KATHMANDU, Nov 19: WED Nepal celebrated Women Entrepreneurship Day by organizing a walkathon from Labim Mall to Patan Durbar Square on Saturday. The event aimed at promoting and supporting the involvement of Nepali women involved in entrepreneurship. Every year, Women Entrepreneurship Day is celebrated on November 19 across the world. 

As many as 180 participants participated in the walkathon. Talking about the event, Nikita Acharya, global ambassador at Nepal at Women's Entrepreneurship Day said, “According to WED USA, 66 percent women are involved in paid and unpaid works. But they can only generate 10 percent of income in the world.

So to decrease the gap between work and income for women, we have organized a walkathon to celebrate Woman Entrepreneurship day.”

According to her, this is an annual event organized since last year to promote the involvement of female entrepreneurs in Nepal.

Meanwhile, after the completion of the walkathon, a panel discussion was held at Patan Museum, with the support of three influential women Yasodha Timisina, commissioner at National Information Commission, Sabita Dhakhwa Senior Institutional Development and Strategy Specalists Micro Enterprise Development Program (MEDEP) and Sita Adikari Founder of Empower Generation. The trio talked about their own experiences of being female entrepreneurs and the challenges they faced. 

Likewise, all three speakers focused on the importance of women’s involvement in entrepreneurship.

The event also had hand-made products in display and for sale in around eight stalls. Anusha Nepal, participant at the event, said, “It was a fruitful event for me because I got to learn the story behind the project from the panel members and learn from their experiences. And the event worked as a platform for me to meet many people and exchange ideas.”

Meanwhile, as much as Rs 26,800 was collected from the participants’ registration and the amount will be donated to the winner of Surya Nepal Asha Entrepreneurship Award 2012, Shanti Shakya Dolma, for her venture Kakani Himalayan Natural Dyes.