to my business,&rdquo; smiles Chetan.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	He says that it doesn&rsquo;t matter what one chooses to do as long as s/he is focused about it. He adds, &ldquo;Anybody wanting to enter business must conduct research related to product and market, set targets and stay positive.&rdquo; The affable yet charismatic restaurateur in his 30s adds that risk-taking capacity is what brought him success and if one wants to make it big, there is no looking back, &ldquo;After all, we do business for money.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="Bajeko Sekuwa" src="/userfiles/images/ss2%20(Copy).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 335px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>Cashing the Brand&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Having tasted unprecedented success, Bajeko Sekuwa is now looking to open new outlets in the Kathmandu Valley as well as outside of it. &ldquo;I am working at a franchise model for the business wherein aspiring entrepreneurs from across Nepal will have the opportunity to get associated with us,&rdquo; Chetan says. He adds that internationally too, there have been interests pouring in from entrepreneurs based in countries such as Qatar, Malaysia and Macau among others.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The company has also hired experts to help expand the business in every possible manner. &nbsp;Besides increasing its count on number of outlets, it plans to start selling ready-to-eat, frozen as well as ready-to-cook marinated sekuwa from its outlets and various department stores. The business is also mulling over launching &lsquo;Bajeko Masala&rsquo; (spices). &ldquo;The idea is to cash the brand name as much as possible and reach success levels that I had envisaged and was confident about even as a young student long time ago,&rdquo; Chetan concludes.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-01-26',
			'modified' => '2014-01-27',
			'keywords' => 'new business age success story news & articles, success story news & articles from new business age nepal, success story headlines from nepal,  current and latest success story news from nepal, economic news from nepal, nepali success story economic news and events,  ongoing  success story news of n',
			'description' => 'A father’s passion for cooking and his son’s entrepreneurial character have combined to shape ‘Bajeko Sekuwa’ as a well-liked brand to reckon over the years. The ever so popular eatery has been operating from half-a-dozen outlets in Kathmandu and has plans to launch many more.',
			'sortorder' => '2347',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	)
)
$current_user = null
$logged_in = false
simplexml_load_file - [internal], line ??
include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224
View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418
include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473
Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968
Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200
Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167
[main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117

Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]
Code Context
  //  $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';



    if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){
$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp'
$dataForView = array(
	'articles' => array(
		(int) 0 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 1 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		)
	),
	'current_user' => null,
	'logged_in' => false
)
$articles = array(
	(int) 0 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2639',
			'article_category_id' => '211',
			'title' => 'Shreenagar Agro Farm',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Pinaki Roy</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" width="25">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Satish Shrestha, MD, SAF" src="/userfiles/images/ss1%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 200px; height: 183px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
				<div align="center">
					<strong>Satish Shrestha</strong>, MD, SAF</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	An initial investment of Rs 1 million made in 2001 was the first step towards making Shreenagar Agro Farm (SAF) Pvt Ltd the big name it is &ndash; a company with an estimated current net worth between Rs 500&ndash;600 million. &nbsp;Satish Shrestha, the Managing Director of SAF, entered the livestock business in 2001 while still working with the Citibank. A BCom graduate from the prestigious Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in then Bombay, he worked as Relationship Manager at the Kathmandu office of Citibank from 1997 to 2002.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Gems Poultry, an integrated farm spread over 15 ropanis of land in Gongabu, Kathmandu was looking for a partner. Shrestha took the opportunity to become a partner in the farm that comprised of a fish pond, a small feed making facility and a commercial broiler unit.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Decision Time</strong></span></div>
<div>
	In 2002, Citibank decided to close down its office in Kathmandu and offered Shrestha a job at its office in Bangalore, India. While he was still pondering over the chance to relocate, his partner at Gems Poultry offered him to take over the company entirely. It got him thinking but eventually he decided to stay back and buy out the company. He paid the agreed amount over a period of three years and also renamed the enterprise as Gems Agro Livestock Industries Pvt Ltd. Having dabbled the banking job and the livestock business simultaneously for a year and taking over the company in full later helped Shrestha launch his flagship company &ndash; Shreenagar Agro Farm &ndash; in due course of time.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>The Company</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Shreenagar Group comprises of three companies &ndash; Shreenagar Agro Farm Pvt Ltd, Sunaulo Agro Farm Pvt Ltd, and Gems Agro Livestock Industries Pvt Ltd. These companies have emerged as an agri-business conglomerate with activities ranging in Poultry Breeder Farming for broiler and layer, Hatchery for production of broiler and layer day-old-chicks, Feed Mill for production of mash and pellet feed for poultry &amp; other livestock and Commercial Farming of broiler and layer as well as distribution of table eggs (regular and branded).&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	SAF moved business to Butwal in 2006-07 due to space constraint in the capital, a result of massive urbanization, which was hindering the expansion of his industry. The company stands out due to its technological advancement, research, continuous investment, professionalism and adequate exposure when compared to its contemporaries in the domestic market. It employs 150 people at all its facilities put together.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="center" width="100">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Feed Mill of Shreenagar Agro Farm" src="/userfiles/images/ss2%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 550px; height: 368px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#DDDDDD">
				<div align="center">
					Feed Mill of Shreenagar Agro Farm</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Learning Curve</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Shrestha makes regular visits to India for observing development in similar business areas. &ldquo;I also visit Thailand often which is the heart of agri-business sector in this region,&rdquo; he says. He also travels to Holland at regular intervals to update himself with technological advancements in the sector. He adds, &ldquo;What has become obsolete in regions such as Europe is coming to our part of the world now.&rdquo;While certain learnings are implemented immediately, some others are considered over a longer period of time, he says.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Exposure to successful agri-business outlets abroad has taught the company to focus on bio security. It has ensured distance between its poultry units, cleaner environment, maintenance of hygiene protocols etc. Another important aspect is the placement of its various farms. For example, the growing flock is based in Butwal while the production flock is at Palpa.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong><img alt="golden Egg" src="/userfiles/images/ss3%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; width: 160px; height: 197px;" />Golden Egg</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Shrestha always knew there was a market for branded eggs in the country. &ldquo;A cooking experience at my home kitchen sparked the idea of dating eggs to ensure fresh product for the consumers,&rdquo; he informs. Around mid-2012, SAF launched &lsquo;Golden Egg&rsquo; in containers that also mentioned the timeframe within which the eggs were required to be consumed.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Golden Egg started with sales of 1,000 eggs per day which increased to 40,000 eggs per day in about a year-and-a-half&rsquo;s time period. The company has now set a target to reach sales of 100,000 eggs per day by the end of 2014. Currently, Golden Egg is available in packs of 6, 12 and 30 eggs. The Golden Egg containers have the &lsquo;best before&rsquo; dates on their covers and are sold via hundreds of retail outlets.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Sales Strategy</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Having priced Golden Egg at a premium, SAF targeted consumers who were more likely to be quality conscious. Hence, the brand was introduced in department stores and various marts to begin with. The company is currently awaiting the results of a research on consumption trend of Golden Egg following which it will be selling branded eggs individually. The egg shells will be individually marked with Golden Egg stamp and available at the convenience stores and &ldquo;kiraana pasals&rdquo; as well.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Sourcing eggs from local farmers in various locations besides our own farm has multiple advantages,&rdquo; says Shrestha. He adds that while the idea provides business opportunities to the farmers, it also saves him the expenses of opening and maintaining farms. SAF continues to get its supply of products from alternate locations even at times when a certain part of the country witnesses a problem. The company imparts trainings to enable farmers run their respective farms efficiently and adhere to quality standards set by the company.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Looking Ahead</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Among its future plans, the company is continuously looking at integration efforts, reveals Shrestha. He hopes to reach fresh stores and ensure greater presence in retail over the next couple of years while also mulling over adding slaughtering and processing aspects of the livestock business.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;We are also exploring the idea of launching retail outlets tentatively named Golden Fresh Mart which will have four components: poultry &amp; meat products (includes eggs), dairy production, bakery products, and vegetables &amp; fruits,&rdquo; Shrestha says. He elaborates that the idea is to provide end consumers with an array of products under the same roof. He quickly adds though that it all depends on having like-minded partners who already hold an edge in their respective business segments.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Shrestha always dreamt of running a volume based industry in a conventional manner and being able to make a difference. Success has come along the journey, he says and advises aspiring entrepreneurs to keep on striving and continue in believing one&rsquo;s instincts.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-20',
			'modified' => '2014-02-23',
			'keywords' => 'new business age success story news & articles, success story news & articles from new business age nepal, success story headlines from nepal,  current and latest success story news from nepal, economic news from nepal, nepali success story economic news and events,  ongoing  success story news of n',
			'description' => 'Caught between a plum banking job and entrepreneurship, Satish Shrestha chose the latter. A little over a dozen years later, he has not looked back and is a successful businessman in the making. Notwithstanding all the hardships that he courted along the way, he is glad to have pursued his instincts and believed in his dreams.',
			'sortorder' => '2492',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 1 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2498',
			'article_category_id' => '211',
			'title' => 'Bajeko Sekuwa',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Pinaki Roy</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Started with an initial investment of Rs 600 over a quarter-of-a-century ago, &lsquo;Bajeko Sekuwa&rsquo; chain of restaurants has come a long way. &ldquo;Presently, our annual turnover well exceeds Rs 100 million,&rdquo; says its Chairman Chetan Bhandari.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The enterprise came into being as an endeavour of his father Dinanath Bhandari who was passionate about cooking. During festivals and celebrations, family members and friends in his village would ask him to make Sekuwa (skewered barbecued meat). He would willingly do so and cherish their compliments on being a good cook.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	After migrating to the capital, Senior Bhandari started a small eatery close to the Tribhuvan International Airport. It so happened that while on a visit to the airport, he noticed people selling different kind of food around the area. He observed that the airport served as a workplace for many people, including the services personnel, employees of Nepal Airlines Corporation, customs officials etc. It struck him that if he could put up a food joint there, decent footfall was almost a certainty.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>The Brand Name</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Many wonder where the eatery got its name from. When Bhandari ventured into selling sekuwa, he did not have a proper shop let alone having a name for identification. &ldquo;The credit for the brand name goes to the customers who used to frequent our roadside eatery those days,&rdquo; informs Chetan. Being a Brahmin and clad always in traditional daura-suruwal, the regular customers would refer to Dinanath Bhandari as &lsquo;Bahun Baje&rsquo; among themselves. And not too long in the future, people started calling the eatery as &lsquo;Bajeko Sekuwa&rsquo;.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Chetan&rsquo;s foray into the business too has an interesting twist to it. Even though he was involved in the business as part of the Bhandari family, the turning point came when his dad expressed his desire to have a break for a pilgrimage to India. An MBA graduate, Chetan was considering a career in the corporate world but this sudden development left him with managing the business on his own while his father was away. He says, &ldquo;Even before my father returned from his pilgrimage to India, I had made up my mind to manage the business and develop it into something bigger.&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="bajeko Sekuwa" src="/userfiles/images/ss1%20(Copy).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 294px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>The Chain Effect</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Bajeko Sekuwa opened its first outlet at Sinamangal area in the capital. The eatery chain has since opened outlets in Nayabazar, Sorhakhutte, Battisputali, Anamnagar and Gairidhara over the last 11 years or so. With the expansion of the enterprise came the branding part &ndash; the name, logo, color and the likes.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	While Chetan acknowledges that the business came into being because of his father, he is largely credited for transforming the brand into a hugely popular name among the food lovers of Kathmandu. He approached the business in his inimitable style and made it count amongst the most successful restaurant chains in Nepal.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Bajeko Sekuwa chain of restaurants offers over a hundred selection of food including, most notably, different varieties of sekuwa. It also has unique offerings of fish and vegetable sekuwa that are loved by its patrons as much. Over 150 people have found employment with the company who serve more than 500 customers a day in addition to more than a dozen banquets each month at its sprawling Battisputali premises.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>How Times Change</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Chetan recalls that in the early days of Bajeko Sekuwa, he would find it difficult to open fresh outlets for lack of new location as well as business loans from banks. &ldquo;The scenario has completely reversed today. While home-owners approach me personally to lease out their properties, the banks are way more forthcoming with granting loans to my business,&rdquo; smiles Chetan.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	He says that it doesn&rsquo;t matter what one chooses to do as long as s/he is focused about it. He adds, &ldquo;Anybody wanting to enter business must conduct research related to product and market, set targets and stay positive.&rdquo; The affable yet charismatic restaurateur in his 30s adds that risk-taking capacity is what brought him success and if one wants to make it big, there is no looking back, &ldquo;After all, we do business for money.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="Bajeko Sekuwa" src="/userfiles/images/ss2%20(Copy).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 335px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>Cashing the Brand&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Having tasted unprecedented success, Bajeko Sekuwa is now looking to open new outlets in the Kathmandu Valley as well as outside of it. &ldquo;I am working at a franchise model for the business wherein aspiring entrepreneurs from across Nepal will have the opportunity to get associated with us,&rdquo; Chetan says. He adds that internationally too, there have been interests pouring in from entrepreneurs based in countries such as Qatar, Malaysia and Macau among others.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The company has also hired experts to help expand the business in every possible manner. &nbsp;Besides increasing its count on number of outlets, it plans to start selling ready-to-eat, frozen as well as ready-to-cook marinated sekuwa from its outlets and various department stores. The business is also mulling over launching &lsquo;Bajeko Masala&rsquo; (spices). &ldquo;The idea is to cash the brand name as much as possible and reach success levels that I had envisaged and was confident about even as a young student long time ago,&rdquo; Chetan concludes.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-01-26',
			'modified' => '2014-01-27',
			'keywords' => 'new business age success story news & articles, success story news & articles from new business age nepal, success story headlines from nepal,  current and latest success story news from nepal, economic news from nepal, nepali success story economic news and events,  ongoing  success story news of n',
			'description' => 'A father’s passion for cooking and his son’s entrepreneurial character have combined to shape ‘Bajeko Sekuwa’ as a well-liked brand to reckon over the years. The ever so popular eatery has been operating from half-a-dozen outlets in Kathmandu and has plans to launch many more.',
			'sortorder' => '2347',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	)
)
$current_user = null
$logged_in = false
$xml = false
include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224
View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418
include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473
Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968
Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200
Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167
[main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117

Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity &quot;&quot; [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]
Code Context
  //  $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';



    if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){
$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp'
$dataForView = array(
	'articles' => array(
		(int) 0 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 1 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		)
	),
	'current_user' => null,
	'logged_in' => false
)
$articles = array(
	(int) 0 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2639',
			'article_category_id' => '211',
			'title' => 'Shreenagar Agro Farm',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Pinaki Roy</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" width="25">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Satish Shrestha, MD, SAF" src="/userfiles/images/ss1%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 200px; height: 183px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
				<div align="center">
					<strong>Satish Shrestha</strong>, MD, SAF</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	An initial investment of Rs 1 million made in 2001 was the first step towards making Shreenagar Agro Farm (SAF) Pvt Ltd the big name it is &ndash; a company with an estimated current net worth between Rs 500&ndash;600 million. &nbsp;Satish Shrestha, the Managing Director of SAF, entered the livestock business in 2001 while still working with the Citibank. A BCom graduate from the prestigious Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in then Bombay, he worked as Relationship Manager at the Kathmandu office of Citibank from 1997 to 2002.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Gems Poultry, an integrated farm spread over 15 ropanis of land in Gongabu, Kathmandu was looking for a partner. Shrestha took the opportunity to become a partner in the farm that comprised of a fish pond, a small feed making facility and a commercial broiler unit.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Decision Time</strong></span></div>
<div>
	In 2002, Citibank decided to close down its office in Kathmandu and offered Shrestha a job at its office in Bangalore, India. While he was still pondering over the chance to relocate, his partner at Gems Poultry offered him to take over the company entirely. It got him thinking but eventually he decided to stay back and buy out the company. He paid the agreed amount over a period of three years and also renamed the enterprise as Gems Agro Livestock Industries Pvt Ltd. Having dabbled the banking job and the livestock business simultaneously for a year and taking over the company in full later helped Shrestha launch his flagship company &ndash; Shreenagar Agro Farm &ndash; in due course of time.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>The Company</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Shreenagar Group comprises of three companies &ndash; Shreenagar Agro Farm Pvt Ltd, Sunaulo Agro Farm Pvt Ltd, and Gems Agro Livestock Industries Pvt Ltd. These companies have emerged as an agri-business conglomerate with activities ranging in Poultry Breeder Farming for broiler and layer, Hatchery for production of broiler and layer day-old-chicks, Feed Mill for production of mash and pellet feed for poultry &amp; other livestock and Commercial Farming of broiler and layer as well as distribution of table eggs (regular and branded).&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	SAF moved business to Butwal in 2006-07 due to space constraint in the capital, a result of massive urbanization, which was hindering the expansion of his industry. The company stands out due to its technological advancement, research, continuous investment, professionalism and adequate exposure when compared to its contemporaries in the domestic market. It employs 150 people at all its facilities put together.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<table align="center" width="100">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<img alt="Feed Mill of Shreenagar Agro Farm" src="/userfiles/images/ss2%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 550px; height: 368px;" /></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td bgcolor="#DDDDDD">
				<div align="center">
					Feed Mill of Shreenagar Agro Farm</div>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Learning Curve</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Shrestha makes regular visits to India for observing development in similar business areas. &ldquo;I also visit Thailand often which is the heart of agri-business sector in this region,&rdquo; he says. He also travels to Holland at regular intervals to update himself with technological advancements in the sector. He adds, &ldquo;What has become obsolete in regions such as Europe is coming to our part of the world now.&rdquo;While certain learnings are implemented immediately, some others are considered over a longer period of time, he says.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Exposure to successful agri-business outlets abroad has taught the company to focus on bio security. It has ensured distance between its poultry units, cleaner environment, maintenance of hygiene protocols etc. Another important aspect is the placement of its various farms. For example, the growing flock is based in Butwal while the production flock is at Palpa.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong><img alt="golden Egg" src="/userfiles/images/ss3%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; width: 160px; height: 197px;" />Golden Egg</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Shrestha always knew there was a market for branded eggs in the country. &ldquo;A cooking experience at my home kitchen sparked the idea of dating eggs to ensure fresh product for the consumers,&rdquo; he informs. Around mid-2012, SAF launched &lsquo;Golden Egg&rsquo; in containers that also mentioned the timeframe within which the eggs were required to be consumed.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Golden Egg started with sales of 1,000 eggs per day which increased to 40,000 eggs per day in about a year-and-a-half&rsquo;s time period. The company has now set a target to reach sales of 100,000 eggs per day by the end of 2014. Currently, Golden Egg is available in packs of 6, 12 and 30 eggs. The Golden Egg containers have the &lsquo;best before&rsquo; dates on their covers and are sold via hundreds of retail outlets.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Sales Strategy</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Having priced Golden Egg at a premium, SAF targeted consumers who were more likely to be quality conscious. Hence, the brand was introduced in department stores and various marts to begin with. The company is currently awaiting the results of a research on consumption trend of Golden Egg following which it will be selling branded eggs individually. The egg shells will be individually marked with Golden Egg stamp and available at the convenience stores and &ldquo;kiraana pasals&rdquo; as well.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Sourcing eggs from local farmers in various locations besides our own farm has multiple advantages,&rdquo; says Shrestha. He adds that while the idea provides business opportunities to the farmers, it also saves him the expenses of opening and maintaining farms. SAF continues to get its supply of products from alternate locations even at times when a certain part of the country witnesses a problem. The company imparts trainings to enable farmers run their respective farms efficiently and adhere to quality standards set by the company.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Looking Ahead</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Among its future plans, the company is continuously looking at integration efforts, reveals Shrestha. He hopes to reach fresh stores and ensure greater presence in retail over the next couple of years while also mulling over adding slaughtering and processing aspects of the livestock business.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;We are also exploring the idea of launching retail outlets tentatively named Golden Fresh Mart which will have four components: poultry &amp; meat products (includes eggs), dairy production, bakery products, and vegetables &amp; fruits,&rdquo; Shrestha says. He elaborates that the idea is to provide end consumers with an array of products under the same roof. He quickly adds though that it all depends on having like-minded partners who already hold an edge in their respective business segments.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Shrestha always dreamt of running a volume based industry in a conventional manner and being able to make a difference. Success has come along the journey, he says and advises aspiring entrepreneurs to keep on striving and continue in believing one&rsquo;s instincts.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-20',
			'modified' => '2014-02-23',
			'keywords' => 'new business age success story news & articles, success story news & articles from new business age nepal, success story headlines from nepal,  current and latest success story news from nepal, economic news from nepal, nepali success story economic news and events,  ongoing  success story news of n',
			'description' => 'Caught between a plum banking job and entrepreneurship, Satish Shrestha chose the latter. A little over a dozen years later, he has not looked back and is a successful businessman in the making. Notwithstanding all the hardships that he courted along the way, he is glad to have pursued his instincts and believed in his dreams.',
			'sortorder' => '2492',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 1 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2498',
			'article_category_id' => '211',
			'title' => 'Bajeko Sekuwa',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By Pinaki Roy</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Started with an initial investment of Rs 600 over a quarter-of-a-century ago, &lsquo;Bajeko Sekuwa&rsquo; chain of restaurants has come a long way. &ldquo;Presently, our annual turnover well exceeds Rs 100 million,&rdquo; says its Chairman Chetan Bhandari.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The enterprise came into being as an endeavour of his father Dinanath Bhandari who was passionate about cooking. During festivals and celebrations, family members and friends in his village would ask him to make Sekuwa (skewered barbecued meat). He would willingly do so and cherish their compliments on being a good cook.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	After migrating to the capital, Senior Bhandari started a small eatery close to the Tribhuvan International Airport. It so happened that while on a visit to the airport, he noticed people selling different kind of food around the area. He observed that the airport served as a workplace for many people, including the services personnel, employees of Nepal Airlines Corporation, customs officials etc. It struck him that if he could put up a food joint there, decent footfall was almost a certainty.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>The Brand Name</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Many wonder where the eatery got its name from. When Bhandari ventured into selling sekuwa, he did not have a proper shop let alone having a name for identification. &ldquo;The credit for the brand name goes to the customers who used to frequent our roadside eatery those days,&rdquo; informs Chetan. Being a Brahmin and clad always in traditional daura-suruwal, the regular customers would refer to Dinanath Bhandari as &lsquo;Bahun Baje&rsquo; among themselves. And not too long in the future, people started calling the eatery as &lsquo;Bajeko Sekuwa&rsquo;.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Chetan&rsquo;s foray into the business too has an interesting twist to it. Even though he was involved in the business as part of the Bhandari family, the turning point came when his dad expressed his desire to have a break for a pilgrimage to India. An MBA graduate, Chetan was considering a career in the corporate world but this sudden development left him with managing the business on his own while his father was away. He says, &ldquo;Even before my father returned from his pilgrimage to India, I had made up my mind to manage the business and develop it into something bigger.&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="bajeko Sekuwa" src="/userfiles/images/ss1%20(Copy).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 294px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>The Chain Effect</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Bajeko Sekuwa opened its first outlet at Sinamangal area in the capital. The eatery chain has since opened outlets in Nayabazar, Sorhakhutte, Battisputali, Anamnagar and Gairidhara over the last 11 years or so. With the expansion of the enterprise came the branding part &ndash; the name, logo, color and the likes.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	While Chetan acknowledges that the business came into being because of his father, he is largely credited for transforming the brand into a hugely popular name among the food lovers of Kathmandu. He approached the business in his inimitable style and made it count amongst the most successful restaurant chains in Nepal.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Bajeko Sekuwa chain of restaurants offers over a hundred selection of food including, most notably, different varieties of sekuwa. It also has unique offerings of fish and vegetable sekuwa that are loved by its patrons as much. Over 150 people have found employment with the company who serve more than 500 customers a day in addition to more than a dozen banquets each month at its sprawling Battisputali premises.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>How Times Change</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Chetan recalls that in the early days of Bajeko Sekuwa, he would find it difficult to open fresh outlets for lack of new location as well as business loans from banks. &ldquo;The scenario has completely reversed today. While home-owners approach me personally to lease out their properties, the banks are way more forthcoming with granting loans to my business,&rdquo; smiles Chetan.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	He says that it doesn&rsquo;t matter what one chooses to do as long as s/he is focused about it. He adds, &ldquo;Anybody wanting to enter business must conduct research related to product and market, set targets and stay positive.&rdquo; The affable yet charismatic restaurateur in his 30s adds that risk-taking capacity is what brought him success and if one wants to make it big, there is no looking back, &ldquo;After all, we do business for money.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="Bajeko Sekuwa" src="/userfiles/images/ss2%20(Copy).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 335px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>Cashing the Brand&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Having tasted unprecedented success, Bajeko Sekuwa is now looking to open new outlets in the Kathmandu Valley as well as outside of it. &ldquo;I am working at a franchise model for the business wherein aspiring entrepreneurs from across Nepal will have the opportunity to get associated with us,&rdquo; Chetan says. He adds that internationally too, there have been interests pouring in from entrepreneurs based in countries such as Qatar, Malaysia and Macau among others.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The company has also hired experts to help expand the business in every possible manner. &nbsp;Besides increasing its count on number of outlets, it plans to start selling ready-to-eat, frozen as well as ready-to-cook marinated sekuwa from its outlets and various department stores. The business is also mulling over launching &lsquo;Bajeko Masala&rsquo; (spices). &ldquo;The idea is to cash the brand name as much as possible and reach success levels that I had envisaged and was confident about even as a young student long time ago,&rdquo; Chetan concludes.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-01-26',
			'modified' => '2014-01-27',
			'keywords' => 'new business age success story news & articles, success story news & articles from new business age nepal, success story headlines from nepal,  current and latest success story news from nepal, economic news from nepal, nepali success story economic news and events,  ongoing  success story news of n',
			'description' => 'A father’s passion for cooking and his son’s entrepreneurial character have combined to shape ‘Bajeko Sekuwa’ as a well-liked brand to reckon over the years. The ever so popular eatery has been operating from half-a-dozen outlets in Kathmandu and has plans to launch many more.',
			'sortorder' => '2347',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	)
)
$current_user = null
$logged_in = false
$xml = false
simplexml_load_file - [internal], line ??
include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224
View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418
include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473
Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968
Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200
Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167
[main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117