Global Entrepreneurship Week / Nepal - Liberalize Free Trade
- Establish Good Institutions
- Create a Modern and Independent Legal Structure enforcing Property Rights
- Limit Government Corruption and Bureaucratic Inefficiencies
- 0.9 % Internet penetration
- 5.9% had telephone mainline access
- 3.8% had a mobile phone subscription
- Even in social ventures, you want return on your investment - a magnitude of effect.
- One of Nepal's biggest problems is unemployment.
- Entrepreneurship drives job creation. For every ten entrepreneurs, one could potentially create twenty jobs. A 3x job creation factor.
- Six factors are usually found in entrepreneurial societies
- Nepal is strong in three factors- Opportunity, Demography and Eduction
- Nepal is weak in two factors - Capacity and Infrastructure - but on the path towards correction.
- Nepal is neutral or poor in the culture factor thanks to the brain drain.
The King has left the building
Posted : 1 Month, 1 Week, 4 Days, 12 Hours, 41 Minutes ago
Entrepreneurship and Development
Why Get Involved?
The first thing you should ask yourself when deciding whether to get involved in a social programme is why?
Most people get involved because they just want to help and make a difference in the world.
However, wanting to help isn't always enough and can sometimes hurt.
For example, on page 46 of William Easterly's recent book, The White Man's Burden (the title is ironic), he displays an historical graph showing aid as a percentage of GDP to Africa steadily increasing in contrast to GDP growth per capita simultaneously and steadily decreasing.
Thus, trying to do the right thing is not always enough -
New development economic theories (like Easterly's) and the entrance of business leaders into the social arena have given us something better to look for: effect
Magnitude of effect, return or ROI - factors that should be driving your decision whether to participate in a social programme.
Essentially - Will it make a difference?
Why GEW Nepal will make a difference
The problem: Nepal has been a poor performer. With annual GDP growth of 2% and unemployment at 47%, the argument that Nepal is in a dire situation is not hard to make. ( The Economist, 10 Jan 2008).
The solution: We believe we can improve Nepal's situation by promoting entrepreneurship and here's why:
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor established a positive correlation between entrepreneurial activity and GDP growth and between the level of entrepreneurial activity and the rate of growth of employment.
Essentially, entrepreneurs are key drivers behind job creation, not only do they reduce unemployment by employing themselves but one out of ten will [likely] create 20 or more jobs and one out of a hundred will create 100 or more jobs.
But promoting entrepreneurship will not be successful just because we want it to. The environment needs to be right. Pushing entrepreneurship on a society that won't or can't respond is a fruitless effort. So we examined what needs to be in place for entrepreneurship to benefit a society using six general factors identified by Reynolds, Hay and Camp (1999).
Entrepreneurial Opportunity
Entrepreneurial opportunities are the opportunities opened up by economic growth and the evolution of the economic structure.
Essentially a country with entrepreneurial opportunity has potential businesses that can be developed. As a country full of both natural and man made wonders and a geography located between two of the world's largest economies - Nepal is rich with opportunity.
Entrepreneurial Capacity
Capacity is the ability of entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunity and it is broken up into two parts -
First, the capacity of individuals and their motivation is essential for success. Nepal has the potential to be rich in individual capacity. For example, on Facebook, there is a very active group called "Entrepreneurs for Nepal" with 457 members and growing. And there are very active Nepalese bloggers, like Voice of Youth, writing about the promise of entrepreneurship.
However...the big problem is that much of this capacity is not located IN Nepal. Years of war and a stifling economy have scattered most educated and entrepreneurial Nepalese across the globe in search of opportunity. See My Nepal My Pride as an example.
This human capital flight has been caused by Nepal's historical shortcoming in entrepreneurial capacity - the business environment.
The second capacity that is needed lies in the legal and institutional constraints to entrepreneurship, including the level of corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency. This area has historically been Nepal's shortcoming and likely the root cause of conflict over the past twelve years. To emphasize the point, Transparency International ranked Nepal 131st, along side Iran and Libya, in their 2007 Corruption Perception Index.
How do we fix this problem...
The Washington Consensus was the first step in outlining policy recommendations for how a developing nation should fix these capacity constraints [and much more]. And recently, in light of new development research, Nobel Laureate Michael Spence and the World Bank are now working a new, not yet published, adaptable framework for developing economies to improve the Consensus. (FT, 18 May 2008)
But basically, here are a few general points:
In light of this information, and as you can read in my last blog, there is good news for Nepal. The new government (despite calling themselves Maoists) seem to embrace the above policy choices.
For example, Mr. Bhattarai, the group's number two has stated:
"Our immediate agenda is not to build socialism, but to build a strong economic foundation . . . to develop industrial capitalism, to abolish all remnants of feudalism,"
and
"There will be full scope for the private sector and nothing will be nationalised or socialised"
As well as stating that both foreign and domestic investors were welcome in Nepal. (FT, 16 April 2008)
However, the most positive sign I've heard so far came from my GEW colleague in Kathmandu, Arun Kattel, who expalined the election outcome like this:
"People here are just tired and fed up with corruption and inefficiency. They want change, they demanded change."
The entrepreneurial prospects for Nepal are looking brighter.
Education
Linked to capacity is education. Reynolds et al found that higher education (tertiary education) in OECD countries, was highly correlated with entrepreneurial activities.
If this proxy holds true for developing countries, Nepal is in a good position. In 2005, 0.3% of Nepal's female population was enrolled in tertiary education and 0.8% of the male population was enrolled and both numbers are growing. Contrast those numbers to a fast growing market with high entrepreneurship like India, where in 2005, 0.8% and 1.2% of the female and male populations were enrolled in higher education respectively. Or, a similar frontier market and a new popular investment opportunity like Cambodia whose 2005 enrollment numbers were 0.3% and 0.6% for females and males respectively. (UNESCO and World Population Prospects)
Additionally, these numbers do not take into account the numerous Nepalese diaspora being educated abroad in India, the UK and the US.
(However, the gender gap between males and females at University in Nepal does need to be rectified as well...)
Demography
Moving from the discussion of Nepalese at University, it only makes sense that we then discuss the youth of Nepal. Reynolds et al also explained that most entrepreneurs are young, usually between the age of 25 and 44 and that entrepreneurial opportunities are vastly increased in fast growing populations.
The average age in Nepal is 20 years old and the 15-24 year old population makes up approximately a quarter of the entire population. (UNESCO) Additionally, the latest population growth figure was 2.5% (CIA World Factbook).
Infrastructure
Essentially, infrastructure equates to the availability of financing, facilities, government assistance, utilities, transportation, new technologies, etc. Here is where the good story ends.
For example, in 2006, Nepal ITU numbers were (UNCD):
However, one of the new government's biggest promises is to rectify the infrastructure problem. Thus, at the very least, the problems are being addressed in public policy intentions.
Culture
The last factor is culture, most importantly, the respect awarded to entrepreneurs within the culture.
Sir Ronald Cohen also refers to this important factor in building entrepreneurship, stating that a society needs 5% of its population to be positive role models in a career in order for other members of that society, mostly youth, to aspire to that career.
Nepal has many budding entrepreneurs, like the founding partners of ResCon, pronounced /res'kun/, Anup Sharma and Tilak Acharya. They realized that investors who wanted to invest in Nepal's budding stock market didn't have the information available to make it work - so they solved that problem with their innovative website - http://www.res-con.biz
However, while Anup and Tilak's are a great inspiration, Nepal needs more entrepreneurs like them. Thanks to the history of poor infrastructure and capacity constraints in the country, most enterprising youth look for opportunity elsewhere - leavig a deficiency of entrepreneurial role models at home.
We Can Make a Difference
To recap:
Therefore, in conjunction with the government actively working to correct the capacity and infrastructure factors, promoting a culture of entrepreneurship through Global Entrepreneurship Week 2008 has the potential to reap massive positive effects.
How You Can Help
Arun Kattel from INCON pvtd. is arranging venues with the five largest Universities in Nepal. The more volunteers we have to speak and teach the youth of Nepal about entrepreneurship, the more youth we can reach, the more potential entrepreneurs we may inspire and the more jobs we may create.
Partner with us now and volunteer to hold an event during Global Entrepreneurship Week Nepal. You can start by clicking "Get Involved" in the menu bar above.
No ideas for an event? But you're a business that wants to help and gain access to the next top frontier market? Sponsor an event, we'll plan and coordinate the event and use your company's logo on all the promotional material.
Are you a Nepalese living abroad? Do you want to stop talking and start making a difference? Come back to Nepal for GEW 2008 and participate in the events. Tell everyone you know about GEW Nepal and join our Facebook page.
The time is right, let's make a difference in Nepal.
Abraham Kamarck
Posted : 2 Months, 2 Days, 9 Hours, 29 Minutes ago | Edited : 2 Months, 1 Day, 23 Hours, 21 Minutes ago
Nepal Now!
On April 10th, Nepal held successful and peaceful elections, declared a success by international organizations like the Carter Center. (16 April 08).
Additionally, the BBC reported: "A senior army figure, Brigadier General Shiva Ram Pradhan, has expressed the willingness of the military to work with the new government." (16 April 08)
So far the outlook is good for a stable government.
The Maoists are also reported as saying: “Our immediate agenda is not to build socialism, but to build a strong economic foundation . . . to develop industrial capitalism, to abolish all remnants of feudalism,” said Mr Bhattarai, who is an architect by training. (FT, 16 April 08)
...and so far the outlook is good for capitalism.
Now all we need is some entrepreneurship to get this party started and put Nepal on the path to growth and job creation.
Global Entrepreneurship Week Nepal could be an additional tipping point for the country.
But we still need partners and sponsors.
Sign-up, be a part of history!
Posted : 3 Months, 6 Days, 16 Hours, 35 Minutes ago | Edited : 3 Months, 6 Days, 16 Hours, 33 Minutes ago
Why Nepal?
Why Nepal?
Landlocked between two emerging behemoths, Nepal now has its best chance to enjoy similar prosperity. Nepal is at a turning point in its history. In 2006 the people of Nepal took to the streets and demanded democracy. In April, 2008 Nepal is scheduled to have free and fair constituent assembly elections.
The country's future as an enterprising democracy is at a tipping point. A mid to low Gini coefficient (47.2)[1], a pluralistic society, a rising middle class and recent reforms of the feudal land distribution system are very positive signs. However with only 17% arable land, 81% of the division of labour in agriculture, a distinct HDI difference between urban and rural areas, and 47% unemployment, inter-group inequality and unemployment could destroy Nepal's hope for a progressive government and prosperous future.
Nepal needs encouragement, now more than ever.
Why Entrepreneurship?
We believe promoting entrepreneurship will have definitive positive effects. It will:
Promote a positive entrepreneurial culture, seeding the ideas and encouraging more Nepalese youth to start their own businesses and thus spur job creation.
Educate Nepales youth not just on the the benefits of an entrepreneurial society but on the Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions (EFCs) as well. The EFCs are political and social conditions that are associated with highly entrepreneurial societies. Thus educating citizens to encourage positive growth policies. [2]
Our Situation
Though we are highly motivated to make GEW Nepal into a reality, we are short on resources and need help to increase our level of effectiveness. We currently have the moral support of the Nepalese government and a few local NGOs and if funded, we plan on holding lectures and workshops at Nepalese Universities with local professors and successful local entrepreneurs as partners.
However, most countries participating in GEW are only using local partners. We want international partners as well. Nepal is a poor, often over-looked country, with an annual growth rate of 2%. Knowledge transfer from international experts combined with local talent could help accelerate growth.
[2] “Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions (EFCs)”; term taken from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2007
[1] World Bank, 2003-2004
Posted : 4 Months, 2 Days, 4 Hours, 21 Minutes ago | Edited : 4 Months, 2 Days, 3 Hours, 43 Minutes ago
INCON
Host detail can be found in www.inconworld.com
Posted : 5 Months, 3 Days, 5 Hours, 16 Minutes ago | Edited : 5 Months, 3 Days, 5 Hours, 14 Minutes ago
Global activities to link all countries
In addition to thousands of activities being planned by partners , a few signature activities are designed to connect bright young minds across the globe.
Unleash It!
While there is no shortage of challenges facing the world today, countless ideas never come to the surface—leaving problems unsolved and opportunities missed—simply because no one stopped to consider them. Unleash It! uncovers these challenges—then links them to enterprising problem-solvers.
Before we can unleash the ideas of the next generation of entrepreneurs on the challenges of today, we need your help in identifying those challenges – no matter how big or how small. Anyone can post a challenge, e-mail your challenges to challenges [at] unleashingideas [dot] org
Speed Network the Globe
Networking is a skill that serves everyone—whether they ever consider starting an entrepreneurial venture or not. Organize a speed networking session in your community and enable local young people to sharpen their networking skills—talking to each other, local entrepreneurs, potential investors, community leaders, or anyone else interested in learning from – and sharing with – others. E-mail cspavin [at] unleashingideas [dot] org to learn more about what you can do to help network aspiring entrepreneurs.
INCON
