The finalists were chosen from a pool of 200 applicants "who strived for growth even during challenging times" on the basis of their innovation and scalability after a series of interviews and one-to-one sessions with mentors from Nepal and the Netherlands.The top 10 finalists who have had up-and-running businesses for over two years, were aQysta, Bajra Brick and Tile Industries, Cotton Mill, FICUS Biotech, Kalpavriksha Greater Goods, Karkhana, Luniva Tech, R&D Innovative Solution, Value Innovation and Waste Service. They will be leaving for the Netherlands to present their companies in front of investors on April 18.
One of the finalists, Karkhana is an education company run by a team of technologists turned educators. They specialize in imparting technical skills, encouraging critical thinking and introducing offline school programs that focus on innovation. As Karkhana's Founder Sakar Pudasaini said, "Educating a child doesn't only mean giving them bookish knowledge. It's important for today's children to have a strong understanding of core skills needed in this tech-infused world."
Similarly, another finalist company Luniva Tech is an emerging leader in software and application development with primary focus in the health sector. Nhurendra Shakya, COO of the company, says that lack of required data and information and technology is the leading cause of death of people in hospitals. "I started Luniva Tech with the aim to establish a system that can provide easy access to medical records of patients in medical institutions," he said.
Chairperson of FICUS Biotech, Anuroop Manandhar shared that his company was established with the firm belief that we should make good use of the natural resources we are bestowed with.
"Nepal is a beautiful country with talented people. They just need to realize what they can do and think of how they can bring positive changes in the country. Besides getting into politics or going abroad, they have to focus on how they can develop their society and nation as a whole," said Willem Grimminck, Founder and Director of One to Watch, an asset management company based in Nepal.
An accelerator program, Rockstart Impact, in collaboration with One to Watch, aims at getting entrepreneurs investment ready along with ICCO Cooperation, Oxfam, Stichting Doen and Triodos as partners.
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