Himalayan Times
Serving Society While Sustaining Business
27 November 2011

The air at Babar Mahal Revisited was filled with hopes and optimism for three consecutive days starting from October 18. The reason behind this was the bazaar and talk programmes hosted by Change- Fusion Nepal (CFN), a non-government organisation promoting social entrepreneurship in Nepal. The Surya Nepal Asha Social Entrepreneurship Award brought together 20 social entrepreneurs from across the country representing diverse sectors such as restaurants, technology, vocational trainings, et cetera. The participants and visitors at the bazaar shared ideas and experiences, while
experts shed lights on different aspects of social entrepreneurship.
At one talk programme, noted Indian Social Entrepreneur Vineet Rai inspired aspiring entrepreneurs to turn challenges into
opportunity. “The only difference between an entrepreneur and a social entrepreneur is the greed factor. Any business activity conducted considering social interest and inclusion is a social entrepreneurship,” he shared.
Rabindra Puri, a dynamic entrepreneur cum archaeologist, observed how Nepal is plagued by the culture of ‘white collar job’. “Those into manual work are
considered inferior and people choose to earn degrees and remain unemployed instead of under-
going vocational trainings,” he said. He also stated that a corrupt bureaucracy stands as a major hurdle for entrepreneurs. “It took me four years to obtain approval from the Council for Technical
Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) for my homeopathic college in Bhaktapur,” he said. He also revealed his plans to begin the Nepal Vocational Academy at
Panauti and a model Nepali village at Sanga in Kavre district. “I need around 500 skilled labours but am facing a shortage,” he said, adding that he has been employing 190 manual workers, some of them
illiterate, whose monthly pay ranges from Rs 9,000 to Rs 30,000.
Similarly, Tulsi Giri, 26, a social entrepreneur from Pokhara, shared how he was inspired to run a mini market selling different types of products under the same roof after a visit to Switzerland. His shop named Bazaar comprises of an organic restaurant, cyber,
organic grocery shop and handicraft items. It collects locally produced goods from farmers’ groups to cater to consumers. “Our market research showed that middle class consumers had a strong inclination for organic and locally produced goods but they lacked access to them. Therefore, we came up with this venture,” said Giri, adding that his initiative is to provide a fair price to farmers facing networking and marketing problems.
Joining Giri in the business is his schoolmate Tanka Subedi, who had previously been running a successful private school for eight years. “My friends and family members thought I had gone insane to join Giri in this business, but now we are doing good, with a monthly turnover of Rs 2 million,” said a happy Subedi. Another
participant from Pokhara, Khim Raj Sharma, runs Inclusion Empowerment Centre (IEC), a training centre that provides the visually impaired with computer and English language skills. Sharma, a visually impaired entrepreneur himself, strongly believes that they have the right to equal IT access. According to him, differently-abled entrepreneurs are discouraged not only by society but also banks and financial institutions. However, he ended on a hopeful note by saying, “If you have a sound plan and are committed to it, your efforts will gain gradual recognition.”

For Sharma, social entrepreneurs act as catalysts for social development, utilising locally available sources by employing
innovative ideas and technology. Sponsored by Surya Nepal in support of Nepal Business Initiative (NBI), the event was organised to foster the culture of social entrepreneurship in Nepal for building a self-reliant prosperous country, according to Santoshi  Rana, media communication and programme coordinator at CFN.