President Bidhya Devi Bhandari inaugurated the three-day event which is being organized by the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs' Associations of Nepal (FWEAN). Speaking at the event, President Bhandari said growth of women entrepreneurship was a matter of pride for all. "It is good to note that Nepali women, who in the past were confined between four walls, are coming to the business mainstream," President Bhandari said. "Events like these play a crucial role in enhancing entrepreneurship in general and women entrepreneurship in particular."Urging entrepreneurs to make optimum use of available resources, Bhandari highlighted the need to increase subsidy to women entrepreneurs and also help them to promote their products and services in domestic as well as international market.
Speaking at the program, Minister for Industry Som Prasad Pandey said that industrialization is a key to economic prosperity. "The government is committed to encourage women entrepreneurs," Pandey said, adding that women entrepreneurs will get different facilities in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and new industrial estates being built across the country.
At the program, FWEAN awarded Sangita Panta and Ananda Shova Tamrakar in recognition of their contribution to develop women entrepreneurship in the country.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Rita Bhandari, president of FWEAN, said that women issues, basically those related to entrepreneurship, are often discussed but not taken seriously. She also said women can make significant contribution to country's economy, society and politics if they are given due opportunity. "Women entrepreneurs in the country have not been able to start large-scale business. They lack opportunity, market, capital, and support from the government," she said, lamenting that women entrepreneurship is not developing even though hundreds of NGOs and INGOs are working in the country to promote women entrepreneurship.
On the occasion, Bhawani Rana, senior vice president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) said that women entrepreneurship has come a long way over the past 15 years. Rana, however, said there is lot more to be done, both by the women entrepreneurs and the government, to take entrepreneurship to a new level. "Events like these play a crucial to promote women entrepreneurship as it provides platform to women entrepreneurs to showcase their products and also share their experiences," Rana added.
Participating exhibitors said that they were hopeful that the expo will be fruitful to them. Hajuri Bista, proprietor of Hajuri Khadya Udhyog, said that products made by women are of high quality and also price competitive. Bista, who has been running different enterprises for the past 23 years, said: "The government should provide us capital and help us to market our products," she said, adding that she was hopeful that the expo will help her find new markets.
Similarly, Saraswoti Sharma, who runs Sneha Souvenir Shop in Nepalgunj, said that such exhibitions have to be organized outside the capital so that large number of women entrepreneurs are benefited. "There is a huge gap between entrepreneurs of cities and rural areas in terms of entrepreneurship skills. This gap can be reduced by organizes events like these outside the capital city," she added.
Several side events like live demonstration of stone carving and natural fiber weaving as well as food festival are also being organized at the expo venue. Other attractions of the event are nail art, face painting and different fun-filled events.
The event has a total of 75 stalls including 10 stalls of women entrepreneurs from SAARC region and the Philippines. The expo is expected to attract 100,000 visitors and record transactions worth Rs 50 million.
Republica is the official media partner of the expo.
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