Joshi asks IDPs to assist, no to instruct the government

Lalitpur, Dec. 7: Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi Wednesday asked the international development partners not to instruct the government or impose development programmes on the country but assist it to spur development works.

Speaking at the Joint Annual Review of Micro-Enterprise Development for Poverty Alleviation (MEDPA) and Micro-Enterprise Development Programme (MEDEP), he said, “We will decide the course of our industrial development, and the development partners should support us in such efforts.”

Launched in 2013, MEDPA is an extension of MEDEP. MEDPA will substitute MEDEP after 2018.

Stressing the need to create more jobs within Nepal, Joshi said that Nepal needed a major departure to spur economic and industrial development.

He said that the ministry was committed to attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), scaling up industries, protecting and promoting micro, small and medium scale enterprises, generating employment and creating capital. 

He said that for Nepal to be prosperous, it was important to generate employment within the country and reduce foreign employment.

“However, this doesn’t mean that we do not want our youths to choose foreign employment. We rather want skilled human resources to go abroad,” he remarked.

Currently, Nepal has a working population of 48 per cent, and every year, 500,000 people enter the job market.

Minister Joshi said that the government was thinking about mobilising money from the micro-finance institutions to promote micro-enterprises.

“In the absence of sufficient funds, many micro-entrepreneurs have long been unable to upgrade their businesses. Once upgraded to small enterprises, they will consume more raw materials and employ more people. Therefore, the government could remain as the guarantee for such investments,” he stated.

According to Joshi, the government was working on a plan to stop youth from leaving the country in search of jobs abroad within a decade.

He reiterated that the government's primary focus was to develop the small and medium industries sector, which is the largest employer in the country.

He appreciated MEDEP as one of the most successful development programmes in the country.

Joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry (MoI) Yam Kumari Khatiwada, who is also the national programme director of MEDEP, said that the combined efforts of MEDPA and MEDEP had helped increase the per capita income by 344 per cent from Rs. 17,605 to Rs. 78,133.

The data further states that there are currently 115,014 micro entrepreneurs. Of them, 70 per cent are women, 30 per cent Dalits, 40 per cent indigenous people and 40 per cent Madhesis.

“The MEDEP has been successful as it has meticulously identified steps for developing entrepreneurship, resource generation, targeted beneficiaries and meeting market demands across local, national and international frontiers,” Khatiwada said.

Currently operating in 69 districts, MEDPA aims to expand to 75 by July 2018.

According to her, the micro enterprise sector was plagued by problems, such as high interest rates of commercial banks and lack of financial institutions in the remote areas.

Similarly, retention of micro entrepreneurs in their respective enterprises, sustainability of the Micro Enterprise Development Fund, capacity development of government agencies and establishing market linkages are other problems facing the micro enterprise sector.

Secretary at the MoI Shankar Prasad Koirala appreciated the role of MEDPA in empowering women through micro enterprise development.

State Minister for Industry, Kanchan Chandra Bade said that the programme had been effective in creating employment in the rural areas and requested giving continuity to it.

Sophie Kemkhadze, deputy country director of the UNDP praised MEDEP, and said the programme could help contribute to the government’s goal to reduce poverty, meet the Sustainable Development Goals and graduate from a Least Developed Country by 2022.

She urged the larger industries to step up collaborative efforts to promote micro enterprises and help contribute to the government’s goals.

Ainsley Hemming, head of the development cooperation at the Australian Embassy, said Australia was committed to contributing to Nepal's goal of poverty reduction.

On the occasion, Minister Joshi felicitated Khatiwada, Dr. Lakshman Pun, chief technical advisor of MEDEP, and Nabina Shrestha, programme analyst at the UNDP, for their continued contribution in institutionalising MEDPA.