KATHMANDU, July 26: Industry, Commerce and Supplies Minister Dilendra Prasad Badu has said that the government has launched a policy to promote innovation and start-up businesses to develop youth entrepreneurship. Minister Badu, while speaking at a conference organized regarding the establishment of business incubators, said that the country will take an industrial leap only through the development of entrepreneurship. 

"In the budget for the current financial year, the government has also given continuity to the program of providing start-up capital to start-up businesses to develop youth entrepreneurship and promote innovation,” he said, “Programs to encourage innovation in all seven provinces of the country have been included in the budget. It will definitely help in the development of youth entrepreneurship.” 

Minister Badu emphasized on the need to promote industrialization in the country to reduce the country's trade deficit. "The government has launched various schemes to promote startups," he said, "Such programs will definitely encourage startups." Minister Badu expressed his commitment to create an encouraging environment by ending the political and legal complications seen in start-up business operations.

Shekhar Golchha, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) said that more than five million young people from Nepal have migrated abroad and said that the citizens who went abroad should be brought back to the country by creating employment opportunities in the country. “The development of the country is not possible when the young people migrate to other countries. Therefore, by creating employment opportunities in new areas, Nepali citizens who have gone abroad should be lured back home.” President Golchha said that the risk is high and success is low in startup businesses. "Startups tend to have a lot of risk," he said, "It tends to have a low success rate."

In the current year's budget, the government has continued the program of providing start-up capital to start-ups to develop youth entrepreneurship and promote innovation. Likewise, the impact of the program will be evaluated and improved. Arrangements will be made to provide loans on a project-by-project basis. It is mentioned that in addition to managing capital through venture capital in such businesses, study and research will be encouraged. In the budget speech of the current year, concessional loans will be provided by establishing a challenger fund to encourage businesses run by young entrepreneurs and people who have returned from foreign employment. In the budget of the current year it has been mentioned that the government will conduct business incubation centers in the Hetauda Industrial Area as well as in all seven provinces to expand knowledge-based businesses in partnership with the private sector.

It has also allocated Rs 260 million for the purpose. Nand Kishore Agarwal, regional program manager, ICIMOD, said that the startup business in India has undergone a radical change in the last six years. “Six years ago, there were only 473 startup businesses in India, but in the last six years, more than 73,000 startup businesses have been operating. Learning from the Indian experience, it is time to promote startups in Nepal as well.” Omraj Bhandari, president of Antarprerana Pvt Ltd, said that both the government and the private sector should work together to promote innovative businesses.

 
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