Business speakers from around the globe who participated in the Next Growth Conclave 2019 highlighted a strong need for a proper ecosystem in Nepal during a roundtable discussion organised jointly by Next Growth Ventures and Nabil Bank.

Carman Chan, founder and managing partner of Click Ventures, Hong Kong said that with international companies such as Facebook and Instagram using your data, it has become a right to tax such companies for collecting citizen data from which they are making money.

Similarly, Mohan Belani, co-founder and CEO of e27, Singapore said that the start-ups needs support from the government, banks, investors and media. “All these sectors need to come together and support the start-ups,” he said.

Nabil Bank is focusing on decentralising entrepreneurship development programmes such as Nabil Nari Udhyami Seed Camp in other provinces as well.

Chan said that Nepal has the potential to experience next-level growth in the mobile-enabled era if the country utilises its young population, who are both literate and tech-friendly.

Likewise, the lack of policy from the government sector has also become one of the constraints for start-ups to make progress. Starting and grooming a company is a tough job, said Belani, adding, and it becomes tougher when there is a lack of government policy.

Many investors are willing to open their wallets to start-ups but many seem to shy away from pitching their ideas and businesses, said Kavi Raj Joshi co-founder and CEO at the Next Growth Ventures. He said that Rara Biotech, a women-run startup company working in the agriculture sector secured an investment of Rs10 million after participating in a recent business boot camp.

“There is a need for more enabler funds or seed-stage investors so that start-ups can get their initial funding to research and develop products that can become profitable,” he said.

And once the start-up is ready to expand, other players in the financial sector can do their part to provide the funds by investing in them.