3rd episode of Connect-IN Entrepreneurship Conclave commences in Kathmandu

The third edition of Connect-IN (India-Nepal) International Entrepreneurship Conclave aimed at promoting youth entrepreneurship and sharing experiences of start-ups in Nepal and India commenced in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra jointly inaugurated the conclave.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister Karki said that the Government of Nepal had adopted the policy to promote entrepreneurship and start-ups, stating that the government had also taken the investment-friendly policy to keep the economy afloat, attract investment, remove procedural hassles and simplify public service delivery.

"The Government of Nepal is open to partnering with the private investors, innovators and enterprising minds. In order to support entrepreneurs, the government has designed and implemented several programmes for skill capacity development, financial support and entrepreneurship development," Minister Karki said.

Furthermore, Karki claimed that the integrated public service delivery put in place by the government had helped the entrepreneurs to augment their business activities.

Asserting that entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs were the backbones of the country's economic development, the Minister shared that the government had amended the policy to promote business, enhance the capacity of entrepreneurs and for financial facilitation.

Similarly, Indian envoy Kwatra said that the Conclave had provided the business base for the young entrepreneurs, stating that innovation and entrepreneurship figured in the priorities of the Government of India.

He expressed his confidence that the conclave would play an important role in enhancing the capacity of the young entrepreneurs of Nepal and India.

"The Connect-IN at a very fundamental level gives you that medium, that platform to connect these two principal drivers which is the inspiration and achievement, drivers- we also can call them objective, we can also call them end-goods but this is the inner self of the entrepreneurship, it is aspiration and achievement which drives the entrepreneurship. Connect-IN gives you that medium to take this abundant and positive aspirational energy which is embedded, inherent in a youthful society and translate it into something concrete," the Indian envoy said.

Likewise, the First Secretary of the Indian Embassy to Nepal Abhisekh Upadhyay informed that the Conclave was organized to bring together the young entrepreneurs from Nepal and India and exchange experiences.

During the inaugural, F1Soft company Director Subash Sharma said that his company was successful in rendering financial services to the public in a simplified manner.

The Conclave is organized by Clock Business Innovation in association with the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

The first Conclave was held in 2018 and the second in 2019. More than 300 Nepalis and Indian start-ups entrepreneurs, investors, experts and high-ranking officials from Nepal and India are attending the event.

The day-long event is to host three-panel discussions with over 15 participants from both countries in each session.

The organizers are confident that the event will serve as a common platform for young entrepreneurs from both countries to discuss, develop new concepts and explore business opportunities.

( With inputs from ANI )