October 29: New Business Age, one of the leading business magazines of Nepal, organised a one day interactive training for startups on Friday (October 29) under the heading - Special Training for The Startups. The interactive training program was held in Kathmandu as part of the ‘Kumari Bank NewBiz Startup Summit & Awards 2021’. The event was attended by more than 1,500 entrepreneurs through virtual as well as physical means.

During the training session, chairman of the Startup and Innovation Committee under the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Ranjit Acharya said that it’s time for the government to clearly define “startups”. He further said that the government should bring additional policy to develop the startup sector.

Acharya added that one should not wait for the right time to start a venture. “Right time to start a startup business is now. Entrepreneurs should be able to adapt to any situation and time. Only then can a person become an entrepreneur,” he said.

President of the National Innovation Center Dr Mahabir Pun pointed towards our society as the main reason for the lack of entrepreneurship development.  Stating that entrepreneurship has not developed in the country as there is a lack of entrepreneurship culture, he said, “There is still a trend of going abroad among the Nepalis. Now, in order to develop entrepreneurship, we need to develop entrepreneurship culture, especially startup. You can't become a startup entrepreneur just by continuing the work done by your parents.”

Dr Mahabir Pun, President, National Innovation Centre

The Magsaysay Award winner Pun added that the government representatives need to carefully study about startups and entrepreneurship. “Those who lead from the society without entrepreneurial culture cannot understand startup business and will not be able to bring a relevant policy and implement it. Therefore, they need to study this issue now,” he said.

He also expressed his commitment to help any startup entrepreneur through his innovation center. “We will help to raise capital investment if you have plans for business,” he said, adding, “We are ready to help with ideas, but one has to work hard.”

Likewise, Ashutosh Tiwari, founder of Safal Partners, said that getting into entrepreneurship is like jumping into an ocean. "Entrepreneurship is a risky sector in itself. However, even if the risk is high, the possibility of return is equally high, so don't panic.”

He also said that age, religion or caste does not stop one from becoming an entrepreneur. Nor, it is not necessary to study in the US to become an entrepreneur. “Anyone can start a venture. Even if it fails, it is not bad in itself. Rather we can learn from that failure and start another one,” he added.

In addition, Amit Agrawal, co-founder and director of Khalti Digital Wallet, said that some areas of the country are still lagging behind in development of digital payment. “Even Kathmandu’s drinking water bill has not been digitized yet. We have not been able to provide our services there even if we wanted to,” he said.

Stating that Khalti will be transformed into a public company in the upcoming fiscal year, Agrawal said that an IPO will be issued to the public within three years.

Another speaker Anushka Shrestha, who is the founder of Makkuse and the winner of Miss Nepal World 2019, shared her experience of getting into a business. She said that one should not have the mentality that there is no opportunity in Nepal. “There are many possibilities. Therefore, to do something in Nepal, one has to look through the eyes of entrepreneurship,” she said.

Madan Lamsal, chairman of New Business Age Pvt Ltd, said that Newbiz Startups Summit and Awards would help startups by helping them tap the benefits that the government offers them. He also said that the event would help them get noticed and heard by investors and policymakers. 

Madan Lamsal, Chairman, New Business Age

“We are organizing this event by focusing on entrepreneurship that aligns with the corporate mission of our organization. We want to support the economic development model led by the private sector,” said Lamsal, who is also the editor-in-chief of New Business Age.  “International organizations, banking sector, private sector and government are making efforts to promote and support startups. They had helped them to some extent. But, that is not enough. This event is to complement those initiatives,” he added. 

The final selection of the winners for the NewBiz Startup Summit and Award 2021 will be completed by November 16 and the grand finale will be held on November 26. As per the organisers, a jury of independent experts has been formed for the selection and the process has already started.

The main sponsor of NewBiz Startup Summit and Award is Kumari Bank Limited and the co-sponsor is Garima Bikas Bank Limited. Likewise, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Nepalese Young Entrepreneurs Forum (NYEF) are associate partners of the Summit and Awards. Similarly, the awards programme has been supported by IME and NLG Insurance Company Limited. The technical partner of the program is Mango Tech.