KATHMANDU, June 17: Australian envoy to Nepal, Glenn White and UNDP Country Director Renaud Meyer inaugurated two common facility centers in Nuwakot District recently.

These new earthquake resistant buildings enable earthquake-affected micro-entrepreneurs to restart  and expand their businesses.

“I am thrilled to see these results of Australia’s support to micro enterprise recovery in Nepal. The speed and effectiveness of delivery has been remarkable. Micro entrepreneurs who lost their homes and businesses are now able to stand on their feet, earn a livelihood, send their children to school, rebuild their homes and face the future with dignity and hope”, said Glenn White.

“We knew that while micro entrepreneurs had lost their businesses they had not lost their skills. UNDP was able to rapidly deploy recovery assistance, including psycho social support, technology, training and market and finance linkages. Thousands of micro-entrepreneurs have restarted their businesses with our timely help,” said Mr Renaud Meyer.

In June 2015, the Australian Government provided US$ 5.8 million to the UNDP Rapid Enterprise and Livelihoods Recovery Project (RELRP).

In just 12 months, 139 earthquake resilient common facility centers have been built and over 14,000 people in seven of the worst affected districts have been able to recover or establish new micro enterprises.

RELRP worked in seven most-affected districts – Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Sindupalchowk, Dolakha, Kavre, Ramechhap and Sindhuli. The Project has targeted recovery of 12,000 micro- entrepreneurs established under the longstanding Micro Enterprise Development Program (MEDEP) and the Micro-Enterprise Development for Poverty Alleviation (MEDPA) program implemented by the Government of Nepal.

 
• facility centers
 
• nuwakot
 
• micro-entrepreneurs