Whynepal.com » ideas

What if

Ujwal — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 07:09:22 +0000

This was published in Myrepublica Daily March 10 2011

Pain is Opportunity. This is how we entrepreneurs see things. We just look around, see where certain situations are causing discomfort (pain) to people, families, neighbourhoods, towns and even the whole country. We find an opportunity, an idea to change lives, then provide the services people need. In the past five years, there has been an amazing growth in interest among the new generation of Nepalis to become entrepreneurs. Many young Nepalis are starting organizations, businesses and institutions in their twenty’s.

We all know, Nepal is undergoing a lot of pain these days. But this is exactly when entrepreneurs should seize the opportunity. In a country with where one thousand Nepalis are leaving the country daily for jobs, providing dignified jobs here, is the best social service you would be providing.
For those of you who are just starting out, here are a few examples where pain is an opportunity here.

What if you…

Provide a open office space that could be prepaid and rented on a per use basis in the heart of Kathmandu and other urban centers. A great place for start up entrepreneurs to meet others. ‘Co-office’ or brainstorming space or ……

Come together and operate a “non stop Bus/micro service/ tempo” service that guaranteed timely service, pick and drop for a premium price ( but not as shocking or surprising as those taxis in Kathmandu right now)

Build barber shops in Kathmandu which were cleaner and also combine that with a professional massage therapy . (A lot of us in Kathmandu are willing to pay substantially more for this)

Open a public transportation service that only travels in the evenings and “is reliable and on time”. (if you are thinking lack of security, maybe the vehicle has its own security guard :>))

Organize a ‘farmer’s market’ in different parts of Kathmandu, Where you leased stalls and where people come to buy and sell fresh produce, meat, food (hopefully some will be organic and locally produced). Like Kalimaati but smaller and agile.

Train yourself to be a “turn garbage into organic waste” trainer, and charged families, 200 rupees a session (for half an hour) to turn house waste into manure in their own gardens (and even buy surplus manure from them).

Started providing health care services to urban families at their own homes.With young Nepalis working elsewhere, Kathmandu and other urban centers are fast turning into Old people’s homes.

turn the former Royal Palace gardens into what is a fusion between “Garden of Dreams” and “Babar Mahal revisited”. This is something families look forward to taking in their children for a quiet (and hopefully fresh) time together.

Run a business that installs a rain harvesting service in individual homes for use in dry seasons. Isn’t Water the next gold? If you are a designer or architect or engineers, start thinking of building services and products to save or recycle water that is easy to install. Then sell them !

Provide technical trainings to “builders, electricians, engineers, architects’ who build new homes on how to integrate alternative energy source into houses

Open a micro-brewery. If one wants to enjoy beer, let it be home brewed :) There is a healthy local market here. I am sure with a marketing twist “Himalayan brewed” , quite popular among the tourists also. (Only catch is you have to convince our monopoly friendly government barrier in issuing affordable licences to small businesses to start this).

Lease and operate Tundikhel into a weekend bazaar, that only operates on weekends (Saturday and Sunday). “Our own Haat bazaar”. (if you have been in Bangkok, Thailand, you will already have the visual idea)

Operate a public auction place in your city where various auctioning of items like antiques, used furniture’s, used appliances. Make this a weekend event. Will be pretty lively and entertaining to be in there!

Run a business running Motorcycle (scooter) taxis to get to your destination fast in Kathmandu’s traffic. Say bye bye to Micro-buses.

Open a “positive news only” media that focuses on progress, enthusiasm, dynamic Nepalis, hard working Nepalis and small successes in Nepal. Aren’t we sick of watching those 3 old faces on media crying and fighting with each other all the time and other gloomy news of murder and mayhem to top that.

Build a giant storage house for perishable goods to be stored in the highest standards and rent them out space by space. A lot of entrepreneurs would come to buy these services from you.

And for the ones with deep pockets and daring, open an elaborate theme park here in the outskirts of Kathmandu. You have a healthy middle class who will afford your services (in fact Many that I talk to, are dying for a new form of entertainment in their lives. People are getting tired to go to movies, hauling their children along). We need some out doors fun rides and more. Even A giant water ride park somewhere near River Trisuli ?

Organize the unorganized. Build platforms in Nepal

Ujwal — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 05:50:00 +0000

An excellent opportunity here for you to Organize the unorganized groups of the Nepali “cream of the crop” together !
Why?
Because if you can organize this unorganized group, you have a chance to jump-start the entrepreneurial + social revolution needed to make Nepal prosperous. This group of people have the knowledge and skills. They have the global exposure, are innovative and willing to take risks.

Build platforms where these nation builders can come together and gel. You just might end up surprised at its impact!

A strong group of progressive bureaucrats (mentioned in (C) aligned with Socialinnovators with social entrepreneurs along with new generation common sense leaders (A), together would transform Nepal. But how ?

Here are few ways to start.
A) Organize a monthly networking event between new generation leaders, innovators, game changers of various social and entrepreneurial background. Do this in your city, your region and on a country level also. In essence, we start organizing a network that encourages civil society to actively engage with each other to find and build leadership. I see it as a “high impact club“. I like how we are doing this in “Entrepreneurs for Nepal for Entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs.”
B) Organize, and make happen a “Social investment fund” that assists in mentoring, networking and funding social entrepreneurs. Should be run by exclusively people with heavy (maybe 5 to 10 years ) entrepreneurship plus social service background. Model: http://www.acumenfund.org/

C) Organize college youths and recent graduates in leadership enhancing networks. Enhance them by linking with Nepali Change makers. Finally induce them by creating a platform to join the government (public) services as a way to influence changes in governance.

Mentor them with public policy advisers in the private sector. This will make them itchy enough to organize, network and execute public policy ideas that help govern Nepal.

In summary,

A strong group of progressive bureaucrats (mentioned in (C) aligned with Social innovators with social entrepreneurs along with new generation common sense leaders (A), together would transform Nepal.

Don’t over-plan, just start now and stay persistent .

Be simply good at what you do. Meet Chandra Maharzan

Ujwal — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 11:02:33 +0000

Meet Chandra from Wpshoppe.com

Chandra at his best with his band Nissim !

I have had the pleasure to work with him closely for a lot of years and he is a classic example about doing things that you are great at and create a niche market for a small business entrepreneur.

Basically here is what he does.
Chandra makes beautiful website themes (designs) for WordPress powered websites. And his designs has become quite popular in the WordPress community. Here is his website. (wpshoppe.com)
He makes enough to spend an obscene amount of time on his lifelong passions, music, guitars and photography! So there you go. You don’t have to dream big, to live your life the way you want
A young nepali guy living in the heart of kathmandu, is thriving online, has home office and has enough time for his family and passions and speaking his mouth off in Facebook !

If we can have a critical mass of Nepalis like Chandra doing their own impressive endeavor creating their identities in niche markets, we will turn around Nepal in no time! One way I am helping in creating this eco-system is through this group called “Entrepreneurs for Nepal“. If you want to be part of this eco-system, join it here in Facebook.

create wealth…stop finding out causes of poverty.

Ujwal — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 06:30:08 +0000

Wealth is a something created. It is by nature dynamic, something to strive for. Poverty is an idle state. It is the state that people naturally stay put in. Don’t over-analyse it. Don’t spend too much resources find yet another root causes of it. It is a state in which people normally stay in.

Instead of “launching programs to find where poverty is coming from”, we should concentrate on creating wealth (enlarge the pie).

Instead of the multi lateral agencies and INGO’s giving “millions of dollars” to poor countries like Nepal find out root causes of poverty, put in a fund to help banks to make it much easier to give loans to small entrepreneurs and small businesses trying to scale up. Help Jump start organizations and businesses that generate wealth (social + economic ).

Concentrate on giving people opportunities to generate wealth by doing what the innovative countries did. Help incubate business, and support those young entrepreneurs who produce and supply services to generate more wealth here in Nepal.

(more wealth leads to more jobs with dignity + more opportunities to lead a dignified life).

So Lets teach each other how to create wealth. (And shun programs that calls for poverty alleviation or poverty research).

Goa of India, Pokhara of Nepal: co-branding.

Ujwal — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 04:45:49 +0000

India has Goa. More than a million travelers come to Goa alone every year. Whole of Nepal only has half a million visitors right now. But we have Pokhara !

Goa has an international airport. Pokhara could have one… here is a scenario:

How about linking Goa and Pokhara directly by air flight. Travelers would see such contrasting differences within a flight of 3 hours that it would be mind boggling. From relaxing in sunny beaches to sunny boating in the lakes of Pokhara amidst the highest mountain ranges in the Annapurna mountains.>

What travelers want is accessibility. The missing part of the puzzle in Pokhara is just that. It has hotels, infrastructure, beauty, adventure, hospitality etc. It needs the co-branding. (Goa could be perfect). Tie in with an established tourist hot spot that compliments it by building an International Airport.

Tag-line: Come Sun-bathe in the beaches of Goa , party hard and then fly off to watch the highest mountains in the world while boating in a lake. Then raft down for some adventures in in Seti and Marsyangdi river and top it off elephant riding and rhino watching nearby Chitwan and then back to the beaches of Goa with some more crazy parties to top it off.

This is one way to stimulate our travel and tourism brand and to bring one million visitors to Nepal in Visit Nepal 2011. Another co-branding: between Lumbini and Bodh Gaya in India? What do you think ? Have your own ideas. Post them below!

If you liked what you read, please recommend this to your friends.

No related posts.

12 thoughts on starting up in Nepal

Ujwal — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:47:44 +0000

Here are some of my thoughts to help you, if you are thinking of starting up your own organization or business. These might just help you get started.

Learn first, then learn to delegate – Do learn as much as you can before you delegate that responsibility.
Improve your product/service each day.
Celebrate small successes. Success is a continuous journey, not a destination.
Stop comparing . Do what you believe is right. Bet on your heart.
(be persistent while going slow). Otherwise you will burn out.
Make it fun. You will spend almost all your time on it.
Write a blog. It helps you organize your thoughts or de-stress.
Maintain your relationships. Burning bridges is not helpful when you are weak.
Do small experiments often. A lot of companies arise out of small experiments done while being on a different goal.
Often say No. Often. It helps you prioritize your valuable time.
Focus on creating “culture” (in your product, services, organization). Culture creates a stable system that continues on auto-pilot long after you are gone.
Fail often, Fail small. When you are small, this might be the best way to re-group and re-set your priorities, goals in the right direction.

Add your thoughts below !

This 3 day Nepal bandh (total shutdown of country). This is blackmail.

Ujwal — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:02:24 +0000

Are you looking forward to this 3-day bandh, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday? (Total shutdown of Nepal)

What say to the sorry fact that a few big egos with no-one’s interests at heart but their own, will oppress you for three long days with the threat of some cheap several-hundred-rupee-per-day-hired-goons. Who benefits from this? Can bullying create lasting change? After 15+ years of bandhs, does it have the power of ‘shock and awe’ any more? This stinks. This is terrorism on the street corner and the masses lie down and swallow it as a part of life in :New Nepal. But wait a minute…. Are you thinking….

Its not my job to stop it ?
I am helpless to face up to it myself, what can I do?
or
So what, its just a few days, I can wait it out?
I am lazy, I am a coward, I am average….?

Is there really *nothing* we, you, I, me, he, she, they can do? Aren’t you feeling helpless, pathetic, angry? What? You don’t care?

Visualize this,

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito.” Someone wise person said that. You all know its true.

Here’s a suggestion. Instead of looking for the nuclear bomb that will wipe bandhs from the face of history tomorrow, let’s take it slowly, be creative, be surprising, reject the shouting, chest beating old-school ways, and have a lot of sneaky fun. Sounds like an ideal romance, no? Let’s start by giving a hint of the steam in this youthful pressure cooker. Start by making small cracks in the wall of nonsense. Lets find new ways to deal with this mob.

Here are some ideas floated by fellow activists in the Facebook Group “Die Nepal Bandh Die”. Join it if you believe in the cause and recommend others.

START THINKING!

——————————————

“What about ‘Flash Mob’”?, asked a few people – showing the strength of the silent majority without violence. Know what it is? An sms alert brings a huge mass of people together at short notice at a specific location with secret instructions. Then disperse immediately after the action is over.

——————————————

“Exposing faces behind the mob”, suggested another. Get snapping pictures of bandh enforcers now, and start posting pictures on this and other forums. This is one small way of empowering ourselves and see the faces behind this destructive forms of protests.

——————————————

Phone jamming – “if you get 1000 people to call every party head office and express their one sentence opinion on bandh, and then hang up. would be fun no?”

——————————————

Email the editors – Another suggested, “Mass send emails to the editors of the mass media in Nepal. ‘Please publish on letters page: Dear Sir/Madam, I am 23 from Lalitpur and I want to express my view on the bandh culture which is a hand at the throat of this nation…”.

——————————————

“A bandh day football tournament on tundikel, mass random cricket competition in the streets, a cycle rally for the hard-core orwhat the hell – let’s just get people, lots of people together. Otherwise its pathetic, isn’t it?”, emailed yet another.

——————————————

Asks a foreigner,”Where is the dissent in this country!?”

Co-written with Richard Bull for the Facebook Group “Die Nepal Bandh Die”

10 good places inside Kathmandu to talk ideas over lunch ….

Ujwal — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:49:53 +0000

Here are some good places I have taken people for business talks or other ideas that needs to be shared. Maybe you have bumped into one of these places yourself.

On top of the stairs of the tallest temple opposite the Kathmandu Durbar Square (Also called Hanuman Dhoka) in the center of Kathmandu, near New Road is a great place to talk, take a packed lunch or just a thermos of tea /coffee with 2 cups and go sit on there. A great place to view the world below while talking about how to tackle that business problem! Here is the photo link of the place…

Imago de cafe and gallery in the immediate east of the former Royal Palace walls. (few houses away from the Visa application office for the UK) great ambience, very silent and cozy. Good light food and plenty of green around. Plus a bit of a relief from the usual trendy crowded durbarmarg and Thamel area.

OR2K (means light 2 Kathmandu in hebrew). An israeli vegetarian place in the heart of Thamel, opposite Pupernickel bakery and “the Factory” lounge, This place is usually crowded but early evenings or lunch times are a great place to sit down on the mats and talk business. A great place to bounce of ideas while having delicious Middle Eastern food. Try the simple mushroom humus with a mint lemonade ! has free wi fi too.

Dhokai maa Cafe ( a distinct place with a courtyard of its own) in Patan Dhoka ( lalitpur), It is across the Bagmati River in Lalitpur near the southern gates to the ancient city of lalitpur. Good charming place to talk! Here is a link for further info of the place.

Kaiser cafe inside the Garden of Dreams, right on the mouth of Thamel. A great place to be in the midst of gardens, ponds and a visual feast. And not many crowd to disturb you with ! Here is a link to the place.

The Zoo. Yes, the zoo located in Jawalakhel in Lalitpur, is another place I use to walk around and talk over while watching playful children enjoying the exotic animals in the central zoo of Kathmandu. A bit refreshing from the usual sit, eat and talk.

Walters in Babar Mahal revisited is another place like the Garden of Dreams but a place with exotic shops inside the compound and right next to Singha Durbar, the center of Government of Nepal. You can sip tea or coffee or drinks in this old but renovated French architecture courtyard.

Kaldi Cafe in Thamel: A wi-fi enabled place with great coffee and nice environment to complement the ever busy atmosphere in the middle of Thamel. I like the scene where everyone is here with their laptops communicating, a good place to observe travelers from all around the world. I have asked a few strangers here for feedback on my travel portal.

Sherpa Mall at Durbarmarg. There is a restaurant, Cafereena I frequent regularly. A great place to brainstorm ideas and is preferred by busy working people who also can’t live without Momos (Dumplings). It is a bar/open -sky restaurant. I invite a lot of my friends specially activists working on our similar cause to talk over matters with momos and green tea!
p.s there are 2 Cafes serving Nepali organic coffee in this complex. The one on the first floor, Magic beans has better views but is a smoke filled place packed with smokers. The one on the street is open sky but very limited seating place.

Shangrila Hotel in Lazimpat: There is a nice garden restaurant inside the hotel, where you can catch up with a business associate or brainstorm crazy ideas or catch up with a friend. Just go inside the hotel and ask for directions.

Add your own list of favorite place to talk ideas in Kathmandu below!

Hand carved Skateboards from Nepal

Ujwal — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:12:37 +0000

Just wanted to give a heads up to a cool new venture that i saw in Kathmandu, the other day.

Arniko which makes Hand carved Skateboards. Its probably the first of its kind here.
They have a shop right here in Thamel.

Check them out !

No related posts.

few ideas for kathmandu’s guerilla entrepreneurs…

Ujwal — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:10:23 +0000

what if barber shops in Kathmandu also had a qualified massage service ( a lot of us men in kathmandu would prefer that )
what if there was a open office space that could be prepaid and rented on a per use basis in the heart of kathmandu. A great place for startup entrepreneurs to meet others. ‘Co-office’ or brainstorming space or ……
what if there was a “non stop Bus/micro service/ temp” service that guaranteed timely service, pick and drop for a premium price ( but not as outrageous as those taxis in kathmandu right now)
what if there was a public transportation service that only travels in the evenings and “is reliable and on time”.
what if there was an organized ‘farmer’s market’ in different parts of Kathmandu, where people came to buy and sellfresh produce, meat, food (hopefully more organic and locally produced). Like Kalimaati but smaller.
what if you become a “turn garbage into organic waste” trainer, and charged families, 200 rupees a session (for half an hour) to turn house waste into manure in their own gardens.
what if you provide health care services to urban families at their own home
turn YCL into traffic police (fear makes people obey traffic rules pretty well)

What if……….

add your crazy ideas below (no need to register)