Nepal too needs entrepreneurs to strengthen the economic backbone of the nation. And to help these entrepreneurs start their businesses, Nepal needs VCs and AIs. Otherwise, those with brilliant ideas and potentially successful Business Plans would sadly remain in the silo, unable to implement the Business Plans and start their businesses. Hence to avoid such a Calamity, a group of IT professionals from various IT companies recently tied hands together to form first ever Venture Capital company in Nepal called as Fortune Cookie. This is good news for all those would be businessmen and businesswomen who have remained in isolation due to lack of funds to support their ideas. Fortune Cookie is just a start and we will need many such companies in the future if we are to change the economy to an entrepreneurial economy. Such funding will also help Nepal to retain and encourage skilled and risk taking individuals to stay in Nepal and start their own businesses.
The million dollar question at this moment is: Can Nepal provide VCs and AIs? And a simply answer to that is YES. It is not that we don’t have investors in Nepal willing to take risk. The emergence of plethora of Financial Institutions in Nepal is a strong indicator that we do have people willing to invest in Nepal. All we need is such investors to spot the avenues of investments in would be entrepreneurs. We need people like Vinod Khosla to come forward and support innovative ideas.
Apart from financial aspect, to foster entrepreneurs, a country should provide feasible environment for investment. And the only way to make an environment feasible for investment is to have political stability. So on that front too, Nepal is slowly but steadily making progress. The situation demands us to be patient because Nepal is passing through a changing phase and if all goes well, which certainly looks like, Nepal will definitely need many such entrepreneurs to spearhead the economy.
Until and unless we have entrepreneurs fostering in Nepal, our economy will sadly remain where it is today. We simply can’t wait for our economy to be entrepreneurial; we must strive to make our economy an entrepreneurial one.
Anup – you tried to touch the point, but did not get to the core. VCs and AIs are late comers. Nepal has to do a lot of things before we see any VC or AI. First and moremost would be changing the law to protect investors – stringent IP law and tougher laws to punish those involved in fraud and cheating. In a country where even parnership does not work (that we here all the time someone being cheated by his/her business partners), how could we expect someone to take risk without collaterral.
Geeta – the Geeta Lover!
Very true, Mr. Sharma. In fact, entrepreneurship will eradicate government influence and control over every sector and our socio-economic aspirations. We are forced to rely on the government for every problem, advocating the age-old tradition of looking for wise patriarchs to do us justice.
Sadly, the proverbial new nepal advertized by our political masters have hardly spoke about entrepreneurship and private sector growth. As you rightly mentioned, countries get prosperous out of its citizen’s ideas and aspirations for betterment. Let’s hope for the best, though.
Very true, Mr. Sharma. In fact, entrepreneurship will eradicate government influence and control over every sector and our socio-economic aspirations. We are forced to rely on the government for every problem, advocating the age-old tradition of looking for wise patriarchs to do us justice.
Sadly, the proverbial new nepal advertized by our political masters have hardly spoke about entrepreneurship and private sector growth. Let’s hope for the best, though.