The fair is being organized to promote wide range of homemade products so that cottage and small manufacturers could bolster their presence in the market, building linkages with market in the capital city. [break]
Inaugurating the fair, Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun said the event was a stepping stone to build confidence among micro-entrepreneurs in the country.
“The micro-entrepreneurs can make a significant contribution towards creating job opportunities,” Pun said, adding that the government has put the sector top in its priority list.
Gunja Bahadur Karki, general secretary of the National Micro Entrepreneurs Federation Nepal (NMEFN), said the fair showcases products from districts such as Nawalparasi, Parvat, Kavre, Sindhupalchowk, Ramechhap and Udayapur, among others.
“We are expecting around 200,000 footfalls,” said Karki.
The trade fair, which is being organized with the support of the government and United Nation Development Program (UNDP), focuses on attracting urban people toward using goods made by utilizing local resources. “We want to promote products that have been made by using local raw materials,” Karki told Republica.
Micro entrepreneurship has been a strong tool to create jobs in the rural area. “Mostly women and marginalized people have benefited from the government´s micro-entrepreneurship program,” Anil Kumar Thakur, joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry said in the opening ceremony. “People from around 40 districts have been benefited from this program so far.”
Pun said the finance ministry would be working on making additional budget allocation for micro-entrepreneurship development. “The government has been constantly increasing budget to micro-entrepreneurs through the fiscal plan. I would like to assure all that the government will increase in the coming fiscal years.”
The fair is being held at Nepal Police Club, Exhibition Road.
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