Lumbini govt is ready for promotion of women entrepreneurship: CM Chaudhary

Kathmandu, Feb. 16

The first 'National Women Entrepreneurs Conference-2080' involving women entrepreneurs from across the country kicked off in Bhairahawa on Friday.

The two-day conference is organised by the Women Entrepreneurs Development Committee of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) in coordination with the FNCCI's Lumbini Provincial chapter and Siddhartha Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI).

Speaking at the conference, women entrepreneurs drew the attention of the government and concerned agencies to the existing challenges of procedural requirements, training, capital, technology, skilled manpower and marketing.

According to them, there is a possibility of great economic progress from women entrepreneurs especially the micro, cottage and small enterprises, as these businesses can be operated by mobilising locally available resources with a little capital investment.

Speaking at the conference, Chief Minister of Lumbini Province, Dilli Bahadur Chaudhary, said that the village enterprises should be connected with the city. He informed that Lumbini Province had prepared an entrepreneurship programme to assure that the women could earn at least Rs. 30,000 or above per month.

CM Chaudhary said that Lumbini was ready to raise the necessary financial resources for the promotion of women entrepreneurship.

Home Minister of Lumbini, Santosh Pandey, said that the provincial government was ready to take up the responsibility of supporting women entrepreneurs. He said that the Lumbini government has taken initiatives to connect women entrepreneurship to the economy in addition to assisting in market promotion, branding and marketing of local products.

Likewise, Senior Vice-president of the FNCCI, Anjan Shrestha, stated that the government should create an environment for sustainable business along with the promotion of small entrepreneurs, the empowerment of women entrepreneurs and the promotion of economic prosperity.

Shrestha said that the FNCCI has repeatedly drawn the attention of the stakeholders regarding the need for providing financial access to women entrepreneurs and for that, facilities such as project mortgage loans, subsidised loans and refinancing should be made easy and effective.

President of FNCCI Lumbini, Krishna Prasad Sharma said that the conference was organised to listen to the problems of women entrepreneurs from across the country and get support for entrepreneurship development. He said that the conference would help in the development of entrepreneurship even outside the federal capital.

Similarly, Kamala Shrestha, Chairperson of the Women Entrepreneurs Development Committee, informed that the conference was organised with the aim of bringing the three levels of government and financial sector together to discuss the situation of women entrepreneurs, existing policy arrangements, practical challenges and solutions.

According to her, the recent increase in the activity of women in entrepreneurship and the increase in the participation of women in the labour force was a matter of happiness. "From 1971 to 2021, the percentage of economically active women over the age of 10 has increased from 29.2 per cent to 60.4 per cent," Shrestha said. 

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 17 February 2024.